Photos: ccfarmer · CC BY 3.0 · KimonBerlin · CC BY-SA 2.0 (2, 3, 5) · Nankou Oronain (as36… · CC BY-SA 3.0
At Jingo-ji's Jizō-in terrace you buy unglazed clay discs stamped 厄除 (ward off misfortune) and throw them into the Kinunkei gorge of the Kiyotaki river to cast off bad luck. Kyoto City's own leaflet calls Jingo-ji the reputed birthplace of the custom.
Why it's unique
Kawarake-nage, throwing clay discs from a height to cast off bad luck, is practised elsewhere, but a Kyoto City leaflet names Jingo-ji as the reputed place it began. That attribution is tradition, cited by the city, so confidence is held down.
The setting carries it: a terrace at the far end of a mountain temple, reached by roughly 400 stone steps, throwing out over a river gorge that in November is the reason people come.
Before you go
The throwing terrace is at the far end of the precinct past the main hall, up roughly 400 stone steps from the bus stop: budget 20 minutes and your knees. Throw from the marked spot in the marked direction. Pair it with the riverside walk to Kōzan-ji in Toganoo and Saimyō-ji in Makinoo, the "three o's" of Takao; in November the gorge is the reason people come.
Open 9:00 to 16:00; admission ¥1,000. Kawarake cost a few hundred yen for 2 to 3 (prices in blogs vary; confirm on site). JR Bus takes about 50 minutes from Kyoto Station, or take city bus 8, then a 20 minute walk up. The official site has a broken security certificate; open it over http.
