5 Best Places To See Autumn Leaves in Kyoto

Putting Kiyomizudera on a list of places to go in Kyoto is like suggesting the Champs-Élysées when you hear a friend is going to Paris—it’s a no-brainer and most visitors to the city end up there, at some point. But not many think of it as a place to see autumn foliage. With grounds packed with a surplus of big maple trees, Kiyomizudera is bathed in red leaves starting around the end of November. If you arrive at the right time of year, the view from Kiyomizu no butai, Kiyomizudera’s famed wooden stage, is particularly fiery. It can be tough to get the timing right, when visiting Kyoto’s famous sights at this time of year, and it’s best to err on the side of coming later in the year—it can often be the case that things have slowed down once the leaves in the surrounding hills are past their prime (meaning thinner crowds and inexpensive hotels), but there is still technicolor foliage in the city.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

4.0

57 Reviews

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Higashiyama-ku Kiyomizu 1-294

0755511234

[Gates open] 6:00 [Gates shu…

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Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, & Fushimi Inari Taisha One Day Tour

¥8,923

Update date：2024/04/25

Shinnyo-do Temple is one of those spots that might not be on the itinerary of the casual visitor to the city but whose transformation in the autumn is breathlessly anticipated by devoted koyo heads. The grounds are teeming with tripod and DSLR-toting foliage fans beginning from the end of November to the start of December, when the hundreds of maples on the grounds go up like a torch in countless shades of crimson. The truth is, crowds in Kyoto during koyo season are unavoidable—but that’s part of the experience!

Shinshogokuraku-ji Temple (Shin’nyo-do)

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Joudojishinnyochou 82

0757710915

10:00-17:00

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The gardens of Kodaiji are justly famous, including an expansive dry Zen garden, as well as a hill garden (tsukiyama) with ponds and lawns, and it’s become a major destination for koyo pilgrims. Stop by Kodaiji first and then take the opportunity to nip around to the lesser known Gesshin-in (perhaps as an alternative to visiting nearby Maruyama Park). A rather nondescript temple along Nene no Michi (Pico Iyer calls it “eminently missable”), Gesshin-in’s quiet inner garden is home to maples that are surely cousins to the ones in the gardens of neighboring Kodaiji.

Kodai-ji Zen Temple

4.5

1499 Reviews

Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku Kodaiji Shimogawara-machi 526

0755619966

9:00-17:30(17:00Information …

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goryoejitonsho kodaiji tukimakotoin

Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City Kodai-ji Shimogawara town 528

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The dry garden at Ryoanji makes it a destination year-round, but it has other charms as the cold season approaches and the trees on the grounds change colors. The same advice as always: come as early in the day as possible. Walk around the expansive park on the grounds, where the maples and gingkos put on their autumn show.

Ryoanji Temple

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Ukyou-ku Ryouanji Otoritoshita 13

0754632216

[Mar.- Nov.]8:00-17:00[Dec.-…

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Early on a late autumn morning, there are few activities more idyllic than strolling Philosopher's Path (Tetsugaku no Michi) south of Ginkakuji. The walk has views of temple grounds with maples in autumn foliage and ends at Nanzenji. In koyo season, as soon as the temple opens (around 8:30am), crowds begin to form around the temple’s historic buildings and in the gardens on the grounds.

Nanzen-ji Zen Temple

Kyoto Kyoutoshi Sakyou-ku Nanzenjifukuchichou

0757710365

[12/1-2/28] 8:40-16:30[3/1-1…

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