What's on in Kyoto

Things to do in Kyoto this weekend

Friday 16 October to Sunday 18 October

22 events across the weekend (8 exhibitions, 3 performances, 3 festivals, 2 anime and games events, 2 illuminations, 2 gardens and 2 markets). 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.

Map

On this weekend

Anime and games On now ¥

The Children Who Grew Up with Manga: 40 Years of Manga Culture in Europe

「Mangaと育った子どもたち：ヨーロッパにおけるManga文化の40年」展

17 Sept to 19 Jan Kyoto International Manga Museum, Shijo-Karasuma

Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 2 min walk

How Japanese manga was translated, read, criticised and taken up over 40 years in France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Germany, ending with work by Europeans who grew up on it and now draw manga themselves. It's included in the museum ticket, and the museum is closed on Wednesdays.

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The former school building of the Kyoto International Manga Museum behind its lawn

ESU, CC BY 3.0

Exhibition On now ¥1,000

Daitoku-ji Juko-in 460th Anniversary Special Opening

大徳寺聚光院開創460年特別公開

18 Sept to 6 Dec Juko-in, Daitoku-ji, Kitano

Time 9:30 to 15:30 (last entry) Station Daitokuji-mae bus stop (City Bus 1, 204, 205, 206), 5 min walk

Sen no Rikyu's family temple at Daitoku-ji opens for the first time in about three and a half years, with copies of the National Treasure wall paintings by Kano Eitoku and his father Shoei, Senju Hiroshi's waterfall panels and the tea room Kan'in-seki. It's cash only, preschool children can't enter, and it's closed on 14, 16 to 18, 27 and 28 Oct and 21, 22 and 27 to 29 Nov.

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A raked gravel garden with a moss island at Ryogen-in, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji

Eric Salard, CC BY-SA 2.0

Exhibition On now ¥1,500

Shapes of Love: The Lost Shunga Scroll Chigo no Soshi

「愛のカタチ－幻の春画《稚児草紙》公開－」

19 Sept to 17 Jan Fukuda Art Museum, Arashiyama

Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 4 min walk

The museum shows the early 14th-century Chigo no Soshi scroll in public for the first time, with painted shunga by Tsukioka Settei and others, Hokusai's Nami Chidori, made in his 70s, and paintings about love by Uemura Shoen and Kaburaki Kiyokata. Nobody under 18 is admitted, and you may be asked for photo ID.

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The glass and dark steel front of the Fukuda Art Museum in Arashiyama, with its name plate on the stone wall

運動会プロテインパワー, CC BY-SA 4.0

Exhibition On now ¥1,800

Kan'ei: Beauty Nurtured by Peace

特別展「寛永太平がはぐくむ美」

19 Sept to 15 Nov Museum of Kyoto, Shijo-Karasuma

Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays to 19:30 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Karasuma Oike (Karasuma Line, Tozai Line), 3 min walk

Marking 400 years since Emperor Go-Mizunoo's visit to Nijo Castle, the museum shows the Kan'ei culture of Hon'ami Koetsu, Tawaraya Sotatsu and Nonomura Ninsei, with scrolls and screens of the imperial procession and a Kano Sanraku hawk painting from Nijo Castle. It's closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct) and 13 Oct, and the ticket covers the permanent galleries too.

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The red brick annex of the Museum of Kyoto, a former bank building on Sanjo-dori

Photograph by Mike Peel www.mikepeel.net., CC BY-SA 4.0

Exhibition On now ¥1,800

Yamaga Seika: Textile Artist of Soaring Imagination

特別展生誕140年記念染織家山鹿清華宙翔ぶイマジネーション

19 Sept to 20 Dec Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Okazaki

Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk

The first retrospective in 40 years of Yamaga Seika, who designed, chose the thread and wove his own tapestries, from Gion Matsuri float hangings to wall pieces showing locomotives, rockets and Tokyo Tower. It's closed on Mondays unless they're holidays.

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The 1930s facade of the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art in Okazaki

そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0

Exhibition On now ¥1,000

Shokoku-ji Autumn Special Opening

相国寺秋の特別拝観

26 Sept to 15 Dec Shokoku-ji, Imperial Palace

Time 10:00 to 16:00 Station Imadegawa (Karasuma Line)

Shokoku-ji opens its Hatto, the oldest surviving Dharma hall in Japan, along with the abbot's quarters and the founder's hall. Look up at the 'crying dragon' Kano Mitsunobu painted on the Hatto ceiling. It's closed for services from 18 to 21 Oct.

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The Dharma Hall of Shokoku-ji at the end of a paved path lined with pines

663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0

Illumination On now ¥1,500

Arashiyama Tsukitouro Bamboo Light-up

嵐山月灯路 Arashiyama Bamboo Light-up

30 Sept to 8 Nov Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Arashiyama

Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk

Bamboo lanterns, some made by local residents in workshops, line the Bamboo Grove path and about 1 km of lit walkways. At the gate it's ¥1,500 in cash, online tickets with guaranteed entry cost ¥2,000, and children 12 and under go free.

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The walking path through the tall green stalks of the Arashiyama bamboo grove

dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0

Garden On now ¥2,000

Rurikoin Autumn Special Opening

瑠璃光院 2026年秋の特別拝観

1 Oct to 13 Dec Rurikoin, Yase

Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Yase-Hieizanguchi (Eizan Railway), 10 min walk

Rurikoin, at the foot of Mount Hiei in Yase, opens for the autumn season and gets very busy. From 13 Nov to 6 Dec you have to book ahead on the temple's site, and junior and senior high school students pay ¥1,000.

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Garden On now ¥700

Hogon-in Autumn Opening and Night Viewing

宝厳院秋の特別拝観・夜間特別拝観

3 Oct to 6 Dec Hogon-in, Arashiyama

Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:45), night viewing from 13 Nov 17:30 to 20:30 (last entry 20:00) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 3 min walk

This Tenryu-ji sub-temple opens its Shishiku garden, which borrows Arashiyama as a backdrop, round a lion-shaped rock under heavy maples, and for an extra ¥500 you can see Tamura Noriko's paintings in the main hall. From 13 Nov the garden is also lit at night (17:30 to 20:30, ¥1,000).

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The great mossy lion rock in the Shishiku garden of Hogon-in, with a bamboo railed path in front

663highland, CC BY 2.5

Performance On now ¥¥

KYOTO EXPERIMENT 2026

KYOTO EXPERIMENT 京都国際舞台芸術祭 2026

3 to 25 Oct ROHM Theatre Kyoto and other venues, Okazaki

Kyoto's international performing arts festival brings experimental theatre, dance and music from around the world to ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kyoto Art Center and other stages. Times and ticket prices vary by programme.

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The modernist exterior of ROHM Theatre Kyoto in Okazaki under a clear blue sky

Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0

Anime and games On now ¥1,900

Zen and Ghibli

「禅とジブリ」京都展

3 Oct to 6 Dec Higashiyama Cube, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Okazaki

Time 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30) Station Higashiyama (Tozai Line), 8 min walk

Built on producer Suzuki Toshio's book of conversations with Zen monks, this hands-on show looks at Ghibli films through a Zen eye, set in the world of Miyazaki Hayao's The Boy and the Heron. It's closed on Mondays unless they're holidays, and numbered entry tickets may be handed out when it's crowded.

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そらみみ, CC BY-SA 3.0

Exhibition On now ¥2,200

The Tale of Genji: Radiance of the Heian Court

特別展源氏物語王朝のかがやき

6 Oct to 29 Nov Kyoto National Museum, Higashiyama

Time 9:00 to 17:30, Fridays to 20:00 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk

The Kyoto National Museum's first Tale of Genji exhibition in about 50 years shows paintings, crafts, manuscripts and commentaries, about 250 works across its Kyoto and Tokyo runs, including the Aobyoshi-bon text edited by Fujiwara no Teika and the scattered 'phantom' Moriyasu Genji scroll. The display changes on 3 Nov, and the museum is closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct and 23 Nov), 13 Oct and 24 Nov.

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The Meiji era brick facade of the Kyoto National Museum's original building

kajikawa, CC BY 3.0

Exhibition On now ¥800

Daikaku-ji Shinden Special Opening for the Kan'ei Visit's 400th Year

寛永行幸400年記念・宸殿特別拝観

9 Oct to 7 Dec Daikaku-ji, Arashiyama

Time 9:00 to 16:50 (last entry 16:30) Station Daikakuji bus stop (City Bus 28, 91)

Daikaku-ji lets you inside the Peony Room of its Shinden, the hall Empress Tofukumon'in lived in, to see Kano Sanraku's peony paintings up close. It's included in the normal ¥800 entry, and the autumn treasure show runs alongside for an extra ¥500.

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The vermilion Shingyo Hoto pagoda of Daikaku-ji reflected in a pond in Kyoto

m-louis ., CC BY-SA 2.0

Illumination On now ¥750

Kyoto City Zoo Autumn Night Opening

京都市動物園秋の夜間開園

10 Oct to 7 Nov Kyoto City Zoo, Okazaki

Time 10 to 12, 17, 24 and 31 Oct and 7 Nov, open to 20:00 (last entry 19:30) Station Keage (Tozai Line), 7 min walk

On seven autumn days the zoo stays open until 20:00 and is lit after dark, with keeper talks at 17:30, 18:00 and 18:30 and an outdoor film at 19:00 from 12 Oct. Entry is the usual ¥750, free for junior high school students and younger, and gorillas, monkeys and some birds aren't on show at night.

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The entrance building of Kyoto City Zoo with its lettering, Okazaki, Kyoto

inunami, CC BY 2.0

Performance Starts in 3 days ¥5,000 to ¥10,000

Pontocho Suimeikai Dance Recital

第111回水明会

15 to 20 Oct Pontocho Kaburenjo, Kawaramachi

Time 15:30 (doors 15:00) Station Sanjo (Keihan), 5 min walk

Pontocho's geiko have staged this dance recital since 1930, named after the clear water of the Kamo River, with tokiwazu, kiyomoto and nagauta pieces. Reserved seats are ¥10,000 or ¥8,000 and unreserved ones ¥5,000.

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The brick Pontocho Kaburenjo theatre seen from the Kamo River bank, its green tiled roofs above the riverside path

Mariemon, CC BY-SA 3.0

Performance Starts in 4 days ¥9,000

Grand Sumo Tournament Kyoto

大相撲京都場所

16 Oct Nisshin Denki Arena Kyoto (Kyoto City Gymnasium), Nishikyogoku

Time 9:00 to 15:00 (top-division bouts from 13:30) Station Nishikyogoku (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 8 min walk

Sumo's touring show comes back to Kyoto for one day, its first visit in about two years. Doors open at 9:00 for open practice and questions to the wrestlers, lower-division bouts, comic sumo and drumming start at noon, and the top division's ring-entering ceremonies and bouts run from 13:30 to about 15:00. Every seat is reserved, from ¥9,000 with a bento and tea.

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Market Starts in 4 days Free

Kyoto Pottery Expo (KYOPO)

第50回 Kyoto Pottery Expo 2026（旧清水焼の郷まつり）

16 to 18 Oct Kiyomizuyaki Danchi pottery estate, Yamashina

Time 10:00 to 17:00 (16:00 on the last day) Station Kiyomizuyaki Danchi bus stop (Keihan Bus 29 from Yamashina Station), 5 min walk

More than 100 potters, from young makers with roots in Kiyomizu ware to veterans, sell from stalls along the streets of the pottery estate, so you're buying from the people who made the pieces. It's the 50th edition of what used to be the Kiyomizuyaki no Sato Matsuri, and extra buses run from Kyoto Station during the fair.

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Exhibition Starts in 5 days ¥1,000

Maruyama Okyo and Ito Jakuchu

「円山応挙と伊藤若冲」

17 Oct to 20 Jun Shokoku-ji Jotenkaku Museum, Imperial Palace

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.

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The paved path through a green garden to the entrance of the Jotenkaku Museum at Shokoku-ji

663highland, CC BY 2.5

Festival Starts in 6 days Free

Jonangu Festival (Jonan-sai)

城南祭

18 Oct Jonangu, Fushimi

Time Rite 9:00, mikoshi procession from 12:00 Station Takeda (Karasuma Line, Kintetsu), 15 min walk

Three big mikoshi, the pine, bamboo and plum shrines of Shimotoba, Takeda and Kamitoba, are carried round the worship hall after noon and then out through the parish. Watching is free.

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The red torii and stone name pillar of Jonangu, with the shrine gate at the end of the paved approach

663highland, CC BY 2.5

Festival Starts in 6 days Free

Kasagake Horseback Archery at Kamigamo Shrine

笠懸神事

18 Oct Kamigamo Shrine, Demachiyanagi

Time From about 13:00 (rite in the main hall from 12:30) Station Kamigamo Misonobashi bus stop (City Bus), 5 min walk

Riders at full gallop shoot at targets level with them and down on the ground, a style of mounted archery more practical than yabusame. Kamigamo is the only shrine in Japan where it's performed as an offering, and there's a one-day-only goshuin stamp.

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The Hosoden hall of Kamigamo Shrine with its two sacred sand cones, Kyoto

Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0

Market Starts in 6 days Free

Mori no Tezukuri-ichi Craft Market at Shimogamo Shrine (October)

森の手づくり市～秋の特別編2026～

18 Oct Shimogamo Shrine, Demachiyanagi

Time 10:00 to 16:00 Station Shimogamo-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 205)

Craft stalls selling accessories, woodwork, leather, ceramics, cloth goods and sweets line Shimogamo Shrine's approach and the Tadasu no Mori forest, with food trucks and acoustic sets. It goes ahead in rain unless Kyoto has a storm warning.

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The vermilion two-storey gate of Shimogamo Shrine

Appie Verschoor, CC BY-SA 2.0

Festival Starts in 6 days Free

Saigu Procession

斎宮行列

18 Oct Nonomiya Shrine to Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Time Procession from 12:00 Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk

A Heian-style procession re-creates an imperial princess setting out to serve at Ise Shrine, walking from Nonomiya Shrine to Togetsukyo Bridge from noon after a rite at the shrine. A purification rite at the river's north boat landing is planned for about 14:00.

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The black wooden torii of Nonomiya Shrine above stone steps, hung with a grass ring

Seven010, CC BY-SA 3.0

Markets that run every weekend

Market Free

Garakuta-ichi at To-ji

ガラクタ市（東寺）

First Sunday of every month To-ji, Kyoto Station

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.

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Market Free

Kamigamo Handmade Market

上賀茂手づくり市

4th Sunday of the month, 9:00 to 15:00 Kamigamo Shrine, Demachiyanagi

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.

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Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0

Market Free

Kyoto Antique Fair

京都アンティークフェア

Three times a year (spring, early summer and autumn) over a Friday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, last day to 16:00 Kyoto Pulse Plaza, Takeda

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.

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Market Free

Umekoji Park Handmade Market

梅小路公園手づくり市

First Saturday of the month, none in January, May and August, 9:00 to 16:00 Umekoji Park, Kyoto Station

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.

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A preserved Kyoto city tram on display in Umekoji Park, Kyoto

Tam0031, CC BY-SA 3.0

Market Free

Umekoji Park Handmade Market

梅小路公園手づくり市

1st Saturday of the month except January, May and August, 9:00 to 16:00 Umekoji Park, Kyoto Station

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.

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Tam0031, CC BY-SA 3.0

Good to know

What is on in Kyoto this weekend, 16 to 18 October?

22 dated events fall across Friday to Sunday (8 exhibitions, 3 performances, 3 festivals, 2 anime and games events, 2 illuminations, 2 gardens and 2 markets). 5 regular markets run as well. Each listing opens on the interactive map.

What can you do in Kyoto on a weekend with no plans?

Pick one area per day rather than crossing the city. 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.

How often is this page updated?

The weekend moves forward each time the site is rebuilt, and an event drops off the page the day after it ends.