Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine
Higashiyama, Kyoto
- Daily
- 8:00 to 17:00
The graves open at 9:00. Open to 21:00 on 13 to 16 August.
Source: gokoku.or.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine was founded in 1868 on Emperor Meiji's order to honour the men who died fighting for the Meiji Restoration. On the hill above it, the Ryozen graves honour 1,043 of them, Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro among them, with bronze statues of the pair. The road up from Higashioji-dori is called Ishin no Michi, the Restoration Road.
Insider tip
The graves cost ¥300 (¥200 for children), cash only. Sakamoto Ryoma's memorial festival is held at his grave on 15 November, the anniversary of his killing, at 15:30 in 2026. It's free to attend, but you still pay the ¥300, and other visits to the graves stop from 15:30 to 16:30 for the rite.
What's on at Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine
Upcoming events at Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
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 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.
Higashi Otani Mantoe Lanterns
東大谷万灯会
Time 18:00 to 21:00 Station Gion-Shijo (Keihan), 15 min walk
About 10,000 lanterns, large and small, light the Higashi Otani cemetery on the hill south of Maruyama Park so families can visit their graves in the cool of the evening, with an Obon service in the main hall from 19:00.
Nearby
Around Higashiyama
Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the temples and pottery below it
Higashiyama is a whole ward, but this guide covers the slope from Kiyomizu-dera down to Shichijo-dori. Go early. The temple's gates open at 6:00, and if you're there then, you'll reach its wooden stage long before the day's crowds. Later, walk down past the pottery shops of Gojozaka to Sanjusangendo, where 1,001 statues of Kannon stand in a hall 120 metres long.
Higashiyama has 22 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 4 shops, 2 museums, 2 neighbourhoods, 1 cafe, 1 viewpoint, 1 restaurant and 1 landmark. Read the Higashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine?
- 1 Seikanji Ryozan-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区清閑寺霊山町1).
- What are the opening hours of Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine?
- Daily 8:00 to 17:00. The graves open at 9:00. Open to 21:00 on 13 to 16 August.
- How do I get to Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine?
- The nearest station is Kiyomizu-michi bus stop (City Bus 206, 207). Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine is in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine cost?
- Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine?
- On 15 November.
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