The Temple of the Heavens that Overlooks the Kyoto Valley, “Sankoji”

I left through the gate, walking on a carpet of mostly undisturbed autumn leaves.

The easiest way to get to Sankoji from Yoshimine-dera is by leaving through Yoshimine-dera’s north gate.
Traveling to Sankoji by car isn’t recommended, as the road leading to it is a steep and narrow mountain road.
On the way back, you can re-enter Yoshimine-dera through the revolving doors if you show the card you received upon entry to the intercom monitor.

You can see Yoshimine-dera’s “Jizo of Happiness” on the way to Sankoji.
The orange and red autumn leaves are so beautiful!

The walk to Sankoji from Yoshimine-dera’s revolving doors took 1-2 minutes.
In contrast to Yoshimine-dera’s grandeur, the serenity of Sankoji is incredibly peaceful.
Being here overcomes you with a strange sense of relief!

Voices reciting sutras carried into the central grounds from the main hall on the right as I passed through the temple gate.

It seems that nobody else was here to worship.

The entry fee for the main hall is 500 yen.
You can also enjoy tea or coffee while looking out over the magnificent temple view for a separate 500-yen fee, but this time I just looked around the garden since the sutra chanting was still going on in the main hall.

This is the view from the temple grounds of Kyoto and the autumn leaves. What an amazing view!

Here I found some stairs you can follow down.

Down the stairs turned out to be the best view of the autumn leaves!
You can really take in the beautiful view from down here.
I highly recommend visiting Sankoji on days where Yoshimine-dera is packed with tourists. It’s a hidden scenic spot full of natural beauty!

After leaving Sankoji, I arrived once again at Yoshimine-dera and checked out “Yoshimine-dera Shukuin.”

They encouraged me to try some fresh-baked snacks. Don’t mind if I do!

This is a senbei (rice cracker) made with beans. It was delicious, both salty and sweet! The aroma and texture were indescribably good!
I ended up buying 3 bags of it on my way out.

I had some amazake (sweet sake) with the snacks I tried.
Amazake is a traditional Japanese sweet drink, made from sake lees and malted rice.
The alcohol content of amazake is negligible, so even children can drink it.

It had a delicate sweetness, with a slight malted fragrance. Its slightly granulated texture was great too!
The amazake was great for soothing after getting tired walking around so much.