From Kiyomizu-dera’s main stage, I followed the stone trail winding down the hillside past the Sanjunoto Pagoda to Otowa-no-taki Falls and the nearby Kiyomizudera Takinodo, where long lines of tourists queued under umbrellas to drink from the sacred streams.

Otowa-no-taki, the “Sound of Feathers Waterfall,” cascades over rocks into a pool divided into three channels, each believed to grant a specific blessing—longevity from the left stream, success in studies from the center, and love or marriage from the right—using long-handled ladles while avoiding all three to prevent greed. The falls give the temple its name, drawing pure spring water from deep underground that has flowed uninterrupted for over 1,200 years, often surrounded by the sound of chatter and clicking cameras as visitors capture the misty spray.

Kiyomizudera Takinodo refers to the waterfall approach path or nearby shrine areas leading to the falls, part of the temple’s lower grounds with stone lanterns, smaller halls, and forested paths that feel like a quieter extension of the main complex, offering spots to reflect amid the mossy rocks and dripping trees.