The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage is the oldest pilgrimage in Japan. The pilgrimage is the journey to visit 33 Buddhist temples throughout Kansai and was started about 1300 years ago. The traditional clothing for pilgrims is white robe called Hakui. When we go to the temples, we can see some people wearing hakui. But more than 90% visitors currently wear ordinary clothing and use cars, buses or trains to visit. Visitors record their progress with a prayer book, which the temple staff marks with red stamps and Japanese calligraphy indicating the temple number, the temple name, and so on.
Yoshimine temple is on the hillside and has a huge site. We can go to the temple from JR Mukomachi by bus. It takes about 30 minutes. There are some small temples and a place to get great view of Kyoto in the site. You could also experience a short hiking about 40 minutes in the site.
The picture above is the main gate of Yoshimine Temple.
The picture below is the main temple set up Kannon.
