Tenryu-ji
Arashiyama, Kyoto
- Daily
- 8:30 to 17:00
Last entry 16:50. The halls close at 16:45 and the Dharma Hall at 16:30. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30.
Source: tenryuji.com, checked 11 Oct 2026.
The shogun Ashikaga Takauji founded Tenryu-ji in 1339 in memory of Emperor Go-Daigo, and it still ranks first among Kyoto's five great Zen temples. You come for the Sogen Pond garden, laid out by Muso Soseki nearly 700 years ago and still close to how he left it, with the Arashiyama hills borrowed as its backdrop. It's one of the UNESCO-listed monuments of ancient Kyoto.
More photos of Tenryu-ji
Insider tip
The garden is ¥500 and the halls ¥300 more. Kayama Matazo's cloud dragon on the Dharma Hall ceiling is a separate ¥500, open on weekends and holidays, and every day from 19 September to 6 December 2026. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30. Leave by the north gate and you're on the bamboo path.
What the guides say about Tenryu-ji
Stay in Arashiyama if you want the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove at first light. There's no charge and no opening hours on the path, and Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30. Places to stay cluster round Togetsukyo Bridge. Kyoto City's register of licensed places to stay (end of July 2026) lists 39 within a kilometre of it, and 15 of its 16 ryokan and hotels are within 500 m, on both banks. The other 23 hold the simple-lodging licence that guesthouses, hostels and rented houses use. Hanaikada, a hot-spring ryokan, is a minute's walk from the bridge.
4. Arashiyama, as early as you can manage. The bamboo path runs about 400 m past Tenryu-ji's north gate, and it's free. Kyoto City streams a live camera of it, so you can check the crowds before you leave. Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30, and Muso Soseki's pond garden borrows the Arashiyama hills as its backdrop (¥500). Leave by the north gate and you're on the bamboo path. JR Sagano Line rapids reach Saga-Arashiyama in about 11 minutes.
What's on near Tenryu-ji
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Tenryu-ji, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Hogon-in Autumn Opening and Night Viewing
宝厳院 秋の特別拝観・夜間特別拝観
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:45), night viewing from 13 Nov 17:30 to 20:30 (last entry 20:00) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 3 min walk
This Tenryu-ji sub-temple opens its Shishiku garden, which borrows Arashiyama as a backdrop, round a lion-shaped rock under heavy maples, and for an extra ¥500 you can see Tamura Noriko's paintings in the main hall. From 13 Nov the garden is also lit at night (17:30 to 20:30, ¥1,000).
663highland, CC BY 2.5 Arashiyama Tsukitouro Bamboo Light-up
嵐山月灯路
Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
The bamboo grove path is lit every evening, with a 30-metre bamboo corridor hung with 1,500 woven bamboo balls and mist drifting through the grove. In 2026 it was ¥1,500 cash at the ticket booth in the grove or ¥2,000 online, and free for 12 and under.
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 Arashiyama Tsukitouro Bamboo Light-up
嵐山月灯路 Arashiyama Bamboo Light-up
Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
Bamboo lanterns, some made by local residents in workshops, line the Bamboo Grove path and about 1 km of lit walkways. At the gate it's ¥1,500 in cash, online tickets with guaranteed entry cost ¥2,000, and children 12 and under go free.
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 Saigu Procession
斎宮行列
Time Procession from 12:00 Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
A Heian-style procession re-creates an imperial princess setting out to serve at Ise Shrine, walking from Nonomiya Shrine to Togetsukyo Bridge from noon after a rite at the shrine. A purification rite at the river's north boat landing is planned for about 14:00.
Seven010, CC BY-SA 3.0 Shapes of Love: The Lost Shunga Scroll Chigo no Soshi
「愛のカタチ－幻の春画《稚児草紙》公開－」
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 4 min walk
The museum shows the early 14th-century Chigo no Soshi scroll in public for the first time, with painted shunga by Tsukioka Settei and others, Hokusai's Nami Chidori, made in his 70s, and paintings about love by Uemura Shoen and Kaburaki Kiyokata. Nobody under 18 is admitted, and you may be asked for photo ID.
運動会プロテインパワー, CC BY-SA 4.0 Nearby
Around Arashiyama
Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura
Arashiyama is on Kyoto's north-western edge, where Togetsukyo Bridge crosses the Oi River with wooded hills right behind it. You'll want the bridge, Tenryu-ji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and so will everyone else. Go early. Then walk north into Sagano. Its temples line the foot of Mount Ogura, and it's quieter at the far end, which Kyoto's official tourism site calls Okusaga.
Arashiyama has 30 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 14 shrines and temples, 4 landmarks, 3 parks and gardens, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 cafe, 1 museum, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop and 1 neighbourhood. Read the Arashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Tenryu-ji?
- 68 Saga-Tenryuji Susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町68).
- What are the opening hours of Tenryu-ji?
- Daily 8:30 to 17:00. Last entry 16:50. The halls close at 16:45 and the Dharma Hall at 16:30. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30.
- How do I get to Tenryu-ji?
- The nearest station is Arashiyama (Randen). Tenryu-ji is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Tenryu-ji cost?
- Tenryu-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Tenryu-ji?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Tenryu-ji?
- Right at opening.
Stay near Tenryu-ji
Browse live availability and compare prices around Arashiyama.
See hotels near Tenryu-ji on Booking.comPrices are for the night of Saturday 17 October. You can change the dates on Booking.com. If you book, Roam Kyoto earns a small commission from Stay22 at no extra cost to you.