July 25th, 2016
A Buddhist temple just outside of Kyoto perched half way up on a mountain. Over 1200 years old, a UNESCO world heritage site. The temple offers stunning views of Kyoto. Since my arrival in Japan, I have been impressed with just how beautiful Japan is and this temple is another example of beautiful architecture set in a beautiful setting. Every temple we have seen has been beautiful but this one stood out along with the mountainside town filled with shops. I felt like I had been transported to another time. I Wish I could have stayed to have watched the sunset and the city nightlight.
It is here where we learned about “To jump off the stage at Kiyomizu”. In English, we would way “To take the plunge!” It refers to a legend that said if you jumped off the veranda and survived the 50 foot drop, your wish would be granted. We had a lot of adventurous people in our tour group but none that stupid to try. There have been over 200 jumps recorded with an 85% survival rate. the tour guide had no statistics if any of them could walk again. The practice is now prohibited.
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