What to do in Kyoto, and what's on while you're there

Temple markets, festival processions and the sights around them, sorted by the days you have.

Updated

The map

Temples, gardens and festival days, set to your dates.

Set your dates and the map shows the festivals, markets and exhibitions on while you're here, and 314 places, from temples and shrines to gardens, markets, cafes and museums. Each one lists its nearest station, a cost band, how long to allow and the best time to go.

Save what appeals, plan your days around it, and open any stop in Google Maps. Hotels for your dates are one tap away on whichever part of the city is on screen.

Open the Kyoto travel map Browse every place as a list

Map of central Kyoto with the events coming up marked by type
The events coming up across central Kyoto. Tap the map to open it live. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenFreeMap.

Coming up

This weekend November 2026December 2026

Planning ahead:January 2027February 2027March 2027April 2027May 2027June 2027July 2027August 2027October 2027

The full events calendar

Running an event? Add it for free

Live music, the next few nights

All 164 gigs this week Live music on the map

Every gig, night by night

Neighbourhoods

Where to base yourself and where to spend an afternoon, with the best places in each and how to get there.

  • Pleasure boats moored on the Oi river below the wooded hills of Arashiyama, Kyoto Arashiyama

    Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura

    Photo: othree

  • The approach through Okazaki Park to the Otenmon gate of Heian Shrine, Kyoto Okazaki

    Art museums, Meiji gardens and Nanzen-ji along the Lake Biwa Canal

    Photo: Libra1111 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Shops under the covered sidewalks of Kawaramachi-dori in downtown Kyoto Kawaramachi

    Downtown Kyoto, between Nishiki Market and the Kamo River

    Photo: Izu navi

  • Wooden teahouses with red lanterns along Hanamikoji street in Gion, Kyoto Gion

    The teahouse streets below Yasaka Shrine, best early or at dusk

    Photo: Kentaro Ohno

  • Wooden teahouse fronts and hanging noren along the main street of Kamishichiken, Kyoto Kitano

    Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji

    Photo: Richard, enjoy my life!

  • The glass and steel atrium of Kyoto Station seen from its eastern side Kyoto Station

    Free temples and late ramen a few minutes from the platforms

    Photo: Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • A cypress bark roofed gate of the Kyoto Imperial Palace behind its gravel forecourt Imperial Palace

    Free palace walks, a park that never shuts, and the court's old shops

    Photo: Jason Riedy

  • Wooden townhouse roofs along the stone paved Ninenzaka lane in Higashiyama, Kyoto Higashiyama

    Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the temples and pottery below it

    Photo: Domenico Convertini

More neighbourhoods

All neighbourhood guides

Photo: Antonio Campoy / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Where to stay

Where to Stay in Kyoto: Kawaramachi, Gion or Kyoto Station?

Short answer: Kawaramachi for a first trip, Gion for atmosphere, Kyoto Station for short stays and day trips by train. Eight areas compared by station.

By Roam Kyoto Updated

The short answer: downtown Kawaramachi for a first visit, Gion for atmosphere, Kyoto Station for a short trip or day trips by train.

Up early for one sight? Sleep in Arashiyama for the bamboo grove or on the Higashiyama slopes for Kiyomizu-dera at 6:00, and see what's near any hotel on the map.

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