Sanjusangendo
Higashiyama, Kyoto
16 Nov to 31 Mar
- Daily
- 9:00 to 16:00
Rest of the year
- Daily
- 8:30 to 17:00
Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Open every day.
Source: sanjusangendo.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Sanjusangendo, formally Rengeo-in, is a hall 120 metres long, rebuilt in 1266 after the original of 1164 burned down. Inside stand 1,001 statues of the thousand-armed Kannon, a seated one 355 cm tall in the middle and 1,000 standing figures in rows either side. They're all National Treasures, and so are the hall's Wind and Thunder Gods and its 28 guardian deities.
More photos of Sanjusangendo
Insider tip
Entry is ¥600. Shoes come off inside the hall, and there are shoe racks at the door. On the Sunday nearest 15 January, about 2,000 archers from across Japan compete at the Omato Taikai, new adults in formal kimono among them, and the grounds are free that day.
What the guides say about Sanjusangendo
8. Sanjusangendo. A hall 120 metres long holds 1,001 statues of Kannon, every one a National Treasure. Entry's ¥600 and your shoes come off at the door. The Kyoto National Museum shares the bus stop, but check what's on first.
12. Pray the way the shrine expects. At the water basin, rinse your left hand, then your right, then pour a little into your left palm to rinse your mouth, and never put your lips to the ladle. At the hall, bow twice, clap twice and bow once. That's how Kitano Tenmangu sets it out for visitors. You'll often take your shoes off in the halls, as at Sanjusangendo, so wear decent socks.
What's on at Sanjusangendo
Upcoming events at Sanjusangendo and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Shuntoe Peach Festival at Sanjusangendo
春桃会（三十三間堂）
Time 9:00 to 15:30 Station Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae bus stop (City Bus 206, 208), right by the stop
On 3 March, a day of threes at the hall of 33 bays, entry is free and the Ikenobo school offers flowers. You can view the 1,000 Kannon statues from a raised platform, and a women's peach charm (¥1,000) is sold that day only.
Olivier Bruchez, CC BY-SA 2.0 The Great Kano School, Part 2: Edo to Meiji
京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 大狩野派 第2部 江戸～明治編
Time 9:00 to 17:30 (last entry 17:00), Fridays to 20:00, closed Mondays except 19 July Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
The second half of the museum's 130th-anniversary survey of the Kano painters, Japan's biggest school of artists, in the first show this size in half a century. Part 2 takes the story from the Edo period to Meiji with every work changed from Part 1. It's open to 20:00 on Fridays, and ticket prices haven't been announced yet.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 800 Years of the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma
京都国立博物館開館130周年記念 特別展 薩摩島津家八〇〇年
Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
Heirlooms of the Shimazu, the samurai family who ruled southern Kyushu from Satsuma, marking 800 years since the death of their founder Shimazu Tadahisa. The museum says it's the first big show of the clan's treasures on Honshu, and some pieces change during the run.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 The Tale of Genji: Radiance of the Heian Court
特別展 源氏物語 王朝のかがやき
Time 9:00 to 17:30, Fridays to 20:00 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
The Kyoto National Museum's first Tale of Genji exhibition in about 50 years shows paintings, crafts, manuscripts and commentaries, about 250 works across its Kyoto and Tokyo runs, including the Aobyoshi-bon text edited by Fujiwara no Teika and the scattered 'phantom' Moriyasu Genji scroll. The display changes on 3 Nov, and the museum is closed on Mondays (open 12 Oct and 23 Nov), 13 Oct and 24 Nov.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 New Year Feature: All About Sheep
新春特集展示 ひつじづくし 干支を愛でる
Time 9:30 to 17:00, Fridays to 20:00 (last entry 30 minutes before) Station Shichijo (Keihan), 7 min walk
For 2027, the Year of the Sheep, the museum's New Year display gathers sheep in art from its collection, an animal rarely kept in Japan outside Hokkaido, so expect some oddities. A tea utensils feature runs at the same time, the ticket covers every gallery in the Heisei Chishinkan, and it's closed on Mondays (open 11 Jan), from 28 Dec to 1 Jan and on 12 Jan.
kajikawa, CC BY 3.0 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 Sanjusangendo?
- 657 Sanjusangendo-mawari-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区三十三間堂廻町657).
- What are the opening hours of Sanjusangendo?
- 16 Nov to 31 Mar: Daily 9:00 to 16:00. Rest of the year: Daily 8:30 to 17:00. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Open every day.
- How do I get to Sanjusangendo?
- The nearest station is Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae bus stop (City Bus 100, 206, 208). Sanjusangendo is in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Sanjusangendo cost?
- Sanjusangendo is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Sanjusangendo?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Sanjusangendo?
- Weekday mornings.
Stay near Sanjusangendo
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