The temple is set on the side of a mountain overlooking Lake Biwa. It has a beautiful Japanese maple tree lined path to the main temple. They have night illumination during momiji season.

Excellent mix of the Buddhist temple, building, and Japanese garden, with large yard- its beauty in Spring and Fall seasons. Any visitors who want to see cherry blossom, Ishiyamadera Temple is one of the top choices in greater Kyoto area, because it is NOT known to many foreign tourists who generally stay inside Kyoto city limit. Not crowded with noisy foreign tourists, it is a perfect place to enjoy Buddhism serenity and beauty, while it does develop and expand its garden area year by year in recent few years. While most of famous temples in Kyoto area are generally crowded with tourists who may not have a fun or real visiting experience, Ishiyamadera Temple can offer a peaceful refugee for the tourists who can visit the temple easily by taking Kyoto subway [or take Keihan train at Tokyo City Hall and transfer at Otsu Station] and transfer to another commuter train and get off at the last stop. Just a few minutes of short walking along the river, visitors can reach the temple. Because some of the temple halls are located at mountain area, mountain climb is essential, and temple does offer wood stick or cane for the seniors who may need them as mountain climbing assistant tools. There is NO food stand or store inside the temple area, but there are a few gift shops and food stores in front of the gate area, and price is relatively reasonable. Tourists may visit Ishiyamadera Temple with Mii-Dera Temple together when both temples can be reached by the same train, although Mii-Dera Temple does require longer walking distance for the tourists from the train station.

(Trip was made back then on 24 Nov 2019, 2 years before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit) Was really looking forward to visiting the autumn foliage at Ishiyama-dera Temple. The entrance to the temple was simply breathtaking. Unfortunately by the time we arrived the season was reaching it’s end, but thankfully most of the trees have yet to shed their leaves and we’re able to witness the beautiful sight. The temple is the 13th holy site of the Saikoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the pilgrimage of 33 Temples dedicated to Kannon (Guan Yin) dotted around the Saikoku (Kansai) region. It is also known for their autumn leaves. The temple ground is covered in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow, eliciting a sense of warmth and comfort amidst the chilling autumn air. We immersed ourselves in its beauty that we nearly lost track of time (spent almost 4 hours there). Am very grateful that we got to experience and appreciate the beauty. Would definitely revisit if we had the chance.

It’s great place to visit for momiji They have lantern festival at night Closest station is ishiyamadera keihan line. Entrance fee quite affordable compared to similar places. I suggest you to bring baby carrier instead of stroller if you want to visit with your baby. P.s : all photos are unedited.

Very nice view in Autumn. Many momichi trees are turning into red or red brown around the temple. There are a lot of buildings on the hill and beautiful places for hiking or walking.

I went there on a weekday and thought it was a different temple because there were only a handful of people inside. And because of that I had a wonderful and serene experience.

Today was the last day of autumn lighting. Lucky we 😀 as finally made it here.

Last Wednesday ( March 4) I visited the Ishiyama-dera in Ōtsu, Shiga - Japan. It is one of the many hot-spots for plum blossom viewing. In front of some of the many sub-temples are small plum bonsai trees with pink and white blossoms. A life further up on the slopes of the mountain is a small plum orchard. Another attraction to this temple is the "Wollastonite Natural Monument", from which the name "Ishiyama" ("stone mountain") is derived. At the "Genji Booth" next to the Hon-dō, a Statue of "Lady Murasaki Shikibu" near to the Kodō hall. The "The Tale of Genji," one of Japan's most famous texts, conceived by its author Murasaki Shikibu when looking at harvest moon reflected in Lake Biwa during a stay at Ishiyama-dera Temple. Lots to enjoy here, the precincts are quite expansive, and one can enjoy the quietness of a rural mountain setting here.

“Haven’t I been to enough temples?” You say. But this one has something special (don’t they all). This one you can get lost at. No, really. The grounds were super big, and I took a lot longer than expected (over an hour) to explore a lot of it. Didn’t even get to all before it got dark. The signs were also mainly only in Japanese. Also, even if you missed the light-up autumn leaves they do at the end of November, you may still catch some beautiful red maple leaves in December. Make sure to find the statue of Murasaki Shikibu and the little waterfall among the winding paths. This temple is very easy to get to. From the Keihin Ishiyama-dera railway station, just go straight following the arrows.

Large impressive temple that costs 600 yen to enter. Looks like it would be busy during fall due to the sheer number of maple trees on the area. Site is slightly hilly for those who want to know

Visiting the temple in the morning is the best thing you can do - it's calm, relaxing, and not filled with tourists. Locals are very friendly, telling you more about the area, the history, even helping you translate the old texts in the fortunes. Highly recommended.

Beautiful rock formations throughout but the autumn leaves viewing is one of the best and well worth a visit. It’s very popular with the Japanese for a truly authentic visit.

beautiful temple with careful arranged garden. great memory visiting here. save one star for next visiting

Big temple with a lot to see. There is some climbing involved to see everything.

Nice place. Good place for one who like pagoda.