What's on in Kyoto
20 events in July 2027: 6 festivals, 4 food events, 4 gardens, 2 exhibitions, 2 performances, 1 illumination and 1 market, 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.
Gion Matsuri month. The floats stand in the streets for the Yoiyama evenings (14 to 16 and 21 to 23 July) and process on 17 July from 9:00 and 24 July from 9:30. The rainy season usually ends around the 19th, and the average high is 32°C. More on the season in Kyoto early in the morning.
MapWhat's on each day of July 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 あじさい園の開園（三室戸寺）
Time 8:30 to 15:10 (gates close at 16:00) Station Mimurodo (Keihan Uji Line), 15 min walk
About 20,000 hydrangeas flower among the cedars of the temple's garden from the end of May into July. On Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 27 June the garden is lit up from 19:00 to 21:00 too, on a separate ticket.
京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 大狩野派 第2部 江戸～明治編
Time 9:00 to 17:30 (last entry 17:00), Fridays to 20:00, closed Mondays except 19 July Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
The second half of the museum's 130th-anniversary survey of the Kano painters, Japan's biggest school of artists, in the first show this size in half a century. Part 2 takes the story from the Edo period to Meiji with every work changed from Part 1. It's open to 20:00 on Fridays, and ticket prices haven't been announced yet.
kajikawa, CC BY 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 桔梗を愛でる特別拝観（天得院）
Time 9:00 to 16:00 (gate closes 16:30) Station Tofukuji (JR Nara Line, Keihan)
This Tofuku-ji subtemple opens while Chinese bellflowers flower in its Momoyama-period dry garden, purple and white against cedar moss, and you can frame them through the cusped window. Matcha and a sweet are ¥1,000 extra.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 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.
祇園祭
Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan)
Yasaka Shrine's festival takes over Kyoto for the whole of July, from the opening rites on the 1st to the purification at Eki Shrine on the 31st. The days you'll want to plan round are the float processions on 17 and 24 July and the three yoiyama evenings before each, and there are paid seats on Oike-dori for both processions.
underutilized, CC BY-SA 2.0 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 賀茂御戸代能（上賀茂神社）
Time From 18:00 Station Kamigamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 4, 46)
Kanze school noh and Okura school kyogen by firelight at Kamigamo Shrine on the evening of 1 July. The offering goes back to the dengaku and sarugaku once performed for the farmers of the rice land given to the shrine in the Nara period, and you need a ticket.
Kimon Berlin, 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.
観蓮会（法金剛院）
Time 7:30 to 12:30 (last entry 12:00) Station Hanazono (JR Sagano Line)
About 90 kinds of lotus, Oga lotus among them, flower in the pond of the temple's paradise garden, a designated scenic spot, and it opens early in the morning for the viewing.
陶器市（千本釈迦堂）
Time 10:00 to sunset Station Kamishichiken bus stop (City Bus 50)
Pottery sellers from around Japan fill the temple grounds for four days, with a handmade market alongside from 10:00 to 16:00 and a memorial service for pottery in the main hall on the 10th.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY-SA 4.0 御手洗祭（みたらし祭）
Time 9:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:30) Station Shimogamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 4, 205), 1 min walk
Around the midsummer Day of the Ox you take off your shoes, wade knee-deep through the spring water of Mitarashi pond holding a candle, then light it and offer it at the Inoue shrine to pray for a year without illness. The candle is ¥500, and the bubbles that rise in the pond are said to be the shape behind mitarashi dango.
Appie Verschoor, CC BY-SA 2.0 祇園祭 前祭宵山
Time Evenings Station Shijo (Karasuma Line) or Karasuma (Hankyu)
The floats of the first procession stand built in the streets round Shijo-Karasuma, lit by komagata lanterns with Gion-bayashi music played on top. Old townhouses in the float districts open to show their folding screens, and the float associations display their figures and tapestries.
本宮祭（伏見稲荷大社）
Time Eve rite 18:00, main rite 9:00 Station Inari (JR Nara Line), 1 min walk
On the eve, the stone lanterns and thousands of donated paper lanterns across the shrine and Inari mountain are lit, and about 400 lantern paintings by Japanese-style painters hang round the outer hall on both days. It's held on the first Sunday or holiday after the midsummer doyo begins.
Thomas CUELHO, CC BY 2.0 祇園祭 後祭山鉾巡行・花傘巡行・還幸祭
Time Floats and Hanagasa from 9:30, mikoshi from about 16:00 Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 1 min walk
The second procession, revived in 2014, leaves Karasuma-Oike at 9:30 and runs the first route the other way. The Hanagasa parade sets off from Shimogyo Junior High for the Otabisho and Yasaka Shrine, and from about 16:00 the mikoshi go back to the shrine.
火渡り祭（狸谷山不動院）
Time From 19:00 Station Ichijoji-sagarimatsu-cho bus stop (City Bus 5)
The fire festival on the fourth Saturday of July starts with a goma fire rite in the main hall, then about 20 yamabushi mountain ascetics in their robes process down to the fire-walking ground to the sound of conch shells.
鹿ケ谷カボチャ供養（安楽寺）
Time 9:00 to 15:00 Station Kinrinshako-mae bus stop (City Bus 5), 7 min walk
For about 230 years this small temple near the Philosopher's Path has served simmered Shishigatani pumpkin on 25 July, from a revelation that eating it in midsummer keeps strokes away. Entry is ¥1,000 that day with the pumpkin included, the temple's scrolls are on show, and Kyoto vegetables are sold at the gate.
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 20 events listed for July 2027 (6 festivals, 4 food events, 4 gardens, 2 exhibitions, 2 performances, 1 illumination and 1 market). The big dates are Gion Matsuri (1 to 31 Jul, dates to be confirmed), Tanabata Light-up at Kifune Shrine (1 Jul to 15 Aug, dates to be confirmed), Gion Matsuri Yoiyama (first procession) (14 to 16 Jul, dates to be confirmed) and Gion Matsuri Float Procession, Hanagasa Parade and Kanko-sai (second procession) (24 Jul, dates to be confirmed). 3 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.
6 festivals are listed for July 2027, among them Gion Matsuri (1 to 31 Jul, dates to be confirmed), Mitarashi Matsuri at Shimogamo Shrine (13 to 25 Jul, dates to be confirmed), Gion Matsuri Yoiyama (first procession) (14 to 16 Jul, dates to be confirmed), Gion Matsuri Float Procession, Hanagasa Parade and Kanko-sai (second procession) (24 Jul, dates to be confirmed) and Motomiya-sai at Fushimi Inari (24 to 25 Jul, dates to be confirmed).
Yes. 6 of the 20 events listed for July 2027 are free to attend, including Gion Matsuri (1 to 31 Jul, dates to be confirmed), Tanabata Light-up at Kifune Shrine (1 Jul to 15 Aug, dates to be confirmed) and Gion Matsuri Yoiyama (first procession) (14 to 16 Jul, dates to be confirmed).
Gion Matsuri month. The floats stand in the streets for the Yoiyama evenings (14 to 16 and 21 to 23 July) and process on 17 July from 9:00 and 24 July from 9:30. The rainy season usually ends around the 19th, and the average high is 32°C.
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.