What's on in Kyoto
19 events in August 2027: 7 festivals, 4 illuminations, 3 food events, 2 markets, 1 exhibition, 1 garden and 1 performance, from headline festivals to neighbourhood fairs. 17 of them are annual events whose 2027 dates are still to be confirmed, listed with their usual window.
The hottest month, with an average high of 34°C. On 16 August the Gozan Okuribi fires are lit on five mountains around the city, one every five minutes from 8pm, to send the ancestors' spirits back after Obon. More on the season in Kyoto early in the morning.
MapWhat's on each day of August 2027, events starting that day first. Annual events still waiting for their 2027 dates aren't listed here.
鴨川納涼床
Station Sanjo or Gion-Shijo (Keihan Line)
From 1 May the restaurants along the river in Kiyamachi, Pontocho and Saiseki serve on outdoor terraces looking across the Kamogawa to the Higashiyama hills, until 15 October. Some stop at the end of September, and breakfast, lunch and hours vary by restaurant.
Domenico Convertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 貴船の川床
Station Kibune bus stop (Kyoto Bus) from Kibuneguchi (Eizan Railway)
From May the inns and restaurants of Kibune set platforms just above the Kibune River, so you eat Kyoto cooking in the cool air of the valley with the stream running under you. About 15 places take part, and dates and hours vary by restaurant.
ギルバート＆ジョージ展
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed Mondays unless a holiday Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
Japan's first big Gilbert & George show in 30 years, from the 1969 film of their Singing Sculpture to the huge recent photo pictures. Photos and films from their 1970s visits to Japan are planned too.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 七夕風鈴まつり（平安神宮）
Time 8:30 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 10 min walk
Wind chimes hang from the Hashidono, the roofed bridge over the pond in Heian Shrine's garden, and you can write a wish on a strip for ¥300, free on 7 July and 19 August if you've paid for the garden. Garden entry is ¥600.
Manish Prabhune, CC BY 2.0 嵐山の鵜飼
Time 19:00 and 20:00 to 15 Aug, 18:30 and 19:30 from 17 Aug Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line)
Fishermen work trained cormorants on the Oi River after dark, and you watch from roofed boats alongside. Shared boats were ¥3,000 for about an hour in 2026, cash only and sold at the pier that evening, with none on 16 August, while meal and private boats are booked online.
上七軒ビアガーデン
Time 17:30 to 22:00 Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 50, 55, 203), 3 min walk
Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, turns its kaburenjo theatre into a beer garden for the summer, and geiko and maiko in matching yukata come round and hand out their senjafuda name cards. The first set of draught beer and snacks was ¥2,500 in 2026, seats are in two-hour slots, nobody under 20 gets in, and it isn't open every night, so check the closed days.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 七夕笹飾りライトアップ（貴船神社）
Time Sunset to 20:00 Station Kibuneguchi (Eizan Railway), then Kyoto Bus 33 to Kibune
Decorated tanabata bamboo branches are lit in the main shrine grounds from sunset to 20:00 every evening, and Kyoto Bus runs extra 33 buses from Kibuneguchi station while it's on.
醍醐寺万灯会
Station Daigo (Tozai Line), 10 min walk
Lanterns and paper lanterns line the approach for Daigo-ji's service for the ancestors and the spirits of the dead, and the national treasure Kondo and five-storey pagoda are lit up for the night.
Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0 五条若宮陶器祭
Time 10:00 to 21:00 Station Kiyomizu-Gojo (Keihan), 5 min walk
Potters and kilns, about 130 of them in 2026, sell along the pavements of Gojo-dori between Yamatooji and Higashioji and at Wakamiya Hachimangu. The fair ran for about a century from the Taisho era and was revived in 2023, and it goes ahead in the rain.
六道まいり（六道珍皇寺）
Time 6:00 to 22:00 Station Kiyomizu-michi bus stop (City Bus 206), 3 min walk
Before Obon, Kyoto families come to this temple at the old crossroads to the underworld to ring the mukae-gane bell and call their ancestors home, carrying sprigs of koyamaki bought from stalls on the approach.
663highland, CC BY 2.5 千日詣り（清水寺）
Time Inner sanctum 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry), on 14 to 16 Aug last entry 21:00 Station Gojozaka bus stop (City Bus 100, 206) or Kiyomizu-michi (207)
During Kiyomizu-dera's Sennichi-mairi, when one visit is said to count for a thousand days, the inner sanctum of the main hall opens to visitors, and on the last three evenings the temple stays open after dark. No booking is needed.
ito1117, CC BY-SA 3.0 盂蘭盆万灯供養会（壬生寺）
Time Sunset to 21:00 Station Omiya (Hankyu), 10 min walk
About a thousand lanterns dedicated to families' ancestors are lit in front of the main hall every evening of Obon, a service with records going back to 1153. Dedicating a lantern costs ¥2,000 the first year.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0 下鴨納涼古本まつり
Station Tadasunomori bus stop (City Bus 4, 205), 1 min walk
Secondhand booksellers set up under the trees of the Tadasu no Mori, a forest about three times the area of Tokyo Dome, with what the organisers call probably the biggest stock of old books at any fair in Japan.
Appie Verschoor, CC BY-SA 2.0 東大谷万灯会
Time 18:00 to 21:00 Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan), 15 min walk
About 10,000 lanterns, large and small, light the Higashi Otani cemetery on the hill south of Maruyama Park so families can visit their graves in the cool of the evening, with an Obon service in the main hall from 19:00.
広沢池 遍照寺灯籠流し
Time 19:00 to 21:00 Station Hirosawa Gosho-no-uchi-cho bus stop (City Bus), 5 min walk to Henjo-ji
Henjo-ji's staff float lanterns for the dead across Hirosawa pond from a boat on the night of the Okuribi, and the pond is one of the spots for watching the Toriigata bonfire. A lantern is ¥1,000 at the temple, and there's no parking.
嵐山灯籠流し
Time 19:00 to 21:00 Station Arashiyama (Hankyu), 5 min walk
Lanterns for the dead are floated on the Oi River from Nakanoshima Park on the night of the Okuribi, and the Toriigata bonfire can be seen from round Togetsukyo from 20:20. A lantern with a memorial tablet is ¥1,500, staff set it on the water for you, and high or low water can stop the floating.
京都五山送り火
Time From 20:00 Station Demachiyanagi (Keihan) for the Kamo River banks
Bonfires in the shape of characters are lit on five mountains to send the spirits of the dead back after Obon, from the Daimonji on Higashiyama at 20:00 to the Toriigata torii in Saga at 20:20. Each burns for about 30 minutes, the city dims its signs, and you'll get the classic view of the Daimonji from the Kamo River banks between Marutamachi and Misono bridges.
宵弘法（大覚寺）
Time 17:30 to 20:00 (last entry 19:30) Station Daikakuji bus stop (City Bus 28, 91), 1 min walk
Daikaku-ji sends the ancestors back with its own Saga okuribi, a service on the shore of Osawa pond at 19:00 after a short ceremony in the Godai-do. Evening entry is ¥500, separate from a daytime visit.
m-louis ., CC BY-SA 2.0 千灯供養（化野念仏寺）
Time 17:30 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30), sutras from 18:00 Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line)
On the last weekend of August, candles are lit at dusk among the temple's stone Buddhas and stupas, which local people gathered from the old Adashino burial ground in the Meiji era, for the souls nobody remembers. Sutras start at 18:00, and lanterns line the old Atago road outside on the same evenings.
Zairon, 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 19 events listed for August 2027 (7 festivals, 4 illuminations, 3 food events, 2 markets, 1 exhibition, 1 garden and 1 performance). The big dates are Gilbert & George (26 May to 29 Aug), Tanabata Light-up at Kifune Shrine (1 Jul to 15 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfires) (16 Aug, dates to be confirmed) and Lantern Floating on Hirosawa Pond (16 Aug). 2 have confirmed dates and 17 are annual events whose exact 2027 dates are still to be announced, shown with the usual window. Every listing links to the interactive map.
7 festivals are listed for August 2027, among them Rokudo Mairi at Rokudo Chinno-ji (7 to 10 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Sennichi-mairi at Kiyomizu-dera (9 to 16 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfires) (16 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Lantern Floating on Hirosawa Pond (16 Aug) and Yoi-kobo Okuribi at Daikaku-ji (20 Aug, dates to be confirmed).
Yes. 4 of the 19 events listed for August 2027 are free to attend, including Tanabata Light-up at Kifune Shrine (1 Jul to 15 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Rokudo Mairi at Rokudo Chinno-ji (7 to 10 Aug, dates to be confirmed) and Gozan Okuribi (Daimonji Bonfires) (16 Aug, dates to be confirmed).
The hottest month, with an average high of 34°C. On 16 August the Gozan Okuribi fires are lit on five mountains around the city, one every five minutes from 8pm, to send the ancestors' spirits back after Obon.
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.