Shrine

Imamiya Shrine

Kitano, Kyoto

Address
21 Murasakino Imamiya-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto 〒603-8243 京都府京都市北区紫野今宮町21

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

The red two storey gate at the main entrance of Imamiya Shrine, Kyoto
Photo: Torsodog / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Imamiya Shrine goes back to 994, when the gods of plague were carried up nearby Funaokayama in two portable shrines to calm them, and it took its present name in 1001. Its Yasurai Matsuri on the second Sunday of April is one of Kyoto's three strange festivals. Keishoin, the Nishijin-born mother of the shogun Tsunayoshi, helped revive its festivals in the Edo period.

Nearest station Imamiya-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 46)
Cost Free
Time needed 30 min
Best time Second Sunday of April
Free

Insider tip

There's no fee and no set hours. Find the Ahokashi-san stone. If it feels lighter after you stroke it, your wish is said to come true. Two aburi-mochi shops, Ichiwa and Kazariya, face each other outside the east gate.

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What's on at Imamiya Shrine

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

Festival Free

Yasurai Matsuri at Imamiya Shrine

やすらい祭（今宮神社）

11 Apr (dates to be confirmed) Imamiya Shrine, Kitano

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.

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Official site
The red two storey gate at the main entrance of Imamiya Shrine, Kyoto Torsodog, 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

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Nearby

Ichiwa Cafe · 1 min walk Ichiwa sells one thing, aburi-mochi. Daisen-in Temple · 4 min walk Daisen-in, founded in 1509, is a Daitoku-ji subtemple you can visit any day of the year. Daitoku-ji Temple · 6 min walk Daitoku-ji, head temple of the Daitoku-ji school of Rinzai Zen, was founded in 1315 and rebuilt by the monk Ikkyu after the Onin War. Funaokayama Viewpoint · 8 min walk Funaokayama is the low hill used as the northern reference point when Heian-kyo was laid out. Daitokuji Ikkyu Food · 9 min walk Daitokuji Ikkyu has cooked Daitoku-ji's shojin ryori, the temple's vegetarian cuisine, since the late 1400s, and says the monk Ikkyu gave it its name. Funaoka Onsen Sento · 12 min walk Funaoka Onsen was built as the bathhouse of Funaoka-ro, a restaurant inn, and its 1923 changing room and the old inn building have been registered...

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 Imamiya Shrine?
21 Murasakino Imamiya-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都府京都市北区紫野今宮町21).
How do I get to Imamiya Shrine?
The nearest station is Imamiya-jinja-mae bus stop (City Bus 46). Imamiya Shrine is in Kitano, Kyoto.
How much does Imamiya Shrine cost?
Nothing. Imamiya Shrine is free to visit.
How long do you need at Imamiya Shrine?
Plan for 30 min.
When is the best time to visit Imamiya Shrine?
Second Sunday of April.

Stay near Imamiya Shrine

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