Kiyomizu-dera Temple
KeepThe wooden stage over the cliff gave Japanese its phrase for taking the plunge.
Note: eating and drinking are not allowed on the temple grounds — only drinks in a container you can close, such as a bottle or a flask.
The main hall of this Kyoto temple opens onto a wooden stage built out over a cliff. Eighteen zelkova pillars hold it thirteen meters above the ground, fitted together without a single nail. Japanese has a phrase for a leap of nerve: jumping off the Kiyomizu stage. Below, the spring the temple is named for falls in three streams, and visitors catch it in ladles. People were turning back at the slopes, the temple writes, so it paved a route around the grounds that a wheelchair can take.
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Not checked yet: Nursing space, Diaper disposal bin, English support, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Elevator, Stroller rental, Child switch (rider swap), Quietness (guide), Official family-friendly certification, Lost-child support
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details & sources (7)
- Official: Stroller friendly, Diaper changing table, Family restroom
- Official: Stroller friendly, Indoor / outdoor, Family restroom
- Official: Stroller friendly, Diaper changing table
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: Indoor / outdoor
- Official: Outside food allowed
- Official: Family restroom
- Official: main site
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Just to the left of the normal route in from the front, there is a path with no steps that runs all the way to the Main Hall. From there a stroller can go round the whole grounds, the same route wheelchairs use. The temple's own wheelchair map warns that parts of that loop are gravel and slope, so take care. You can also turn back partway instead of completing the circuit | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Yes | Nappies can be changed in the wheelchair-accessible restrooms, which are in several places around the grounds. The official wording says changing is possible there; it does not describe a dedicated changing table | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Nursing space | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | 屋外 | An outdoor visit. The grounds spread over 130,000 square metres on the hillside of Mt. Otowa, and the route is approach paths, steps, gravel and slopes. You pass through roofed halls, but there is no indoor shelter for the walk itself | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes | Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are in several places around the grounds — the official wheelchair map marks three along the loop. Two of them, by the Nio-mon gate and near Otowa Waterfall, have a folding 'FUN rest table' in front of the toilet that makes transferring from a wheelchair easier; it folds away into the wall, so anyone can use the cubicle | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | No | Bringing food into the grounds is not allowed, and neither is eating while walking or standing. The one exception is drinks in a container you can close, such as a plastic bottle or a flask. You are also asked not to bring rubbish in and to take yours home | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller rental | Not checked yet | ||||
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | バリアフリー | There is a step-free way round, but you have to take it deliberately. From the front entrance, keep to the path immediately on the left of the normal route: it reaches the Main Hall without steps and then loops the grounds. Wheelchair users may also be driven in from the emergency-road entrance at the top of Chawan-zaka. Parts of the loop are gravel and slope. Pick up the grounds map at Todoroki-mon, the gate at the Main Hall entrance. The temple writes that in 2011 it was the first religious site to receive the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's award for promoting barrier-free design | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | There are only two ways into the grounds: up Kiyomizu-zaka to the front Nio-mon gate, or up Chawan-zaka to the emergency-road entrance. Map apps including Google Maps sometimes route you to a way in that does not exist, so the temple warns about it on its own access page. The step-free path starts immediately on the left of the normal route once you are through the front. There is no car park at the temple; the city car park is nearby, and the temple recommends coming by public transport or taxi because parking fills up in season | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kiyomizudera.or.jpkiyomizudera.or.jp |
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet |
Map
Reading about this place
- Kyoto City's hour-by-hour crowd forecast for the Kiyomizu-zaka approach
Pick a date and the weather and it shows the crowd level hour by hour on five steps, so you can choose when to climb.
- The temple's own account of building a step-free loop, and what is inside its accessible toilets
The temple explains why it paved a ramped loop, with photos of the toilets. Old, but it matches the current FAQ.
- Eight snack stops within a ten-minute walk of the temple, with a map
Eating is banned inside the grounds, so it happens here. Each shop has a walk time from the bus stop and a map pin.
- Riding the weekend express bus from Kyoto Station to the temple, with videos of the walk up
Kyoto's official tourism body actually rode it: where to queue, the fare, the time, and the uphill walk on video.
- August 2026: the inner sanctuary opens, and on three nights the grounds are lit
Official notice: inner sanctuary 9-16 Aug; lit from sunset 14-16 Aug, last entry 21:00. No reservation for either.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple · Links & reads ▾
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Reviews
Basics
- Fee：The temple does not publish the admission amount anywhere on its official site — and neither does Kyoto City: the temple's page on the city's official tourism site has no fee field at all. The one figure a public body does publish is for the evening viewing: Kyoto City lists the August 2026 evening viewing at ¥500 for adults and ¥200 for children. What the temple itself does state: there is no group discount; a visitor holding a disability or therapy handbook enters free together with one companion on showing the original at the gate (a reduction can also be applied for in advance by return postcard, about two weeks ahead); and teachers escorting an official school event pay nothing on showing both staff ID and the itinerary. For the ordinary daytime admission, take cash and expect to be told the price at the gate■
- Hours：The gate opens at 6:00 every day of the year; only the closing time changes. For 2026: 18:00 from 1 Jan to 26 Mar, 21:30 from 27 Mar to 5 Apr (spring evening viewing, last entry 21:00), 18:00 from 6 Apr to 30 Jun, 18:30 from 1 Jul to 13 Aug, 21:30 from 14 to 16 Aug (Sennichi-mairi and summer evening viewing, last entry 21:00), 18:30 from 17 to 31 Aug, 18:00 from 1 Sep to 20 Nov, 21:30 from 21 to 30 Nov (autumn evening viewing, last entry 21:00), and 18:00 through December. The evening-viewing dates move every year. Note that the amulet counter and the stamp office open later, at around 8:00■
- Booking：For the two special viewings the temple states in writing that no reservation is needed: the Sennichi-mairi inner-sanctuary opening and the evening viewings. For an ordinary daytime visit the official site says nothing either way about reservations, and it carries no advance-ticket or online-ticket page■Official booking site ↗
- Note: eating and drinking are not allowed on the temple grounds — only drinks in a container you can close, such as a bottle or a flask. Snacks have to wait until you are back outside the gate, and you are asked to carry your rubbish home with you■