Ishiyama Temple in Otsu

Shiga Prefecture's stony mountain temple

Cathy Cawood Jul 12, 2014 - 1 min read

A red torii standing at the edge of a rocky cliff

Visitors throw coins onto the unusual rock formations

Many beautiful buildings stand in the temple's extensive grounds

View of the Seta River from the temple grounds

The graceful curve of a shrine roof surrounded by rocks and new maple leaves

Steps between strange rocks lead to Ishiyama-dera's elegant 12th century pagoda

Vermilion red draws the eye above a rock face

Large flat rocks are a good place to sit and enjoy the view - if they are not wet!

The fantastic rocks have a wave-like formation

A small moon viewing tower rising above tumbled rocks

Sometimes I can't believe that this amazing temple in Otsu is not just as famous as better known temples in Kyoto! A short train journey from Kyoto will take you to Ishiyama-dera, a large temple that is both beautiful and interesting. In Japanese "ishi" is "stone", and "yama" is "mountain". The small mountain the temple complex occupies has many attractions, but one of them is an unusual grey wave-like rock formation called a wollastonite. You can see many coins lying in the rock's cracks and crevices, thrown by temple visitors. There are several attractive buildings near the rock formation, including a twelfth century pagoda.

Things to Do in Shiga

Cathy Cawood @cathy.cawood

I came to Japan in 2003 to teach English. I lived in Shiga prefecture for 1 year, and it still holds a special place in my heart. I lived in Kyoto for 9 years, then moved to Machida, Tokyo in 2014 after meeting my Japanese partner. I love to take photos, and my Japan in Pictures Facebook page ha...