How to walk from Kyoto Station to see and take photos of Kiyomizu Temple’s autumn leaves and cherry blossom illumination

Shimizu stage and autumn leaves illuminated from Okunoin
Shimizu stage and autumn leaves illuminated from Okunoin

🤗Hello, I’m Irukapapa.

In today’s blog post, we will introduce how to get to Kiyomizu-dera Temple on foot from the main station. I would be very happy if this blog could be helpful for your Kyoto trip.

So, let’s go on a journey of dreams and adventures! Here we go!

Let’s walk to Kiyomizu-dera!

Autumn leaves and illumination of the Kiyomizu stage taken from Kiyomizu-dera/Amida-do Hall
Autumn leaves and illumination of the Kiyomizu stage taken from Kiyomizu-dera/Amida-do Hall

The illumination of autumn leaves at Kiyomizu-dera Temple is an event you cannot miss when sightseeing in Kyoto in autumn. However, Kiyomizu-dera Temple is located in a rather inconvenient location, isn’t it?

The general way to get to Kiyomizu-dera is to take municipal bus No. 86, 100, 110, or 206 from Kyoto Station North Exit Plaza, get off at Gojozaka, and walk from there. It takes approximately 10 minutes from Gojozaka bus stop.

Autumn leaves of five-storied pagoda
Autumn leaves of five-storied pagoda

but,

It’s a pain to take the bus

We will respond to your selfish requests such as not knowing how to ride the bus, taxis being a waste, lack of exercise during travel, wanting to walk as much as possible to relieve overeating, etc.

on foot

I will explain how to get to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, hey!

walk from Kyoto Station

Inside Kyoto Station
Inside Kyoto Station

Kiyomizu Temple Niomon is a 35-minute walk from JR Kyoto Station, and the distance is 2.8 km. It’s not a walkable distance at all.

Walking route map from Kyoto Station to Kiyomizu Temple

Walk from Keihan Kiyomizu Gojo Station

If you are walking to Kiyomizu-dera from Kiyomizu-Gojo Station on the Keihan Railway, head from Exit 4. It takes 18 minutes on foot and the distance is 1.5 km. This would be an easy win.

Walking route map from Keihan Kiyomizu Gojo Station to Kiyomizu Temple

Let’s walk from Hankyu Kawaramachi Station!

Ninenzaka
Ninenzaka

You can easily walk from Hankyu Kyoto Kawaramachi. If you walk from here, you can see the elegant streets of ancient Kyoto, such as Gion Hanamikoji, Ichinenzaka, Ninenzaka, and Sannezaka, so you can kill two birds with one stone! If you just walk around and sightsee, the time will pass in no time!

The walking time is 23 minutes and the distance is 1.9 km.

Walking route map from Hankyu Kyoto Kawaramachi Station to Kiyomizu Temple

Walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Municipal Subway Line

It is a 25-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Municipal Subway Line, and the distance is 2.1 km.

route map