[Travel] Arashiyama, Kyoto – Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple

I saw the taxi bay as soon as I stepped out of Kyoto station which was a good thing because I absolutely cannot be late for my appointment with the volunteer guide. Prior to my trip, I swore to at least have some time to mingle with some locals and though its far from hanging out, it’s still a big step away from simply taking photos here and there.

I showed the taxi driver the address that my guesthouse emailed me a week before. I was beginning to panic because although it was in Kanji, he kept saying it wasn’t the right address. After 20 minutes or so, he stopped in the middle of a street and told me we have arrived. Turns out the address only has the street name, no number or anything. I was hesitant to get off the car. The street was lined with traditional Japanese houses and they all look the same to me.  I’m screwed. I had no choice but to get off. I was standing in the middle of the deserted street looking as forlorn as a lost puppy I suppose. Finally, I saw a guy walking towards me so I gave him my best “sumimasen” and showed him the address. When he started looking around, that’s when I saw my guesthouse with a Noren curtain in English, thank God!

I rang the doorbell and was ushered in by an elderly woman. Of course, I did the rookie mistake of forgetting to take my shoes off and as soon as I realized, I stepped out the door again and took it off haha. The lady doesn’t speak a single word of English but somehow, we managed lol.

Pretty soon it was time to meet Aki-san. Instead of bowing, I opted to shake his hand as I know bowing can be a complicated gesture in Japan. Better to play it safe. We already talked about our itinerary so we walked to Keihan Railway  station  “Kiyomizu-Gojo”. I asked him to teach me how to buy a ticket from the vending machine and read the railway map. I was trying to remember everything but then he said, if I needed help, I can simply press the “call” button and someone would come and help me. I thought why even worry and bother then, I figured I’ll just press that magic button if I ever had to board a train that’s not covered with my very convenient icoca card. I quickly forgot all about the mini tutorial.

We took a bus going to Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple and it was a bit crowded. Even though he is not saying anything, I can feel that he was apologetic since we had to stand the entire time but I didn’t really mind because compare to the commute back home, it was a breeze.

Okay so on with the tour.

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji
2-5 Sagatoriimoto Fukatanicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 616-8439, Japan



I saw pictures of this Buddhist temple online and I told myself I had to be there. The temple was founded by Empress Shōtoku in the middle of the eighth century but according to my guide, its current address isn’t its original location. The entire temple was transported to the elevated area of Arashiyama after it was damaged during a flood. This was actually one of my favorite temple in Kyoto. For one, it was almost deserted. Secondly, the rakan figures were even more mesmerizing in person than they were in Google images. It was interesting to note that the 1,200 moss covered stone figures were crafted and donated by worshipers. Not one sculpture looks the same. I was a happy shutterbug. As per usual, I’ll let the photos do the talking.

My first autumn experience!






Some of my personal favorites. It was amazing going around checking hundreds of mossy rakans. It’s unbelievable how all of them could have such distinct personalities and I delighted myself discovering really unique ones.









This is definitely one of the highlights during my temple hopping in Kyoto. Next, we go down to Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street.

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