Myoshin-ji
Kinkakuji, Kyoto
- Daily
- 9:00 to 16:00
Hours of the Hatto. Tickets are sold until 15:30. The grounds are open 24 hours. Closed all day 19 to 22 October 2026 for a temple event.
Source: myoshinji.or.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Myoshin-ji is the head temple of a Rinzai Zen school of about 3,300 temples, and more than 40 subtemples stand in its grounds. In the Hatto hall, Kano Tan'yu's dragon looks down from the ceiling, and the hall also keeps a temple bell that's a National Treasure. Look out for the Edo-period bathhouse, known as the Akechi bath, built to pray for Akechi Mitsuhide.
Insider tip
Local roads run through the grounds, so they stay open day and night and you can wander between the subtemples at any hour. Tickets for the Hatto cost ¥500 (¥200 for primary and junior high students) and are sold at the Ohojo entrance until 15:30, and a recorded commentary plays inside. Subtemples such as Taizo-in and Keishun-in charge their own entry. It's closed all day from 19 to 22 October 2026.
What the guides say about Myoshin-ji
11. Myoshin-ji, open day and night. Local roads run through the grounds, so you can wander between more than 40 subtemples at any hour. Hatto tickets, for Kano Tan'yu's ceiling dragon, cost ¥500 and are sold until 15:30, but there are no visits at all from 19 to 22 October 2026. In the same neighbourhood, walk the veranda at Toji-in slowly and you'll hear its nightingale floor squeak.
What's on at Myoshin-ji
Upcoming events at Myoshin-ji and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Sal Tree Flower Viewing at Torin-in
沙羅の花を愛でる会（東林院）
Time 9:30 to 15:00 (last entry 14:30) Station Hanazono (JR Sagano Line), 8 min walk
This Myoshin-ji subtemple opens while the sal trees in front of its hall are in white flower. You sit with matcha and a sweet for ¥1,600, or add a vegetarian temple meal for ¥6,300, no booking needed.
Kentaro Ohno, CC BY 2.0 Lotus Viewing at Hokongo-in
観蓮会（法金剛院）
Time 7:30 to 12:30 (last entry 12:00) Station Hanazono (JR Sagano Line)
About 90 kinds of lotus, Oga lotus among them, flower in the pond of the temple's paradise garden, a designated scenic spot, and it opens early in the morning for the viewing.
Ninna-ji 'Sea of Clouds' Autumn Light-up
世界遺産仁和寺 紅葉雲海ライトアップ
Time Fri, Sat, Sun and holidays, 18:30 to 21:00 (entry 18:00 to 20:30) Station Omuro-Ninnaji bus stop (City Bus 26), 1 min walk
Ninna-ji lights its autumn maples above a 'sea of clouds', with a 528 Hz 'healing sound garden' playing. It runs on Fridays, weekends and holidays only, not on 8 or 28 Nov, and high school students and younger get in free.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Omuro Flower Festival at Ninna-ji
御室花まつり（仁和寺）
Time 8:30 to 17:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Omuro-Ninnaji (Randen), about 3 min walk
Ninna-ji's Omuro cherries, a protected Place of Scenic Beauty, are at their best in early to mid April, with azaleas and then new maple leaves after them. The grounds charge a special entry fee during the festival.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Nearby
Around Kinkakuji
Three World Heritage temples on one road under Mount Kinugasa
Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji and Ninna-ji all sit on Kinukake-no-Michi, a road that climbs about 2.5 km from Omuro-Ninnaji Station up to the Golden Pavilion. Start at Ryoan-ji, which opens at 8:00 from March to November, an hour before Kinkaku-ji. South of the road, Myoshin-ji's grounds don't close at all, and they hold more than 40 subtemples.
Kinkakuji has 14 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 9 shrines and temples, 2 museums, 1 cafe, 1 restaurant and 1 viewpoint. Read the Kinkakuji guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Myoshin-ji?
- 1 Hanazono Myoshinji-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市右京区花園妙心寺町1).
- What are the opening hours of Myoshin-ji?
- Daily 9:00 to 16:00. Hours of the Hatto. Tickets are sold until 15:30. The grounds are open 24 hours. Closed all day 19 to 22 October 2026 for a temple event.
- How do I get to Myoshin-ji?
- The nearest station is Hanazono (JR Sagano Line). Myoshin-ji is in Kinkakuji, Kyoto.
- How much does Myoshin-ji cost?
- Myoshin-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Myoshin-ji?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Myoshin-ji?
- Before 15:30.
Stay near Myoshin-ji
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