00:09 John Daub: There you are. That's a view from the entrance of Kiyomizudera (Pure Water Temple). Looking down from Higashiyama (Eastern Mountains) at Kyoto, the city. It's a pretty cool street. This is the one you walk through with loads of shops, gift shops to buy things, lots of neat little street food. It'll take you to Ninenzaka (Two-Year Slope). You can walk around a very scenic path to get to Gion. Hi, hey everybody. Welcome to Kiyomizudera. I'm going to take you inside, and hopefully we have a strong enough signal to make this a pretty nice tour. If not, we gave it a good try. Thanks for joining me, everybody.

00:50 John Daub: In front of you is the way that you're going to walk when you yourself one day come to Kyoto, or if you've already been here. One thing you notice right away is the main temple right there. The hondo (main hall) has been covered, and they're renovating it. Every 50 years, they renovate Kiyomizudera. It just happens to be that 50th year, so it's going to be covered up. But that's not going to stop us from going in there. It doesn't change the history of this place. Hi, I'm John Daub. For those of you who don't know, this is Only in Japan Go, and we only do live streams here. All right, let's go get a ticket. I've got 1000 yen right here. I don't even know how much it costs to get in, but 1000 yen—let's make this a reality.

02:04 John Daub: Here's the ticket for those who've never seen one. Now you have. It's thin and beautiful, with an autumn theme because very soon the autumn colors are going to make this temple really stand out. There you go—Kiyomizudera written on there. Let's take a look and see if there's any autumn color from this side before we go in. I don't see too much. I think we're really early. Peak time is going to be in November, around the middle, when all of this is going to be lit up like fireworks—tons of color, lots of orange, red, yellow. But now it's still green. In the distance, you have that very famous, beautiful view of the pagoda in the woods. Sorry if it's pixelated—there are a lot of people and we don't have the strongest signal. All right, let's go in. This is the entrance here.

03:12 John Daub: It's like you just have to show them your ticket. We're in. Look at these lovely Japanese yukata (light cotton kimonos). People like to rent them and wear them around Kyoto for the day. If you have any questions, go ahead and try to ask me and I'll answer them about Kiyomizudera. This is my umpteenth time here. The kids with the yellow hats are elementary school kids on a trip. Is it better to rent or buy a yukata? If you're going to wear it more than once, you can buy it. If you're going to wear it two or three times, especially in the summer—yukata don't really have a place in the fall unless it's really warm, but usually for festivals. People can pray here and they do. I try not to linger to respect people's feelings. These are charms you can buy inside here. But now we're inside the main temple and it is really stunning. Even with the scaffolding around it, it's really beautiful and you can feel the history, the age of Kiyomizudera going all the way back to the 8th century.

05:00 John Daub: Just imagine—the United States started as a country in the 17th or 18th century, and this has been here since a thousand years before that. It's crazy to think that. Down there we're going in a second, but you can see people taking water from the three streams. I won't be doing that but I'll be filming it. It's neat to see it from this point of view, and once again from the top here you can see the amazing wooden frame holding up the temple on the side of the mountain. Hey, we're back—sorry the signal's going in and out. Some outside of the temple right now—could be spiritual forces stopping the live stream, but this is a lookout from the top of the deck here inside Kiyomizudera. We're gonna take a peek down from this point. From here you get a nice view of the people trying all three streams coming together—one for wealth, one for health, and one for success, I guess. Somebody in the live stream is gonna correct me on that, but it's been a long time since I've been here.

06:15 John Daub: This is one of the temples I sort of avoid because of the crowds, but there are certain times of the year when Kiyomizudera is just absolutely beautiful—in the winter if it snows, the fall when the leaves change, and in the spring when the cherry blossoms are there. But other than that I usually try to avoid it. I'm here just for work, just to show you and for b-roll. Can we have some history about this temple? Yeah, I forget most of it though—I'll look it up in a second. I did have some notes, but I'm actually here for b-roll, meaning insert shots for the main channel.

07:01 John Daub: Now we're back inside and I'm going to be making my way down. Before I do that, I want to get my camera out because I got to do b-roll. This is part of the temple that you will never see up close like here. Hey, so I'm actually here to do b-roll and I'm gonna be in Kyoto just for a very short time. I'm going back today after I film something—gonna be doing some night views in this area. This is the bag I usually take. I have a GoPro 7, I also have the GH5. This is what I'm gonna be taking some b-roll with—I have a 7-18mm lens and a 12-32mm lens, and I just need to get like 15 seconds at a time.

08:37 John Daub: Let's go back to that view. I want to get just a quick view from the top here. Wow, there's a lot of kids—check it out, look at all these kids. So while I take b-roll you guys can look too at the beautiful view. While I'm swarming with kids! Wow, lots of kids. Hey, Dead of Winter 321—I'll read that in a second. Hyogo Prefecture, Ono-shi (Ono City) prefecture. Wow, I used to live in Kakogawa. Do you know? Yes, I do—they know where I used to live. Is it close? Yes, it is. Okay, now we're in the back side here.

11:10 John Daub: Check it out—these are really cute. A lot of people have put their wishes on the back of these. I like the patterns. Nice little view. Dead of Winter 321 writes, "I can't wait for you to start filming on your fancy new iPhone." I know—it's going to be soon. I just watched the smartphone comparison videos and the XS Max had the best video quality of them all. I got the regular one because I wanted a smaller size—it's not as heavy on the gimbal. Alright guys, here's one view on the side—check it out. If you've been to Kiyomizudera, you're like, yeah, I know that place, I've been there, I've walked up those steps. It's pretty cool. Man, I'm sweating—it's hot, really hot here.

12:18 John Daub: We're going to go to a point where you get a beautiful view looking back at Kiyomizudera. That's sort of what I wanted, and then I'm going to be getting out of here. But until then, let's walk along with these school kids from Hyogo-ken. They're all from the same place. Well, they learned about the history—we're gunning for the view. Oh, it's so bright. So right there, that deck is where you get really nice views looking back towards the city of Kyoto—that includes Kiyomizudera. In fact, if you Google Kiyomizudera, you're going to get this view. That's one of the things I'm here to take b-roll of. Oh man, it's really bright—I didn't time this right. But maybe from this corner I'll be able to get a nice view. There's a tree in the way—there you go, check it out. That's why I'm here—to get this view looking back at the city. It's pretty nice, huh?

14:05 John Daub: There's a lot of people asking about the history. I have some notes somewhere, but not on me right now. But you can see these—despite having the canopy over it, it's still really striking, isn't it? Even maybe a little bit more so. Let me pan over to the left here—you can see Kyoto Tower in the distance. I made a video on it a couple weeks ago asking if it's worth it—that's going to be up to you guys. What I can tell you about Kiyomizudera: the most outer pillar is the one that's being built. Wow, it's really hot here. I'm waiting for the kids to get out of here so we get better access—there are really a lot of kids in front here waiting. This is one of the reasons why Kiyomizudera is like hard.

15:27 John Daub: Kiyomizudera is a temple, not a shrine—so temples are Buddhist origin, not Shinto. That's really important to know. Officially it's Otowa-san Kiyomizudera—that's the full name. It's in eastern Kyoto, which is Higashiyama, and yes, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was completed in the year 778, 8th century—just crazy. It's got a lot of history. It hasn't really changed much over the years, and that's why every 50 years they do this—they cover it up and do some renovations. That's the main hall and it's being renovated. Down there where we're going to be going, you can drink from the water of three different streams that combine right here. Does Kanae still want five children? Yes, she does, and I'm cool with that. After we have one, then we'll see if she wants another—I'm taking it one at a time.

16:41 John Daub: This is the view—if you're watching this live, it's really spectacular. The sun is just filtering through, making it really bright for you. But this is one way to see it that you might not have seen before. So I'm going to move over to the left now, and we're going to end the live stream down at the water because I got to move to film some more b-roll down in Gion. Ah, the beautiful sounds of construction. Hey guys, do you mind waiting right here while I take some b-roll? Just wait right there. That's an awful view. All right, hold on—watch that. All right, I did it—that wasn't so bad, was it? Yeah, Trecherous, thanks for asking about Kanae—I haven't seen her that much. I just got back from Tottori the other day, and then here I am again on the road. So I'll be back tonight—I owe her a date or two.

18:16 John Daub: I like the construction—when they put these railings here, they always have some kind of cute end to it. This one has a very polite, cute Japanese lady bowing to us, and there's two of them—she's got a twin over there. It's one of the little aspects of Japanese construction—not only are they fast, but they're very good at it. Aha—now this view is really nice here, check it out. Now we're looking back, and I'm also taking b-roll with the GH5 here. I'm going to have to edit out the nice, lovely sound of the construction. Peace—may peace be with you. Or not. All right, I got my b-roll. Now we're here—see, you can actually do this temple really fast if you want to.

19:39 John Daub: This is the way I go shopping too, and this is why my wife gets upset after 30 minutes—I just keep walking, and she gets upset. She goes, I want to shop, and I said, this is shopping. That's what those sofas are for in the women's shops. Oh wow, that's beautiful—check this out, looking back between the flowers. Oh man, that's nice, huh? Kind of soak this up for a minute. Again, this is from the year 778—crazy. This is really beautiful. This is the view that I think everyone wants to see. You can never have enough b-roll—more b-roll for insert shots. This is a nice path to walk down the hill a little bit, and then I got to go grab a cab—don't want to be late for the meeting, for an interview. It takes me about 30 minutes to get to Gion from here. It's always better to be early than late, and it's always nice to walk behind two pretty girls wearing yukata. I hope the signal's doing okay and you guys are watching this in HD because it's just better that way.

21:44 John Daub: I'm going to go around them—turbo, turbo. Oh, these are the girls from the entrance—we're on the same path. How you all doing? How you all doing out there? It's pretty—nice fresh air up here in Higashiyama. Again, the ticket used to be a lot more expensive, I think—it's 400 yen right now, which I thought was cheap, 200 yen for kids. Usually it was 700 yen last time I was here. We've just taken a turn—we're going back down now towards the streams, the three streams. You guys are watching Kiyomizudera—we're going to be live. Kiyomizudera is one of the most crowded, yet most beautiful, yet oldest, must-visit places in Kyoto. You can do it in 15 minutes if you really go fast, but I think it's good to take your time. One reason I'm going fast is so that you get just an overview, and when you do come you'll know kind of what to expect—it'll help you plan your trip a little bit better so you know how much time you need.

23:32 John Daub: Oh, this is interesting—they've set up a path for people with wheelchairs, so you can go to the left if you have wheelchairs. But if you have a wheelchair you can't go this way, so we're going to go the walking route because we can walk, and we should keep it open for those with wheelchairs. I didn't know that—that's interesting. In the top of your screen now you can see Kiyomizudera, the main hall—an imposing structure, just massive. From down here it's even more crazy looking. I will not be drinking from the water—I've drunk from it, I have my health and I have my wealth. Well, I don't have my wealth, but I have some health. Oh, and wisdom was the other one—I lack that, I could use a little bit more wisdom. Maybe I should take a gallon of that home. But those are the three streams: health, wealth, and wisdom, I believe.

24:39 John Daub: Even the restrooms look pretty cool—that's a toilet right there, the Shogun's old toilet maybe—making it up. Look, you can see the leaves are just starting to turn—you see that? A little bit of red tinge to it. It's going to be a little ways before they start to really change. So this is new—last time I was here I don't remember these tables where you can get a cup of tea and just chillax on tatami mats (woven straw mats). It's kind of neat. Tofu sets 800 yen, kitsune udon (fox udon) 700—this is about $6, 100 yen is about $1. And there's the matcha and ohagi (sweet rice cake) set—oh, that looks good, about $6.50, $7 for that. You can't take it out, just so you know.

25:52 John Daub: Whoa, look at the people up there looking at us—we were there 10 minutes ago. Here we are—the three streams. Which do you choose? Health, wealth, or wisdom? Or all three? I guess you can take all three. Uh-oh. All right, I got to change the battery—so while I do that, you guys sit right here, okay? Stay right there. All right, battery changed. You guys are kind of short—we're going to have to get you a bigger tripod. All right, I'm now filming—let's get about 10 seconds of video. See if we can get a clear shot through. Oh, that's better. I'm going to zoom in—see if I can get a shot of somebody with a cup taking it. I forgot to push record. All right, next up—that's enough, I think I got the shot. You got to get the shot.

28:26 John Daub: So there you go—right behind me on the left side is where people get the three streams: health, wealth, and wisdom. I always go for wisdom—well, I go for health. Wealth is the last thing I need—wealth creates other problems. I met a wealthy person once—said that it's really hard, taxes, people always want your money. Be happy with what you have—don't try to wish for too much. Be careful what you wish for. More money, more problems—that's one way to look at it, maybe the only way. So this is a really beautiful shot of the wooden structure underneath there. You can hear the banging of the hammers—construction going on, it's not that peaceful. Maybe that's why they lowered the price on a ticket—it's 400 yen or about $3.75 to get in here.

30:02 John Daub: We're on the way out, guys—that was pretty much it. I do like these walls—they're very castle-esque. If you take a look at some of the castles around Japan, you'll see these beautiful walls. There's a tree on the top of that one—that's really nice, check it out. Here's another little tea house—amazake (sweet fermented rice drink), which is kind of like sake but sweet. I love amazake, especially in the winter. Following these ladies out—get back to the shopping street, and then we got to go straight to it, take a taxi and get a move on. Now, if you're in Kyoto and visiting, asking yourself how do you get around? The answer is bus, one of the two subway lines—which is really not a lot. Usually I grab taxis because the distances aren't usually too far, and it costs maybe $25 or $30 depending on how much you want to cover. If you compare that to the time you save waiting for buses and the frustration of standing on crowded buses while they stop suddenly, it's worth taking a taxi, especially if you have a family—if you have more than three or four people, taxis are worth it.

32:01 John Daub: So I'm going to exit and then go straight to the taxi, but I will take you with me because I love you guys—down the shopping street so we can share that together. I hope the signal's doing good. There's the entrance again—we've made a full circle. You're going to see a lot of people wearing yukata—none of them are Japanese. Japanese do not wear yukata in October—they're from China or Taiwan. You have to be careful—I don't know the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese, so you have to be careful when you say China. Oh, there's a nice group photo—check it out. Wow, lots of people—this is what you can expect when you come to Kiyomizudera, a madhouse.

33:10 John Daub: I'm going to say goodbye to Kiyomizudera behind me—check it out. I'm going to turn the wide-angle lens the other way around so you can see the shopping street in full wide. There you go—what do you think? It's pretty cool when it's wide open. We're on our way down—a lot of people shouting "hai, dozo, irasshaimase" (welcome, please come in). People dressed up in yukata, a lot of people eating ice cream. There's some green tea bomb cake, matcha flavored—gotta love that. It's always kind of neat to walk down this street—they've really done a great job renovating it. Twenty years ago, not nearly as nice as it is now—it was kind of run down. But when you have an influx of tourism like we've had for the last 70 years or so—since the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake tourism died, and around 2013 it really started to boom. Now you can see tons and tons of people straight ahead—it's just such a crowd.

34:38 John Daub: Wow, there's one guy who looked like Larry David—I thought that was Larry David. That's not Larry David—he's taking a picture of the... Oh, he's taking a picture of those two tourists from China. They're saying of the Western guy taking pictures of them thinking, I wonder if he thought we were Japanese—that's so funny. The guy looked like Larry David was taking a hardcore picture without asking, just one meter away focused on those two people walking, and they're just cosplaying. I love that. I did get a chance to meet a nice guy when I was walking up here—stopped and took a picture. A lot of people are watching this show and that makes me really happy. All right, let's get to a taxi. Yeah, we're going beast mode right now—lots of university students.

36:12 John Daub: I did a live stream here last year when the new Starbucks at Ninenzaka opened up—it was really beautiful. This is a pretty nice walking experience—I love this walk. In fact, I could do a live stream just walking this and what you see left and right with the wide angle is just incredible. Oh, look at all the flavors of ice cream—that's crazy, about $3.25 for one though. In the middle is matcha—very delicious. Orderly lines with the flag. Down there on the corner is Ninenzaka—you can see it's a really beautiful alleyway. I could walk it, but I'm kind of in a hurry. Should I taxi it or walk it? All right, I got 12 minutes—maybe it's faster to walk it. This is such a beautiful place—a great place.

37:44 John Daub: Hey Jason, thank you—love your work. John, I recently joined Patreon—hey! And I would encourage others to join too. Thank you so much, Jason. Patreon's a place where I can get to know you—I can give you not just updates and information, but also advance notices and share questions and answers, which I'm going to be doing in a couple days. This is where I started the livestream on Kyoto Shopping Madness—one of the first viral videos on the Only in Japan Go channel was right here, and that was a year ago. So these steps are really famous—this is actually going to be sad because this is also where I'm saying goodbye to you. Thank you so much for the support and thank you for joining me on this trip. I'm going back to Tokyo tonight—I just had a couple minutes to show you around. I got to go now to meet somebody to finish this episode. So have a great day and great night, guys—I hope you enjoyed this. I might do another livestream at night in Kyoto if I have some time—maybe in about an hour or two, maybe two and a half hours, a night livestream from Gion. So you might want to check that out. But for now, I'll say goodbye and see you in the next livestream. Thanks everybody for supporting and hitting that like button—I'll see you next time.