What's on in Kyoto
22 events in October 2027: 6 performances, 6 festivals, 5 illuminations, 2 exhibitions, 2 markets and 1 food event, from headline festivals to neighbourhood fairs. 20 of them are annual events whose 2027 dates are still to be confirmed, listed with their usual window.
Mild, with highs around 23°C. The Jidai Matsuri procession on 22 October ends at Heian Jingu, and the leaves start to turn at the end of the month, first on higher ground at Mount Hiei, Ohara and Takao. More on the season in Autumn colour in Kyoto.
MapWhat's on each day of October 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 嵐山月灯路
Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
The bamboo grove path is lit every evening, with a 30-metre bamboo corridor hung with 1,500 woven bamboo balls and mist drifting through the grove. In 2026 it was ¥1,500 cash at the ticket booth in the grove or ¥2,000 online, and free for 12 and under.
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 祇園甲部 温習会
Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan), 8 min walk
Gion Kobu's geiko and maiko dance the Inoue-school Kyomai handed down since the Edo period, with a different programme on each of the six days.
生誕150年 木島櫻谷
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), closed Mondays except holidays Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk
The biggest retrospective yet of the Kyoto painter best known for his animals, about 100 works with some never shown before, and the museum's first show of his work since 1987. His 1912 screen Kangetsu, a fox in the snow under a winter moon, stays on show for the whole run.
そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0 御香宮神幸祭
Station Momoyama-Goryomae (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), 1 min walk
Fushimi's nine-day autumn festival, with over a hundred stalls in the grounds. On the first evening neighbourhoods carry their decorated hanagasa umbrellas to the shrine, there's a hanagasa parade from the Otesuji arcade on the eighth, and on the last day three mikoshi go round the parish from morning to night.
ignis, CC BY-SA 3.0 KYOTO EXPERIMENT 京都国際舞台芸術祭
Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line)
Kyoto's international festival of experimental theatre, dance, music and art, held since 2010 and running for about three weeks at venues across the city. Times and tickets differ by show.
Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0 みずゑ會（宮川町）
Time 16:00, plus 13:00 at the weekend Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
Miyagawacho's geiko and maiko show the classical dances they've been practising, and the finale is Miyagawa Kouta, a song of the district through the seasons. Seats were ¥10,000 downstairs and ¥8,000 upstairs in 2026.
Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0 京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 薩摩島津家八〇〇年
Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
Heirlooms of the Shimazu, the samurai family who ruled southern Kyushu from Satsuma, marking 800 years since the death of their founder Shimazu Tadahisa. The museum says it's the first big show of the clan's treasures on Honshu, and some pieces change during the run.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 粟田神社大祭（粟田祭）
Time Yowatari from 17:00 (Sun), procession from 10:00 (Sports Day) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
Awata Shrine's festival runs over the Sports Day weekend. The Oide-matsuri is on the Saturday evening and the Yowatari night procession on the Sunday, and on Sports Day kenboko halberds, said to be the forerunners of the Gion Matsuri floats, go out ahead of the mikoshi. The main rite follows on 15 October.
京都音楽博覧会
Station Umekoji-Kyotonishi (JR Sagano Line)
The band Quruli's outdoor music festival on the lawn of Umekoji Park, held since 2007, and a one-day advance ticket was ¥13,000 for the 20th edition in 2026.
Tam0031, CC BY-SA 3.0 壬生狂言 秋の公開
Time 13:00 to 17:30 Station Omiya (Hankyu), 10 min walk
Masked players act out Buddhist tales without a word to gong, drum and flute, a 700-year-old tradition and an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The autumn run is three days over the Sports Day weekend, ¥1,000 on the day and unreserved.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0 青龍会（清水寺）
Time 14:00 to about 15:30 Station Gojozaka bus stop (City Bus 100, 206) or Kiyomizu-michi (207)
An 18-metre blue dragon leads a procession from the Oku-no-in past the Otowa waterfall and out through the gate town, then back up to the main hall, praying to protect the area from disaster. It's held three times a year, and this is the autumn one.
ito1117, CC BY-SA 3.0 Kyoto Pottery Expo（キョポ）
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last day to 16:00) Station Yamashina (JR, Tozai Line), then the fair's free loop bus or a Keihan bus
Over 100 potters, from young makers to old kilns, sell across the Kiyomizu-yaki kiln estate for three days, with food stalls too. It began in 1975 as the Kiyomizuyaki no Sato Matsuri and took its new name for the 50th edition in 2026. Entry's free and it goes ahead in the rain.
水明会（先斗町）
Time 15:30 (doors 15:00) Station Sanjo (Keihan), 5 min walk
Pontocho's geiko recital, held since 1930 and named after the clear water of the Kamo River. Reserved seats were ¥10,000 and ¥8,000 and unreserved ones ¥5,000 in 2026.
Mariemon, CC BY-SA 3.0 笠懸神事（上賀茂神社）
Time 13:00 to about 15:00 (rite 12:30) Station Kamigamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 4, 46)
Riders in warrior dress gallop down a 180-metre course on the lawn west of the approach and shoot at targets on both sides, some 40 cm square from about 5 metres away and some just above the ground. Kamigamo is the only shrine in Japan where kasagake is held as an offering, and seats were ¥1,000 (¥3,000 in the front row) in 2026.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 時代祭
Time Procession from 12:00 Station Marutamachi or Imadegawa (Karasuma Line)
About 2,000 Kyoto people in costume from the city's thousand years as capital form a 2-kilometre procession, running back in time from the Meiji Restoration to the Heian period. It leaves the Imperial Palace at 12:00 for Heian Shrine and takes about two hours to pass, there are paid seats in Kyoto Gyoen, on Oike-dori and on Jingu-michi, and rain moves it to the next day.
DavideGorla, CC BY 2.0 秋の夜間特別拝観（高台寺）
Time 9:00 to 22:00, lit from 17:00 (last entry 21:30) Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206, 207)
Kodai-ji stays open after dark through the autumn season, with the grounds lit from 17:00. One ticket covers day and night, ¥800 for adults in 2026, but you can't go back in once you've left.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 鞍馬の火祭
Time From 18:00 Station Kurama (Eizan Railway), 6 min walk
From 18:00 the bonfires stacked outside the houses of Kurama are lit, and children and then young men carry burning pine torches through the village chanting sairei, sairyo. Later Yuki Shrine's two mikoshi come down the steps and go round the village to the otabisho, where kagura and four big torches end the night.
二条城まつり
Time Light-up 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:00) Station Nijojo-mae (Tozai Line), 1 min walk
Nijo Castle's autumn festival, with a Kyoto specialty goods fair and other events by day, and an evening light-up and art show in the grounds. In 2026 the night ticket was ¥2,000 Monday to Thursday and ¥2,400 Friday to Sunday, separate from day entry, and free for junior high students and under.
Pom', CC BY-SA 2.0 紅葉雲海ライトアップ（仁和寺）
Time 18:30 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30) Station Omuro-Ninnaji (Randen Kitano Line)
Ninna-ji lights its autumn maples on Friday to Sunday and holiday evenings, with mist rolling through the grounds like a sea of clouds and music played in the garden. It was ¥2,800 in 2026, free for high school students and under.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 秋の古本まつり（百万遍知恩寺）
Station Demachiyanagi (Keihan), 10 min walk
The autumn one of Kyoto's three big used-book fairs, run in the temple grounds by the antiquarian booksellers who've belonged to the association since it began. It opens with a memorial service for books, which the organisers say is the only one in Japan, and has a charity auction and a corner of complete sets.
Daderot, CC0 1.0 紅葉ライトアップと金堂・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
To-ji lights up its autumn maples and opens the Kondo and Kodo halls, with their Buddhist statues, after dark every night of the season. It was ¥1,000 in 2026.
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 22 events listed for October 2027 (6 performances, 6 festivals, 5 illuminations, 2 exhibitions, 2 markets and 1 food event). The big dates are Konoshima Okoku: 150th Anniversary (2 Oct to 12 Dec), 800 Years of the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma (8 Oct to 5 Dec), Jidai Matsuri (22 Oct, dates to be confirmed), Nijo-jo Matsuri and Autumn Light-up (22 Oct to 5 Dec, dates to be confirmed), Autumn Cloud-sea Light-up at Ninna-ji (23 Oct to 12 Dec, dates to be confirmed) and Autumn Light-up and Night Opening at To-ji (30 Oct to 12 Dec, dates to be confirmed). 2 have confirmed dates and 20 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 October 2027, among them Shinko-sai at Gokonomiya Shrine (2 to 10 Oct, dates to be confirmed), Awata Matsuri (9 to 15 Oct, dates to be confirmed), Seiryu-e Blue Dragon Procession at Kiyomizu-dera (15 Oct, dates to be confirmed), Jidai Matsuri (22 Oct, dates to be confirmed) and Kurama Fire Festival (22 Oct, dates to be confirmed).
Yes. 5 of the 22 events listed for October 2027 are free to attend, including Shinko-sai at Gokonomiya Shrine (2 to 10 Oct, dates to be confirmed), Awata Matsuri (9 to 15 Oct, dates to be confirmed) and Jidai Matsuri (22 Oct, dates to be confirmed).
Mild, with highs around 23°C. The Jidai Matsuri procession on 22 October ends at Heian Jingu, and the leaves start to turn at the end of the month, first on higher ground at Mount Hiei, Ohara and Takao.
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.