Temple · Tennoji

Kiyomizu-dera (Osaka) 清水寺（大阪）

Osaka's little-known answer to Kyotos Kiyomizu: a wooden stage jutting from a hillside in the Tennoji temple town with a view to Tsutenkaku, and the city's only natural waterfall, Tamade-no-taki.

About

This Tendai temple on the Uemachi ridge in Tennoji was modelled on Kyotos Kiyomizu-dera, and although much smaller, it has the same signature feature: a wooden butai (stage) built out over the slope, rebuilt after the war. From it you look west over the rooftops of Shinsekai to Tsutenkaku and, at sunset, toward the sea, which once made the area famous as the "Yuhigaoka" (sunset hill). Below the stage, a short path leads down to Tamade-no-taki, a thin waterfall from a spring in the plateau that is considered the only natural waterfall in Osaka city, and where ascetics still stand under the water. With no entry fee and few visitors, it is one of the best-kept secrets of the temple district.

Highlights

• Wooden stage with views to Tsutenkaku and the western sky
• Tamade-no-taki, the only natural waterfall in Osaka city
• Quiet hillside cemetery and slopes of the old Yuhigaoka
• Free and rarely crowded

Tips

• Come in the late afternoon for the sunset over Shinsekai, the reason the area was called Yuhigaoka.
• Pair with Isshinji, Aizendo and Shitennoji on a temple-town walk.
• The waterfall path is steep and uneven; wear proper shoes.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Isshinji TempleTemple · 240 m away
• Aizendo Shoman-inTemple · 250 m away
• Kuchinawazaka SlopePhoto Spot · 440 m away
• Tower Knives OsakaUnique Store · 480 m away
• ShitennojiTemple · 480 m away
• ShinsekaiLandmark & Tower · 490 m away
• Coin Lockers · Ebisucho StationLuggage Storage · 530 m away
• Tsutenkaku TowerLandmark & Tower · 550 m away