What's on in Kyoto
41 events in April 2027: 11 festivals, 9 exhibitions, 8 illuminations, 6 gardens, 5 performances and 2 anime and games events, from headline festivals to neighbourhood fairs. 34 of them are annual events whose 2027 dates are still to be confirmed, listed with their usual window.
Cherry blossom season. Kyoto's trees reach full bloom around 4 April on average, and Ninna-ji's late Omuro cherries peak around the middle of the month. Gion's geiko and maiko dance the Miyako Odori in April, and it's one of the two busiest times of year, so book early. More on the season in Cherry blossoms in Kyoto.
MapWhat's on each day of April 2027, events starting that day first. Annual events still waiting for their 2027 dates aren't listed here.
「円山応挙と伊藤若冲」
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Imadegawa (Karasuma Line), exit 3, 8 min walk
Okyo's Peony and Peacock (first half of the autumn period) and his Great Waterfall, over 3.6 m tall (second half), hang alongside all 50 of Jakuchu's ink panels from the great study room of Kinkaku-ji, where he shows what he could do without colour. It's closed for New Year from 27 Dec to 8 Jan.
663highland, CC BY 2.5 忍劇「NARUTO-ナルト-」
Time 19:00 on 1 and 2 February, then 15:00 and 19:00, no shows on Mondays Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan Line), right outside exit 6
A long-run Naruto ninja show with no dialogue, so you don't need any Japanese: live action, acrobatics, aerial work and projection mapping, using every bit of stage machinery in Kyoto's old kabuki theatre. It follows Naruto's boyhood story in the Hidden Leaf Village and runs from February to June.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 思考する彫刻家 ラファエル・ザルカと堀内正和（仮称）
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed Mondays except 22 March and 3 May Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
The Paris sculptor Raphaël Zarka, known for sculpture you can skate on, shown with the Kyoto-born abstract pioneer Horiuchi Masakazu through finished works, sketches, notebooks and models. Zarka is researching at Villa Kujoyama and will show new pieces made there.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 メダリスト展
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk from exit 5
An exhibition on Tsurumaikada's figure skating manga Medalist, with new illustrations drawn for it, famous scenes from the manga, sets that recreate its world and picks from the TV anime. It fills the museum's third and fourth floor galleries.
Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0 春の人形展（宝鏡寺）
Time 10:00 to 16:00 (last entry 15:30) Station Horikawa Teranouchi bus stop (City Bus 9), right by the stop
The imperial convent known as the doll temple shows dolls Emperor Komei treasured among its Kyoto dolls each spring, and the show opens on 1 March with a hina matsuri ceremony in the main hall at 11:00. Its other doll show is in November.
春の夜間特別拝観（高台寺）
Time 17:00 to 21:30 (gates close 22:00) Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206), 7 min walk
Hideyoshi's widow Nene's temple lights its garden for spring evenings: the Garyu pond and the bamboo grove past the Kasa-tei and Shigure-tei tea houses are the ones to see. You follow the same route as by day.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 夜桜ライトアップ・金堂講堂夜間特別拝観（東寺）
Time 18:00 to 21:30 (last entry 21:00) Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk, or 15 min on foot from Kyoto Station
The five-storey pagoda, Japan's tallest wooden tower, is lit with the Fuji-zakura weeping cherry beside it, and the Kondo and Kodo halls open at night. It's a 15-minute walk from Kyoto Station.
二条城桜まつり
Time 8:45 to 17:00 (last entry 16:00), light-up 18:00 to 22:00 Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), right outside the station
About 300 cherry trees of 50 kinds flower in turn through the festival. By day there's a stamp rally and a fair of Kyoto products, and the evening light-up runs on its own ticket.
Pom', CC BY-SA 2.0 醍醐寺霊宝館 春期特別展
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Daigo (Tozai Line), 12 min walk
Timed for the cherry season, the museum shows part of Daigo-ji's 100,000 treasures under a new theme each year, and you can see the cherries in its grounds too. In 2026 the theme was gold and Hideyoshi's dream, with a gold tea bowl said to be his gift.
Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0 銀閣寺 春の特別拝観 国宝東求堂
Time Tours at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:30, 14:30 and 15:30 Station Ginkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 5, 7, 203)
A guided 30-minute visit inside the main hall and the Togudo, whose four-and-a-half-mat study, Dojinsai, is seen as the starting point of tea, flower arranging and incense. Groups are capped and you can't take photos.
Reginald Pentinio, CC BY 2.0 北野をどり
Time 14:00 and 16:30 (doors open an hour before) Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 50, 51, 55, 203), 3 min walk
Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, opens the spring dance season in the Kamishichiken Kaburenjo, a Japanese-style theatre that's not normally open to the public. Each show runs about 90 minutes.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 春の特別公開 宝物館（東寺）
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk, or 15 min on foot from Kyoto Station
The treasure hall opens for a spring exhibition from To-ji's collection, built round a new theme each year. In 2026 it was To-ji in the Muromachi period, with its estates and documents.
桜ライトアップ（円山公園）
Time 18:00 to 22:00 Station Gion bus stop (City Bus 206), right by the stop
The park's big weeping cherry, Gion no Yozakura, is lit every evening through the blossom. The tree is the second generation, tended by the 16th Sano Toemon.
lienyuan lee, CC BY 3.0 知恩院 春のライトアップ
Time 17:45 to 21:30 (last entry 21:00) Station Chion-in-mae bus stop (City Bus 206), 5 min walk
The National Treasure Sanmon gate, one of Japan's largest wooden two-storey gates, and the Yuzen-en garden are lit for the cherry season.
Christian Kadluba, CC BY-SA 2.0 春の特別拝観（相国寺）
Time 10:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00) Station Imadegawa (Karasuma Line), 8 min walk
The Hatto hall opens with Kano Mitsunobu's crying dragon painted on its ceiling, along with the abbot's quarters and the founder's hall.
663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0 祇園白川宵桜ライトアップ
Time 18:00 to 22:00 Station Gion bus stop (City Bus 206), 5 min walk
The cherries over the Shirakawa canal are lit from Kawabata-dori to Tatsumi bridge, about 220 m, with lanterns along the lane past the old teahouses.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 清水寺 春の夜間特別拝観
Time Open to 21:30 (last entry 21:00) Station Gojozaka bus stop (City Bus 100, 206) or Kiyomizu-michi (City Bus 207)
The temple stays open to 21:30 while its 1,500 or so cherries are out, and a blue beam of light from the grounds shines out over the city. No booking needed.
ito1117, CC BY-SA 3.0 御室花まつり（仁和寺）
Time 8:30 to 17:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Omuro-Ninnaji (Randen), about 3 min walk
Ninna-ji's Omuro cherries, a protected Place of Scenic Beauty, are at their best in early to mid April, with azaleas and then new maple leaves after them. The grounds charge a special entry fee during the festival.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 京都府庁旧本館 観桜祭
Time 10:00 to 17:00, light-up 18:00 to 20:00 to 5 April Station Marutamachi (Karasuma Line), 10 min walk
Seven cherries fill the courtyard of the old prefectural office, an Important Cultural Property, among them a grandchild of Maruyama Park's first weeping cherry and the rare Katamori-zakura. It's lit up in the evenings for the first week.
J o, CC BY-SA 3.0 都をどり
Time 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30 daily (the 12:30 show on 23 and 24 April is booked out) Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan Line), about 8 min walk from exit 6
Gion Kobu's geiko and maiko dance through the four seasons in one act without the curtain once coming down, with geiko singing and playing shamisen on one side of the stage and maiko on flutes and drums on the other. The ¥8,000 ticket includes tea, served from an hour before the show.
春季 伽藍内特別公開（法然院）
Time 9:30 to 16:00 Station Kinrin-shako-mae bus stop (City Bus 5)
The temple's buildings, normally closed, open for a week in spring (and again in autumn), when the three famous camellias in the inner garden are out.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 桜ライトアップ（京都府立植物園）
Time 17:30 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30) Station Kitayama (Karasuma Line), right outside the station
Five evenings when the gardens' cherries are lit and you can walk the big grounds after dark.
Tatters ✾, CC BY-SA 2.0 青龍会（清水寺）
Time About 14:00 to 15:30 Station Gojozaka bus stop (City Bus 100, 206) or Kiyomizu-michi (City Bus 207)
An 18 m blue dragon leads a procession in ceremonial robes from the Okunoin past the Otowa waterfall and down into the shops of the approach, then back up through the Niomon gate to the main hall. You can watch it free from the street.
ito1117, CC BY-SA 3.0 京おどり
Time 13:00 and 16:00, about an hour each Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan Line), 7 min walk
Miyagawacho's spring dances, written new each year, end with every geiko and maiko in the district on stage for the Miyagawa Ondo. Both ticket types include tea.
Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0 嵯峨大念佛狂言 春季公演（清凉寺）
Time From 13:30 Station Saga-Shakado-mae bus stop (City Bus 28), 2 min walk
Masked plays without words, performed by the Saga Dainembutsu Kyogen preservation society on the kyogen stage at Seiryo-ji, one of Kyoto's three nembutsu kyogen. Free to watch, rain or shine.
Mti, CC BY-SA 3.0 鞍馬山の花供養
Station Kurama (Eizan Railway), 30 min walk up the mountain or by cable car
Eight days in mid April when the mountain's unzu-zakura cherries flower, later than in the city, and flowers, tea, music and dance are offered at the main hall.
つつじ園の開園（三室戸寺）
Time 8:30 to 15:10 Station Mimurodo (Keihan Uji Line), 15 min walk
About 20,000 Hirado azaleas in purple, pink and white cover the slopes of the temple garden, usually at their best around Golden Week. The Kurume azalea garden, with about 10,000 bushes in four colours, opens a week earlier, from 10 to 25 April.
桜花祭（平野神社）
Time Rite 10:00, procession 13:00, back about 15:00 Station Kinugasako-mae bus stop (City Bus 50, 205), 3 min walk
A procession of about 200 people in period costume, weaving maidens and a column of court poets among them, leaves the shrine at 13:00 and tours the neighbourhood. It's held on 10 April every year.
lienyuan lee, CC BY 3.0 やすらい祭（今宮神社）
Time Processions arrive at the shrine about 14:00 Station Imamiya-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 46), right by the stop
Demons in red with wild red or black hair dance through the streets with bells and drums to calm the sickness spirits of spring. Step under the big flower parasol and you're said to be safe from illness for a year.
Torsodog, CC BY 3.0 吉野太夫追善花供養（常照寺）
Time 9:00 to 15:00 Station Takagamine Genkoan-mae bus stop (City Bus Kita 1), 2 min walk
A tayu courtesan in full costume walks from the gate to the main hall in memory of the Shimabara courtesan Yoshino Tayu, followed by a tea offering and music. You need a tea ticket (¥7,000), sold in advance only.
賀茂曲水宴（上賀茂神社）
Time From 13:00 Station Kamigamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 4), right by the stop
Poets in Heian court dress compose waka on the spot by the stream in the Shokeien garden, on a theme set by the previous year's Aoi Matsuri princess, with music and recitation. Viewing is paid.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 例祭・例祭翌日祭（平安神宮）
Time From 10:00 Station Okazaki Koen Bijutsukan Heian-jingu-mae bus stop (City Bus 5), 5 min walk
The shrine's main festival on 15 April, and on the 16th a stage in front of the Daigokuden hall has kagura, bugaku court dance and dances by geiko and maiko. Free to watch.
Manish Prabhune, CC BY 2.0 瑠璃光院 春の特別公開
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Yase-Hieizanguchi (Eizan Railway)
The villa-style temple in Yase opens for spring, and the new maple leaves reflect in the polished desk tops.
KYOTOGRAPHIE 京都国際写真祭 2027
Time Hours and closing days vary by venue Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line)
A month of photography shows in machiya, galleries, museums and temples around the city, in exhibition spaces designed with architects and craftspeople. The 2027 theme, artists and venues are still to be announced.
御忌大会・ミッドナイト念仏in御忌（知恩院）
Time Midnight Nembutsu 20:00 on 18 April to 7:00 on the 19th Station Chion-in-mae bus stop (City Bus 206), 5 min walk
A week of memorial services for Honen, the temple's most important. On the first night the upper floor of the Sanmon gate opens from 20:00 to 7:00 and anyone can join the all-night chanting, beating a wooden fish drum.
Christian Kadluba, CC BY-SA 2.0 稲荷祭（伏見稲荷大社）
Time Departure 14:00 on 18 April, return 14:00 to 16:00 on 3 May Station Inari (JR Nara Line), right outside the station
The shrine's five mikoshi leave at 14:00 on the Sunday nearest 20 April for the otabisho in Nishikujo, southwest of Kyoto Station, and come home on 3 May with 30-odd decorated vehicles in the procession, stopping at To-ji on the way.
Thomas CUELHO, CC BY 2.0 松尾祭 神幸祭・還幸祭（松尾大社）
Time Departure 11:00 on 25 April, return through the day on 16 May Station Matsuo-taisha-mae bus stop (City Bus 28), right by the stop
The shrine's mikoshi leave at 11:00 on a Sunday in late April, stop on the Katsura riverbank and spend three weeks at their otabisho in Nishishichijo before the return procession.
KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0 五重塔初層特別公開（東寺）
Time 8:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk, or 15 min on foot from Kyoto Station
A month when you can step inside the ground floor of the five-storey pagoda: the central pillar stands for Dainichi Nyorai, with four Buddhas, eight bodhisattvas and mandalas painted on the pillars around it.
新緑ライトアップ（東寺）
Time 18:00 to 21:30 (last entry 21:00) Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk, or 15 min on foot from Kyoto Station
A second spring light-up over Golden Week, with the new leaves lit and the Kondo and Kodo halls open after dark.
曲水の宴（城南宮）
Time 15:00 to about 15:50 Station Takeda (Karasuma Line, Kintetsu Kyoto Line), about 15 min walk
Poets in Heian court dress write waka by a winding stream in the shrine garden while cups of sake float past on trays shaped like mandarin ducks. Seats are by advance application by return postcard, opening in early March.
663highland, CC BY 2.5 壬生大念佛狂言 春の公開
Time 13:00 to 17:30, and 18:30 to 21:30 on 5 May Station Mibudera-michi bus stop (City Bus 26, 28)
Masked plays with no words, only gongs, drums and flute, performed by the temple's lay association for 700 years. Each day opens with Horokuwari, where a tower of the plates people wrote wishes on at Setsubun is pushed off the stage to smash.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0 1000market（サウザンドマーケット）
Time 9:00 to 16:00 Station Gojozaka bus stop (City Bus 100, 206) or Kiyomizu-michi (207)
Kiyomizu-dera's own market on the 28th, the Fudo-son fair day, in the square in front of the gate, which you can walk into without a ticket. It started in April 2022 around traditional crafts, the environment and cutting food waste, and the stallholders are posted on Instagram.
ito1117, CC BY-SA 3.0 ガラクタ市（東寺）
Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk
To-ji's smaller monthly market of antiques and handmade goods, held on the first Sunday rather than the big Kobo-ichi on the 21st.
平安蚤の市
Time 9:00 to 16:00 Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 10 min walk
More than 100 dealers in antiques and secondhand goods set up in Okazaki Park in front of Heian Shrine. Dates move from month to month and are often weekdays, and rain or storms cancel it, with the call posted the afternoon before.
Manish Prabhune, CC BY 2.0 平安楽市
Time 10:00 to 16:00 Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 10 min walk
A market of makers' own crafts and snacks in Okazaki Park, about once a month on dates the organiser posts, often on a weekday. In 2026 there was none in September or October, and the August one ran from 16:00 to 20:00.
Manish Prabhune, CC BY 2.0 百万遍さんの手づくり市
Time 8:00 to 16:00 Station Hyakumanben bus stop (City Bus 206), 1 min walk
Makers sell their own crafts, ceramics, clothes and food in Chion-ji's grounds on the 15th of each month. Places are allotted by lottery among applicants, and it runs in the rain.
Daderot, CC0 1.0 上賀茂手づくり市
Time 9:00 to 15:00 Station Kamigamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 4)
Stalls line the Nara-no-ogawa stream in Kamigamo Shrine's grounds, and everything is made by the seller, from jewellery, clothes and pottery to vegetables, baked sweets and bread. Check the organiser's dates, since a month with five Sundays can catch people out.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 天神市（北野天満宮）
Time 7:00 to sunset Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus), 1 min walk
Kitano Tenmangu's market on the 25th, the date tied to Sugawara no Michizane's birth and death, is Kyoto's other big fair alongside To-ji's, strong on antiques, old tools and secondhand clothes. On market days the shrine buildings are lit after dark.
z tanuki, CC BY 3.0 弘法市（東寺）
Time About 5:00 to 16:00 Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk
On the 21st of every month, Kukai's memorial day, about 1,200 to 1,300 stalls fill To-ji's grounds with antiques, old kimono and secondhand odds and ends, and about 200,000 people come. Most stallholders are dealers with shops elsewhere, it goes ahead in the rain, and stalls open from about 5:00, so come early if you're hunting for something.
京都アンティークフェア
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last day to 16:00) Station Takeda (Karasuma Line, Kintetsu Kyoto Line), then the free shuttle bus from west exit 4
Over 300 dealers from all over Japan sell antiques and old art, furniture, paintings, Asian goods and Western antiques under one roof at Pulse Plaza, so the weather doesn't matter. Entry is free, and a free shuttle bus runs from Takeda Station.
天神市（北野天満宮）
Time All day, lanterns lit from sunset Station Kitano-Hakubaicho (Randen Kitano Line), 5 min walk
The 25th is Kitano Tenmangu's monthly fair day, and stalls line the approach all day. From sunset the shrine lights its 350 stone and 250 hanging lanterns, and 25 January and 25 December are the busiest of the year, with about a thousand stalls.
z tanuki, CC BY 3.0 弘法市（東寺）
Time 7:00 to 15:30 Station Toji (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 6 min walk
Over 1,000 stalls fill To-ji on the 21st of every month, Kobo Daishi's memorial day, selling antiques, old tools, secondhand clothes and food to about 200,000 visitors. It runs in the rain, and the January market is Hatsu-Kobo.
梅小路公園手づくり市
Time 9:00 to 16:00 Station Umekoji-Kyotonishi (JR Sagano Line)
The sister market of the Hyakumanben one, with makers' stalls in Umekoji Park, and unlike at the temple you can bring a dog. It goes ahead in the rain.
Tam0031, CC BY-SA 3.0 梅小路公園手づくり市
Time 9:00 to 16:00 Station Umekoji-Kyotonishi (JR Sagano Line), 1 min walk
The sister market of Chion-ji's, run by the same team, sets up in Umekoji Park on the first Saturday of the month, with crafts and food sold by the people who made them. In May it joins the park's Green Fair on 3 and 4 May instead.
Tam0031, CC BY-SA 3.0 There are 41 events listed for April 2027 (11 festivals, 9 exhibitions, 8 illuminations, 6 gardens, 5 performances and 2 anime and games events). The big dates are Cherry Blossom Light-up at Kyoto Botanical Gardens (1 to 5 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Miyako Odori (1 to 30 Apr), Okasai Cherry Blossom Festival at Hirano Shrine (10 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Azalea Gardens at Mimuroto-ji (10 Apr to 9 May), Yasurai Matsuri at Imamiya Shrine (11 Apr, dates to be confirmed) and Fresh Green Light-up at To-ji (28 Apr to 10 May, dates to be confirmed). 7 have confirmed dates and 34 are annual events whose exact 2027 dates are still to be announced, shown with the usual window. Every listing links to the interactive map.
11 festivals are listed for April 2027, among them Okasai Cherry Blossom Festival at Hirano Shrine (10 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Yasurai Matsuri at Imamiya Shrine (11 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Kamo Kyokusui no En Poetry Party (11 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Heian Jingu Annual Festival (15 to 16 Apr, dates to be confirmed) and Inari Matsuri (18 Apr to 3 May, dates to be confirmed).
Yes. 9 of the 41 events listed for April 2027 are free to attend, including Cherry Blossom Light-up at Maruyama Park (24 Mar to 8 Apr, dates to be confirmed), Gion Shirakawa Cherry Blossom Light-up (27 Mar to 5 Apr, dates to be confirmed) and Yasurai Matsuri at Imamiya Shrine (11 Apr, dates to be confirmed).
Cherry blossom season. Kyoto's trees reach full bloom around 4 April on average, and Ninna-ji's late Omuro cherries peak around the middle of the month. Gion's geiko and maiko dance the Miyako Odori in April, and it's one of the two busiest times of year, so book early.
Dated events are checked against the organiser's own page, and finished events drop off the page on their own. Annual events further out carry their usual dates until the official ones are published.