Omen Ginkakuji
Ginkakuji, Kyoto
- Mon to Wed
- 10:30 to 17:00
- Fri to Sun
- 10:30 to 16:00, 17:00 to 20:30
- Thu
- Closed
Holidays keep the weekend hours. Thursday closing is irregular, so it opens on some Thursdays. Last orders 30 minutes before closing. Closed 30 December to 2 January.
Source: omen.co.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Yoji and Tomi Shinagawa opened Omen in front of Ginkaku-ji on 10 August 1967. The dish comes from Isesaki in Gunma, where Tomi learned it from her mother-in-law during the war. You dip the udon in a broth of Hokkaido kombu and bonito, adding as much as you like from a heap of condiments such as kinpira burdock, sesame, green onion, ginger and seasonal vegetables.
Insider tip
The signature omen costs ¥1,520, hot or cold, and there's a gluten-free rice noodle version for ¥1,780. Book by phone, since email bookings aren't taken. Thursday closing is irregular, so check the calendar on the site.
What the guides say about Omen Ginkakuji
At Omen Ginkakuji you dip udon in a kombu and bonito broth and add sesame, ginger, kinpira burdock and seasonal vegetables from a heap of condiments, ¥1,520 hot or cold. Book by phone. Yamamoto Menzou, near Heian Shrine, has ten counter seats and two tables. Book a time slot, online up to three days ahead or by phone from 9:00 on the day. In Arashiyama, Arashiyama Yoshimura makes its own soba by the north end of Togetsukyo, from ¥1,440, with an English menu.
What's on near Omen Ginkakuji
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Omen Ginkakuji, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Ginkaku-ji Autumn Special Opening of the Togudo
銀閣寺 秋の特別公開 国宝 東求堂
Time Guided visits at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:30, 14:30 and 15:30 (about 30 minutes) Station Ginkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 5, 7), 10 min walk
Ginkaku-ji opens its main hall and the National Treasure Togudo, whose four-and-a-half-mat study, Dojinsai, is where tea, flower and incense culture took shape, on guided visits of about 20 people, in Japanese only. Sign the sheet in front of the main hall about an hour before your slot, and it's ¥2,000 on top of the usual ¥1,000 entry.
Reginald Pentinio, CC BY 2.0 Ginkaku-ji Spring Special Viewing of the Togudo
銀閣寺 春の特別拝観 国宝東求堂
Time Tours at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:30, 14:30 and 15:30 Station Ginkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 5, 7, 203)
A guided 30-minute visit inside the main hall and the Togudo, whose four-and-a-half-mat study, Dojinsai, is seen as the starting point of tea, flower arranging and incense. Groups are capped and you can't take photos.
Reginald Pentinio, CC BY 2.0 Pumpkin Memorial at Anraku-ji
鹿ケ谷カボチャ供養（安楽寺）
Time 9:00 to 15:00 Station Kinrinshako-mae bus stop (City Bus 5), 7 min walk
For about 230 years this small temple near the Philosopher's Path has served simmered Shishigatani pumpkin on 25 July, from a revelation that eating it in midsummer keeps strokes away. Entry is ¥1,000 that day with the pumpkin included, the temple's scrolls are on show, and Kyoto vegetables are sold at the gate.
Honen-in Spring Opening
春季 伽藍内特別公開（法然院）
Time 9:30 to 16:00 Station Kinrin-shako-mae bus stop (City Bus 5)
The temple's buildings, normally closed, open for a week in spring (and again in autumn), when the three famous camellias in the inner garden are out.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Reikan-ji Autumn Special Opening
霊鑑寺 秋の特別拝観
Time 10:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00) Station Kamigu-no-mae-cho bus stop (City Bus 32), 5 min walk
Reikan-ji, a convent founded in 1654 whose abbesses were imperial princesses, opens its moss and maple garden, a study moved from Emperor Gosai's palace with Kano-school paintings, and its main hall, with guides explaining the buildings. It's better known for spring camellias, so autumn is the rarer chance.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Nearby
Around Ginkakuji
Temple gardens along a canal path, under the Daimonji hill
Get to Ginkaku-ji for its 8:30 opening, because the temple fills up as the day goes on. Then walk south on the Philosopher's Path, about 1.8 km of stone path beside a branch of the Lake Biwa Canal, and turn off it for the temples on either side. Honen-in's grounds open at 6:00, and you don't pay to go in.
Ginkakuji has 15 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 7 shrines and temples, 2 museums, 2 restaurants, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop, 1 neighbourhood and 1 bathhouse. Read the Ginkakuji guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Omen Ginkakuji?
- 74 Jodoji Ishibashi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市左京区浄土寺石橋町74番地).
- What are the opening hours of Omen Ginkakuji?
- Mon to Wed 10:30 to 17:00; Fri to Sun 10:30 to 16:00, 17:00 to 20:30; Closed Thu. Holidays keep the weekend hours. Thursday closing is irregular, so it opens on some Thursdays. Last orders 30 minutes before closing. Closed 30 December to 2 January.
- How do I get to Omen Ginkakuji?
- The nearest station is Ginkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 5, 7, 32, 102, 203, 204). Omen Ginkakuji is in Ginkakuji, Kyoto.
- How much does Omen Ginkakuji cost?
- Omen Ginkakuji is mid-range, marked ¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Omen Ginkakuji?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Omen Ginkakuji?
- Weekday lunch.
Stay near Omen Ginkakuji
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