Temple

Hogon-in

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Address
36 Saga-Tenryuji Susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 京都市右京区嵯峨天竜寺芒ノ馬場町36

Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.

The great mossy lion rock in the Shishiku garden of Hogon-in, with a bamboo railed path in front
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

Hogon-in is a subtemple of Tenryu-ji that only opens in spring and autumn. Its Shishiku garden, laid out by the Zen monk Sakugen Shuryo, borrows Arashiyama as a backdrop and centres on a huge lion rock under a canopy of maples. The temple was founded in 1461 and moved to this site in 2002.

Nearest station Arashiyama (Randen)
Cost ¥
Time needed 45 min
Best time October to early December
Autumn colour

Insider tip

In 2026 the autumn opening runs from 3 October to 6 December. The garden is ¥700, and Tamura Noriko's sliding-door paintings in the main hall are ¥500 more. A ¥1,000 ticket covers both Hogon-in and Kogen-ji.

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What's on at Hogon-in

Upcoming events at Hogon-in and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.

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
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
Festival Free

Mifune Matsuri Boat Festival

三船祭（車折神社）

16 May (dates to be confirmed) Oi River above Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Time About 13:00 to 14:15 Station Arashiyama-koen bus stop (City Bus 28)

Kurumazaki Shrine recreates a Heian boating party on the river just above Togetsukyo, with a dragon-headed boat, fans floated on the water and bugaku dance from the decks.

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The wooden Togetsukyo bridge across the river with the Arashiyama hills behind Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0
Performance ¥3,000

Cormorant Fishing at Arashiyama

嵐山の鵜飼

1 Jul to 23 Sept (dates to be confirmed) Oi River, Arashiyama, Arashiyama

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.

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Festival Free

Arashiyama Momiji Matsuri

嵐山もみじ祭り

7 to 8 Nov Oi River above Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Time 11:30 to 17:00 Station Arashiyama (Randen), 2 min walk

Boats on the river above Togetsukyo Bridge re-create the boating parties of Heian nobles, with imayo songs, court music and dance on the water and the banks. It's called off if it rains.

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The wooden Togetsukyo bridge across the river with the Arashiyama hills behind Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0

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Nearby

Shigetsu Food · 1 min walk Shigetsu is Tenryu-ji's own restaurant, serving shojin ryori, the Zen vegetarian cooking made with no animal products at all, in a hall just south of... Arashiyama Yoshimura Food · 2 min walk Yoshimura makes its own soba in the former home of the painter Kawamura Manshu, two doors west of the north end of Togetsukyo, with the bridge and... Fukuda Art Museum Museum · 3 min walk This museum by Togetsukyo shows Japanese painting, mostly from the Edo period to the modern era, in seasonal exhibitions. Tenryu-ji Temple · 3 min walk The shogun Ashikaga Takauji founded Tenryu-ji in 1339 in memory of Emperor Go-Daigo, and it still ranks first among Kyoto's five great Zen temples. Kameyama Park Viewpoint · 3 min walk Kameyama is the hillside section of Arashiyama Park, upstream from Togetsukyo on the north bank, a slope of red pines, cherries and maples with wild... Togetsukyo Bridge Landmark · 5 min walk The 155 m bridge over the Oi River, with wooded hills rising right behind it, is the picture most people carry of Arashiyama.

Around Arashiyama

Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura

Arashiyama is on Kyoto's north-western edge, where Togetsukyo Bridge crosses the Oi River with wooded hills right behind it. You'll want the bridge, Tenryu-ji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and so will everyone else. Go early. Then walk north into Sagano. Its temples line the foot of Mount Ogura, and it's quieter at the far end, which Kyoto's official tourism site calls Okusaga.

Arashiyama has 30 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 14 shrines and temples, 4 landmarks, 3 parks and gardens, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 cafe, 1 museum, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop and 1 neighbourhood. Read the Arashiyama guide.

Good to know

What is the address of Hogon-in?
36 Saga-Tenryuji Susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市右京区嵯峨天竜寺芒ノ馬場町36).
How do I get to Hogon-in?
The nearest station is Arashiyama (Randen). Hogon-in is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
How much does Hogon-in cost?
Hogon-in is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
How long do you need at Hogon-in?
Plan for 45 min.
When is the best time to visit Hogon-in?
October to early December.

Stay near Hogon-in

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