Kyoto Summer Special Openings 2026

July 10th (Fri) to September 30th (Wed), 2026
*Some of the places have different opening periods. Please check the sections of each place for details.

There may also be dates or times of day where public viewing is not possible, due to ceremonial events or weather conditions (typhoon, etc.). Up-to-date information will be shown on this website, so please check it prior to your visit.

10:00 to 16:30 (last admission 16:00)　
*The hours are different for some locations.
Please check the sections of each place for details.

• Adults ￥800 
• Age 6-12 ￥400
*Free for children age 5 and below
*The fees are different for some places. Please check the sections of each place for details.

During your visit to temples, shrines, etc.; we ask you to please observe the following:

• No smoking
• No drinking
• No eating
• No photography in some areas. Please follow the instructions of each place when you wish to take photos. Some places may not allow photography of areas or objects related to religious worship. We ask for your understanding.
• Please unshoulder your backpack/shoulder bag or carry it in front of you in order to protect cultural properties. If possible, please check in large pieces of baggage.Please refrain from visiting barefoot.
• Please do not touch any cultural property (pictures on partitions, Buddhist statues, etc.)*Some temples may be closed for Buddhist services without notice.

*Some temples may be closed for Buddhist services without notice.
*On-site guidance is available in Japanese only. English information will be provided in print or digital text.

1. Kodai-ji Zen Temple
2. Daiun-in Temple Gion-kaku
3. Goryūkaku (Former Shōfū Kajō-tei Residence)
4. Kitano Tenmangū Shrine Hōmotsuden (Shrine Museum)
5. Shōsei-en Garden Rōfū-tei Reception Hall
6. Ninna-ji Temple Palace Garden
7. Kamigamo-jinja Shrine Honden (Main Sanctuary) and Gonden (Temporary Sanctuary)
8. Shimogamo-jinja Shrine Honden (Main Sanctuary) and Ōidono (Old Sanctuary Kitchen)
9. Old Mitsui Family Shimogamo Villa
10. Special Opening of the “National Site of Scenic Beauty Observatory” at Ninna-ji Temple and Magical Illumination of Temple Grounds
11. World Heritage Site Kamigamo-jinja Shrine Summertime Illumination: Visit to the Dragon God and Refreshing Evening Footbath
12. Evening Illumination and Special Opening of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine Fūgetsu-den Hall and Fūgetsu no Niwa Gardens
13. Special Summer Night-time Opening of the Old Mitsui Family Shimogamo Villa

Photo courtesy of Kodai-ji Temple’s Treasury

Kōdai-ji Temple was built in 1606 by Lady Nene to pray for the soul of her husband, the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who died after unifying Japan. The temple has a garden with a pond as well as a bamboo grove, and many structures and treasures that are masterpieces of the vibrant Momoyama period (1568-1600) style are present, including the tea rooms Kasa-tei and Shigure-tei, which were relocated here from Fushimi Castle, where Hideyoshi lived.

A gorgeous reception hall that Hideyoshi had originally built in the Fushimi Castle to hold banquets is being restored for the first time in 237 years. The restoration is to finish this summer, and visitors will be able to see the structure from the outside during the Kyoto Summer Special Openings. In addition, a ceiling painting of a dragon in the normally-closed inner sanctum of the Kaisan-dō Hall (Founder’s Hall) will be specially shown to the public.

Daiun-in is a temple founded in 1587 to pray for the spirits of the famous sixteenth-century warlord Oda Nobunaga and his son Nobutada. On its precincts is the Gion-kaku tower. Designed in the shape of a hoko float of the Gion Matsuri Festival, it is one of the most unique and eye-catching structures in this area. Its interior, normally closed to the public, can be accessed for a limited time during the Kyoto Summer Special Openings, and visitors can climb up to the third floor.

The Gion-kaku was originally built as a part of a residence belonging to Kihachiro Okura, corporate progenitor of the hotel and construction business congromerate Okura zaibatsu. It was designed by architect Chūta Itō, who also designed Tsukiji Honganji Temple and Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo.

The walls of the first and second floors are covered with reproductions of murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, China. The third floor’s interior is unique with bronze animals of the Chinese zodiac decorating the ceiling while lamps are held by gargoyle-like figures.

The third floor also offers a panoramic view of Kyoto’s cityscape.

In addition, temple treasures associated with the legacy of warlords such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga will be specially exhibited in the Main Hall.

Ninna-ji Temple was built in 888 CE, and it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a particularly prestigious temple, as its abbots have been members of the imperial family for many generations.

The Palace, which is a group of elegant buildings connected by corridors, has an atmosphere similar to that of an imperial palace. One of the buildings, the Shinden, where important religious services are held, has fusuma-e sliding door paintings by Hara Zaisen, a painter of the Hara School that served the imperial court.

In addition, to commemorate the completion of repairs that have been performed on the Shiro Shoin (White Hall), the temple will allow visitors a close view of murals by the Japanese painter Fukunaga Seihan this summer. Moreover, the Palace Garden, which was landscaped by Ogawa Jihei VII, a famous landscape artist of early twentieth century, is a must-see.

Kamo Wakeikazuchi Jinja Shrine, commonly known as Kamigamo-jinja Shrine, is believed to have been founded by 677 CE, making it one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto. Two of its buildings have been designated as National Treasures, and there are 41 Important Cultural Properties on its large premise that has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The shrine is dedicated to a deity named Kamo Wakeikazuchi no Ōkami, who, according to legend, descended on Mt. Koyama to the north of the shrine in ancient times when deities ruled Japan.

This shrine enters a ritual reconstruction period every twenty-one years called shikinen sengū. Prominent shrines have historically rebuilt and renewed their sacred structures at designated intervals to keep them “pure” and ever-new. In modern times, however, shikinen sengū at Kamigamo Jinja involves repairs and maintenance on the shrine buildings without complete reconstruction. The current Honden (Main Sanctuary) building was built in 1863 and has been maintained since then. When work is to be carried out on the Honden during the shikinen sengū period, the deity is symbolically transferred to an almost identical building, the Gonden. Both buildings are designated as National Treasures. The last shikinen sengū at Kamigamo Jinja was in 2015, and the next is to be in 2036.

The area including the Honden and the Gonden is a sanctuary normally closed to the public, but a Shinto priest will guide visitors into this area during the special opening period. The roofs of both the Honden and the Gonden are thatched by layering the bark of hinoki cypress. This is a traditional thatching method called “hiwada-buki” that is not seen outside of Japan.

Kamigamo Jinja is believed to be a place good for matchmaking, romantic fulfilment, preventing misfortune, and good health.

Shimogamo-jinja Shrine, officially called Kamo Mioya Jinja, is believed to be one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto like Kamigamo Jinja Shrine. It has a primeval forest with about six hundred broadleaved trees–chiefly zelkova, hackberry, and muku elm–with ages ranging from two hundred to six hundred years old. The forest retains largely the same composition of flora since the third century BC, making it a highly valued place from the perspective of forest ecology and environmental science.

Shimogamo Jinja has two buildings that have been designated as National Treasures, and there are fifty-three Important Cultural Properties on its large premise, the entirety of which has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Like Kamigamo Jinja, Shimogamo Jinja enters the ritual reconstruction period called shikinen sengū every twenty-one years. However, as with Kamigamo Jinja, the shikinen sengū at Shimogamo Jinja in modern times involves only repairs and maintenance on the shrine buildings. Shimogamo Jinja has two Honden (main sanctuary) buildings, which are dedicated to the deities Kamo-taketsunumi-no-mikoto and Tamayorihime-no-mikoto respectively. They were built in 1863 and are designated as National Treasures.

During the special opening period, you can enter a special area from which you can view the Honden buildings closer. From here you can have a good view of the roofs of the Honden buildings are thatched using the traditional “hiwada-buki” cypress-bark thatching method unique to Japan. In addition, you can visit the Ōidono hall, which serves as the traditional preparation site (kitchen) for all religious offerings of meals for the deities in Shimogamo shrine.

The Old Mitsui Family Shimogamo Villa is a building that used to belong to the Mitsui family, a prominent merchant family in Japan. The family had built a shrine dedicated to their ancestors on this site in 1909. They needed a place to stay when visiting the shrine and thus commissioned this large residence in 1925.

In the Kiyamachi area, the family had another residence and relocated its main building to the present location. The villa was transferred to the state in 1949, becoming government property, and it served as the housing of the chief of the Kyoto Family Court from 1951 to 2007. The main building and other structures from the Taisho period (1912-1926) have been maintained in an excellent condition.

Highly valued as a fine example of large-scale traditional Japanese residence, it was designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2011.

Main Building
The main building has porches and windows opening to a fine garden on the south side. There is a watchtower on the third floor, offering a wonderful view of the Kamo-gawa River and the city’s eastern mountains. It is also a highlight when considering the design of the garden as a whole.
*The 2nd and 3rd floors are generally not open to the public. However, during the special opening period, you can visit the 2nd floor, which has a view of the beautiful garden.

Entrance Hall
The entrance hall section was added when the main building was relocated here. The architectural plan follows the traditional Japanese Shoin-zukuri style, but the ceiling is high and the interior has Western-style furnishings such as carpets, tables and chairs.

Garden
The moss garden in front of the building is beautifully tended. The water of the gourd-shape pond is drawn from the Izumi-gawa stream which runs through Shimogamo-jinja Shrine.

The quiet, after-hour temple grounds of the World Heritage site Ninna-ji will be specially lit up for eleven consecutive evenings this summer. A sound system will be installed on the temple’s approach to create a magical atmosphere in which the Five-story Pagoda will shine beautifully, and visitors will be able to enjoy a stunning night view of the temple grounds from the National Site of Scenic Beauty Observatory, which was recently completed in March 2026.

The UNESCO World Heritage site Kamigamo-jinja Shrine will be lit up for a limited period of twelve nights. Every year, the fourth Sunday of July is Mizu Matsuri (Water Festival) where people thank the Dragon God for the blessing of water and pray to safely get through the severe heat of summer. During this year’s Summer Special Openings, evening visits to the shrine dedicated to the dragon god will be specially allowed for twelve days leading up to the Festival. During this period, visitors will be able to cool their feet in the Nara no Ogawa Stream while over a thousand wind chimes strung up over the stream tinkle in the summer breeze. A dance performed by shrine maidens and a musical performance using the shino-bue flute will create a mystical atmosphere.

In addition, in honor of the festival for the water deity, Kōyama Yūsui Coffee will keep the coffee stand open for extended hours during this period. The coffee is crafted through careful bean-selection, blending, and roasting to complement the pure spring water of Mt. Koyama, the mountain where the shrine’s main deity is believed to have descended,

Advisory:
*The shrine precincts will be dark at night, so please watch your steps.
*If planning to take a footbath in the stream, please keep in mind:

• Foot bathing will not be allowed if the water level of the stream is too high.
• The stream may not be entered with bare feet. Please use the footwear provided on site or bring sandals, etc. that can be used to step into the water.
• It is recommended to bring a towel or cloth to dry your feet after foot bathing.

Fūgetsu-den Hall (Wind Moon Hall) was built as the shrine office of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine in 1873 and is normally closed to the public. In 2023, its gardens that were landscaped by the famous landscape artist Ogawa Jihei VII were reworked and reborn as Fūgetsu no Niwa (The Gardens of Wind and Moon). These gardens feature a miniaturel hill called “tsukiyama” from which a waterfall flows into a pond, and there are also garden stones resembling bulls — an animal associated with Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine — and red stones resembling plum flowers. This garden will be magically lit up at night for a limited period this summer.

Moreover, the shrine’s gates will stay open past the normal closing time of 5 PM, allowing visitors to enter and enjoy the cool of the evening on the illuminated shrine grounds during this period nearing the Japanese harvest moon.

This traditional Japanese style villa is designated as an Important Cultural Property. It will be lit up from around sunset, allowing visitors to enjoy the cool of the evening while viewing the garden from an open corridor or a garden bench with a refreshing, cold drink in hand.