Kodai-ji
Gion, Kyoto
- Daily
- 9:00 to 17:30
Last entry 17:00. Autumn night viewing 23 Oct to 13 Dec 2026, open until 22:00 (last entry 21:30).
Source: kodaiji.com, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's widow, Kita-no-Mandokoro (Nene), founded Kodai-ji in 1606 to pray for him. Both are enshrined in the Otamaya, whose altar and shrine are decorated with the gold lacquer work known as Kodai-ji maki-e. The paid garden takes in a pond garden credited to Kobori Enshu and a bamboo grove, and Minder, an android Kannon, recites the Heart Sutra in its own hall.
More photos of Kodai-ji
Insider tip
Entry is ¥800, or ¥1,200 with Entoku-in. You'll need to be in by 17:00. From 23 October to 13 December 2026 the garden is lit from 17:00 and stays open until 22:00 on the same ticket, but you can't come back in once you leave. Access is partly restricted on 12 and 13 November.
What's on at Kodai-ji
Upcoming events at Kodai-ji and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Spring Night Viewing at Kodai-ji
春の夜間特別拝観（高台寺）
Time 17:00 to 21:30 (gates close 22:00) Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206), 7 min walk
Hideyoshi's widow Nene's temple lights its garden for spring evenings: the Garyu pond and the bamboo grove past the Kasa-tei and Shigure-tei tea houses are the ones to see. You follow the same route as by day.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Autumn Night Viewing at Kodai-ji
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 Entoku-in Autumn Exhibition and Night Viewing
圓徳院特別展と夜間特別拝観
Time Night viewing 17:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30), screens on show from 10:00 Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206)
Nene spent her last 19 years at this Kodai-ji sub-temple, and its north garden, a dry landscape later reworked by Kobori Enshu, is lit at night while the Toyotomi family's Teikan-zu screens are on show. A ¥1,200 ticket covers both Entoku-in and Kodai-ji, and it's closed on 11 and 12 Dec.
Ryoma Festival
龍馬祭
Time 15:30 Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 86, 206), 7 min walk
On the anniversary of Sakamoto Ryoma's death, fans gather at his grave above Higashiyama, and shamo chicken hotpot, the dish he was about to eat the night he was killed, is offered and shared with visitors. The festival is free, but the grave area costs ¥300.
Oilstreet, CC BY 2.5 Cherry Blossom Light-up at Maruyama Park
桜ライトアップ（円山公園）
Time 18:00 to 22:00 Station Gion bus stop (City Bus 206), right by the stop
The park's big weeping cherry, Gion no Yozakura, is lit every evening through the blossom. The tree is the second generation, tended by the 16th Sano Toemon.
lienyuan lee, CC BY 3.0 Nearby
Around Gion
The teahouse streets below Yasaka Shrine, best early or at dusk
Gion grew up as the town at the gate of Yasaka Shrine, and it's still where Kyoto's geiko and maiko live and work. Gion Kobu, the largest of the city's five geiko districts, keeps its teahouses along Hanamikoji-dori, and the Shirakawa canal runs through Gion Shinbashi to the north. Go early for the shrine and the temples behind it. Come back at dusk for the streets.
Gion has 25 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 6 shrines and temples, 4 shops, 4 neighbourhoods, 3 cafes, 2 landmarks, 2 restaurants, 1 bar, 1 museum, 1 park or garden and 1 bathhouse. Read the Gion guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kodai-ji?
- 526 Kodaiji Shimokawara-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区高台寺下河原町526番地).
- What are the opening hours of Kodai-ji?
- Daily 9:00 to 17:30. Last entry 17:00. Autumn night viewing 23 Oct to 13 Dec 2026, open until 22:00 (last entry 21:30).
- How do I get to Kodai-ji?
- The nearest station is Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206, 207). Kodai-ji is in Gion, Kyoto.
- How much does Kodai-ji cost?
- Kodai-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kodai-ji?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Kodai-ji?
- Autumn, after dark.
Stay near Kodai-ji
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