63 attractions with a verified description
Higashiyama · Temple
The temple with the terrace that hangs over the valley. ¥500, after a rise from ¥400. Open from 06:00, and that is the only hour when you can see it without a crowd. On illumination evenings (in 2026 in spring, on 14 to 16 August and on 21 to 30 November) the temple is open until 21:30.
Price checked November 2026
Our own photo, September 2026
Fushimi · Shrine
Ten thousand red torii gates up the mountain. Free and open 24 hours. Up to the first gate it is always crowded. If you continue 30 minutes uphill you reach the Yotsutsuji junction and are almost alone. The full walk to the top: two and a half hours.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Northern Kyoto · Temple
The Golden Pavilion on the Mirror Pond. ¥500. The route is one-way and takes 40 minutes, and there is no entry to the building itself. On weekdays before 09:30 or after 16:00 it is less crowded.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jaycangel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Arashiyama · Nature and temples
The bamboo avenue of Arashiyama. Free and always open. From 09:30 it is almost impassable. If you arrive at 07:00 you get it empty, and that is the only recommendation that really matters here.
Price checked September 2026
Our own photo, September 2026
Central Kyoto · Castle and history
The shogun's castle with the nightingale floors that chirp as you walk on them. ¥1,300 for entry including Ninomaru Palace, or ¥800 for the grounds without the palace. Honmaru Palace is a separate ticket at ¥1,000 and requires advance booking.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: DXR / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Central Kyoto · Market
The market alley, 390 meters long. Entry is free. The market asks you not to eat while walking, so you eat next to the stall. Most stalls close at 17:00 or 18:00.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Temple and walk
The Silver Pavilion and the raked sand garden, and from there the Philosopher's Path along the canal. ¥1,000 for the temple since April 2026 (children ¥500), the path is free. The path is especially beautiful in sakura season and in November.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Temple
A temple with a Buddha statue whose head is turned to look back, a pagoda on the hillside and connected wooden corridors. ¥1,000 most of the year. During the autumn treasures exhibition (November) the price is higher and the night illumination is sold separately.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: Martin Falbisoner / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
The Zen temple with a giant Sanmon gate (you go up it for ¥600) and a red brick aqueduct from 1890 that runs through the grounds. The grounds and the aqueduct are free, the Hojo garden with the tiger paintings is ¥600.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: lumoplank / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
A Roman-style aqueduct of red brick from 1890 that crosses a Zen temple, part of the Lake Biwa Canal. Free and always open. The most surprising photo in Kyoto, and behind it a path leads to a small temple with a waterfall.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
A red torii gate 24 meters high and a huge courtyard that recreates the imperial palace of 794. The courtyard is free, the garden with the ponds and the weeping cherry trees is ¥600. One of the late sakura spots in the city.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Garden
A garden from 1896 of the statesman Yamagata Aritomo, which uses the Higashiyama hills as a backdrop and running water from the canal. ¥600. Small, quiet, and you can sit on the tatami with matcha and look for an hour. Book ahead in season.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Northeast Kyoto · Museum
Kyoto's art museum from 1933, reopened in 2020 with an underground glass entrance: modern Japanese art and major exhibitions. The main wing is ¥730, exhibitions are separate. Closed on Mondays.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: DannyWithLove / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
The rabbit shrine: rabbit statues in every corner, rabbit charms and omikuji inside a ceramic rabbit. Free. A small shrine associated with fertility and easy childbirth, and kids love looking for all the rabbits.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: KENPEI / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Central Kyoto · Free
The emperor's palace until 1868, inside a huge park. Entry is free and without advance booking since 2016, with a one-hour guided route between the gates and the halls. Closed on Mondays. The park itself is always open.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: TKdows 2026 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Central Kyoto · Museum
300 thousand manga volumes on shelves 200 meters long, in an elementary school building from 1869. ¥1,200. You can pull out any book and read on the lawn. Part of the collection is translated into English. Closed on Tuesdays.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Party Lin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Central Kyoto · Free
A 490-meter alley with lanterns and wooden houses between the Kamo River and Kawaramachi Street. Free to wander. From 1 May to 15 October the restaurants build wooden terraces (yuka) over the river, and then you book ahead.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Sergiy Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Central Kyoto · Free
The riverbank between Sanjo Bridge and Shijo, where everyone sits at equal intervals in the evening. Free. You buy a drink at a konbini and join in; it is the most Kyoto custom there is, and you can do it in any season.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Another Believer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Central Kyoto · Free
A hexagonal temple from 587 in the heart of the commercial city, considered the geographic center of Kyoto and the place where the art of flower arranging (ikebana) was born. Free, opens at 06:00, and there is an elevator in the building next door for a photo from above.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Miyuki Meinaka / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kyoto Station · Garden
A garden of Higashi Hongan-ji temple, 10 minutes from Kyoto Station, with a pond, bridges and tea houses. ¥700 as a donation toward the upkeep of the garden. Almost empty at any hour, and it is the most convenient garden for half an hour before a Shinkansen.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kyoto Station · Museum
Real steam locomotives and trains, including a first-model Shinkansen. ¥1,500 per adult. A ride on a real steam locomotive costs an extra ¥300. Closed on Wednesdays. One of the best places in Kyoto with kids.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Hahifuheho / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kyoto Station · Good with kids
An aquarium near Kyoto Station, with a section for the Japanese giant salamander. ¥2,600 per adult, after an increase that took effect on 10 February 2026. An annual pass at ¥5,800 pays for itself from three visits.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Own work / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Kyoto Station · Viewpoint
The observation tower facing Kyoto Station, 100 meters. ¥1,000 from 1 October 2026. Open until 21:00. From the top you see the grid layout of the city.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kyoto Station · Free
A glass walkway 45 meters up that crosses the roof of the station, free, open until 22:00. You reach it by the Grand Stairway (171 steps), which turns into a screen of lights in the evening. Kids run back and forth along it.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Temple
A hall 120 meters long holding 1,001 gilded Kannon statues in rows. ¥600. Photography is not allowed inside, and that actually helps. Half an hour, and you pair it with the national museum across the street.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Stephen Kelly / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Temple
The oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, 1202, with the painting of the twin gods Raijin and Fujin and with dragons on the ceiling. ¥600. Less crowded than its neighbors in Gion, and that is the reason to go.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: HAGAT hOMSZE / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
Gion's shrine, always open and free, with hundreds of paper lanterns that light up in the evening. In July the Gion Matsuri festival sets out from it. Behind it is Maruyama Park, and this is the right way to enter Higashiyama.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
The oldest park in Kyoto, behind Yasaka Shrine, with a famous weeping cherry tree that is lit at night at the end of March. Free. In sakura season there are food stalls and picnics here until late.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
The largest Sanmon gate in Japan (24 meters) and a huge hall of the Jodo sect. The grounds and the gate are free, the gardens are ¥300 to ¥500. The 70-ton bell rings on New Year's Eve, and 17 monks operate it.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Temple
A quiet temple in Higashiyama with four gardens, giant camphor trees at the entrance, and a tatami veranda where you can sit facing the garden. ¥600. On spring and autumn evenings there is a blue night illumination, almost without people.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: KimonBerlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Temple
A temple built by the widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1606: a sand and stone garden, a small bamboo grove and tea houses that tradition says were designed by Sen no Rikyu. ¥800, or ¥1,200 with Entoku-in. In spring and in autumn foliage season there is a night illumination.
Price checked September 2026
Our own photo, September 2026
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
A sloping stone lane with wooden houses from the 19th century, ceramics and sweets shops, on the way to Kiyomizu-dera. Free. The legend: whoever falls here will die within three years, so go slowly. At 08:00 it is completely empty.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 京都新観光提言懇談会メンバー / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
A five-story pagoda from 1440 that stands inside a neighborhood, the photo most identified with Kyoto. The street around it is free. Sometimes you can go in up to the second floor for ¥400, depending on the weather and the day.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Fushimi · Temple
A Zen temple with the Tsutenkyo bridge over a valley of maples and the modern garden by Mirei Shigemori from 1939. Combined ticket ¥1,000. At the peak of the autumn foliage (14 November to 6 December) there is no combined ticket: the bridge is ¥1,000 and the Hojo garden ¥600, the garden price from 1 November 2026.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Fushimi · Temple
A huge complex on a slope, a World Heritage site, with the oldest pagoda in Kyoto (951). In the regular season ¥1,000 for two areas and ¥1,500 for three. In spring, from 20 March to the third Sunday of April, ¥800 for one area and ¥1,800 for three. The way up to Upper Daigo is a one-hour climb.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Fushimi · Museum
A brewery from 1637 with a museum on sake making with original tools. ¥600, including a tasting and a souvenir. Since 1 July 2026 no cash is accepted. A self-guided visit of 40 to 60 minutes with explanations in English. Closed during Obon and at New Year.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Arashiyama · Book ahead
An imperial villa from the 17th century, considered the peak of Japanese architecture, with a strolling garden and tea houses. ¥1,000, only on a one-hour guided tour, and you book on the Imperial Household Agency website a month ahead. There is no entry on your own.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Carlquist, Sherwin John, 1930-2021 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Arashiyama · Garden
The villa of a samurai film actor from the 30s at the edge of the bamboo forest, with a garden on the hillside and a view over Kyoto. ¥1,000, including matcha and a cookie.
Price checked September 2026
Our own photo, September 2026
Arashiyama · Temple
The main Zen temple of Arashiyama, and a garden that has not changed its form since the 14th century. ¥500 for the garden, and another ¥300 to enter the buildings. The back gate of the garden opens straight onto the bamboo avenue, and that is a shortcut that saves you the line.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: Sjaak Kempe from Groningen, The Netherlands / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Arashiyama · Temple
A former imperial palace in northern Arashiyama, with the 1,200-year-old Osawa Pond, the oldest in Japan. ¥800 for the halls area, and ¥500 for the Osawa Pond area only. A filming location for samurai films, and in September there is moon viewing here from dragon boats.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Yanajin33 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Northwest Kyoto · Temple
An imperial temple with a palace and a pagoda. ¥800. The dwarf sakura trees (Omuro) bloom in mid-April, among the last in Kyoto, so this is the place to come to if you missed the season.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northwest Kyoto · Free
A complex of 22 sub-temples tied to the tea ceremony. The grounds are free, and each sub-temple charges separately: Daisen-in and Zuiho-in (¥400 to ¥500) are the beautiful gardens. Complete quiet, with no groups.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Carlquist, Sherwin John, 1930-2021 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Northwest Kyoto · Free
The oldest shrine in Kyoto (678), a World Heritage site, with two white sand cones in the courtyard that symbolize sacred mountains. Free. In the north of the city, and on the way to it there is a street of traditional houses along a canal.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Fg2 assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
A World Heritage shrine inside Tadasu no Mori, an ancient forest at the meeting of two rivers, 10 minutes from Demachiyanagi. Free. Quiet even in the middle of the day, and in summer you dip your feet in the spring at the Mitarashi ritual.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northwest Kyoto · Garden
The first botanical garden in Japan (1924), in the north of the city: a large greenhouse, a metasequoia avenue and a sakura area with 500 trees. ¥500 for the garden, and the greenhouse is included. Large, relatively cheap, and almost only locals.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Higashiyama and Gion · Museum
A museum from 1897 with a collection of Buddhist art, scrolls and ceramics, in a historic brick building and a modern wing by Yoshio Taniguchi. ¥700 for the collection, more for exhibitions. Closed on Mondays. Across from Sanjusangendo.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Corpse Reviver / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
A small temple in the forest near the Philosopher's Path, with a thatched-roof gate and two white sand mounds whose pattern changes. Free, almost empty. The inner hall opens only in April and in November.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Leo Rodman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Temple
A temple in the Yamashina hills, east of Kyoto, with steps covered in red maple leaves in autumn foliage season and door paintings with shifting perspective. ¥1,000 since March 2026. Far from the usual route, and therefore quiet even in season.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Dan Harkless / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Northeast Kyoto · Free
The shrine of the water god in the mountains north of Kyoto, with a stairway lined with red lanterns. Free. You buy a blank fortune slip for ¥200 and lay it on the water, and the writing appears. In summer the restaurants build platforms over the stream.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: nnh / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Northeast Kyoto · Temple
A temple on a mountain in northern Kyoto, where according to legend the samurai Yoshitsune learned from the tengu. ¥500 at the gate, and a short cable car for ¥200. From there a trail of an hour and a half over exposed cedar roots crosses the mountain to Kibune.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: ブルーノ・プラス / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Kyoto Station · Free
A large park near Kyoto Station that links the railway museum and the aquarium, with a lawn, a playground and a Japanese garden for a small fee. Free. The place for a picnic with a bento from the station when the kids need to run.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kyoto Station · Free
One of the largest wooden buildings in the world, 10 minutes from Kyoto Station, and free. Huge halls with gleaming floors, and a rope braided from hair donated by women believers to lift the beams. Shosei-en Garden belongs to it.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Gion and Higashiyama · Historic streets
The geisha district. The main street is free, but the private alleys are closed to visitors: since 2024 entering Kosode-koji alley carries a fine of ¥10,000, and photography on the private roads has been forbidden since 2019. Walk on the main streets only.
Price checked September 2026
Northwest Kyoto · Zen temple
The famous rock garden: 15 stones on raked gravel, and, as the common story goes, from any point you see only 14. ¥600. Half an hour is enough, and you arrive early because the room is small and fills up.
Price checked November 2026
Kyoto Station · Temple
The five-story pagoda, 55 meters, which the temple calls the tallest wooden structure in Japan. ¥800 for the Kondo and Kodo halls (since March 2025). Special openings of the inside of the pagoda cost extra. A large flea market on the grounds on the 21st of every month.
Price checked November 2026
Central Kyoto · Good with kids
A touristy museum in central Kyoto with armor to try on, a sword demonstration and a ninja star workshop. From ¥3,300 when booked ahead and more at the counter, with a guided tour in English every 30 minutes. Not especially historical, but it works very well with kids in the rain.
Price checked September 2026
Higashiyama and Gion · Free
The shrine of 'cutting and tying': a huge stone covered in paper slips that you crawl through to cut a bad tie and tie a good one. Free, always open. Strange, impressive and unusual in Gion.
Price checked September 2026
Fushimi · Free
Kyoto's district of 20 sake breweries, with a canal, warehouses clad in charred wooden boards and weeping willows. Free to wander. The Jikkokubune boat ride is ¥1,900 in season, and Torisei is for sake from the barrel (closed on Mondays).
Price checked September 2026
Arashiyama · Temple
A temple on a slope in Arashiyama with a thatched gate, a small pagoda and steps between maples. ¥600. In autumn foliage season it is one of the most beautiful places in Kyoto, and still with a quarter of the people of Tenryu-ji.
Price checked September 2026
Walk · Kyoto, Higashiyama
2 km along the canal, between 500 cherry trees, which usually bloom in early April.
Bridge and river · Kyoto, Arashiyama
Togetsukyo Bridge crosses the Katsura River with the mountain behind it, and this is the familiar photo of Arashiyama.
Walk · Kyoto, northern Higashiyama
A stone path along a canal, named after the philosopher Nishida Kitaro, who walked it every morning.
Walk · Kyoto, the northern mountains
A trail of about 1.5 km through the forest.
More in Kyoto
