Funaokayama
Kitano, Kyoto
Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Funaokayama is the low hill used as the northern reference point when Heian-kyo was laid out. Kenkun Shrine, founded in 1869 on Emperor Meiji's order to honour Oda Nobunaga, sits on top, and from its grounds you can see Mount Hiei and the Daimonji mountain.
Insider tip
There's no set closing time at the shrine, but its grounds have few streetlights, so watch your step after dark. At the Funaoka Taisai on 19 October the shrine puts on the Atsumori dance linked to Nobunaga, and in some years a matchlock firing.
What's on near Funaokayama
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Funaokayama, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Senbon Enma-do Kyogen
千本ゑんま堂大念佛狂言
Time Weekdays 19:00, holidays 12:00 and 18:00 Station Senbon-Kuramaguchi bus stop (City Bus 206), right by the stop
The only one of Kyoto's three nembutsu kyogen with spoken lines, so it's the easiest to follow, and plenty of the pieces are comic. Free.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0 Daitoku-ji Juko-in 460th Anniversary Special Opening
大徳寺 聚光院 開創460年 特別公開
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.
Eric Salard, CC BY-SA 2.0 Yasurai Matsuri at Imamiya Shrine
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 Nearby
Around Kitano
Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji
Start at Kitano Tenmangu, head shrine of about 12,000 Tenjin shrines, founded in 947 for Sugawara no Michizane, the scholar students still pray to before exams. Come on the 25th, when the Tenjin-san Market fills the approach and the lanterns are lit after dark. Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, lines the shrine's east approach, and Daitoku-ji's Zen temples are about 1.7 km north-east.
Kitano has 25 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 3 cafes, 3 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 viewpoint, 1 neighbourhood, 1 museum, 1 bar and 1 market. Read the Kitano guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Funaokayama?
- 42 Murasakino Kitafunaoka-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市北区紫野北舟岡町42他).
- How do I get to Funaokayama?
- The nearest station is Funaokayama bus stop (City Bus 1, 12, 204, 205, 206). Funaokayama is in Kitano, Kyoto.
- How much does Funaokayama cost?
- Nothing. Funaokayama is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Funaokayama?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Funaokayama?
- Late afternoon.
Stay near Funaokayama
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