If you are planning an evening around the illuminated maples at Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, the date you pick matters more than you'd expect. The garden opens for autumn on October 31, but the after-dark illumination starts on a later date in mid-November. Show up too early and you'll only see the leaves in daylight.
This guide covers the 2026 dates, the price, the opening hours, and how to get there, so you can plan the right evening. If you're building a wider Kyoto autumn trip, start with Kyoto Autumn Leaves 2026: Where and When to See the Colors.
The Odoi Momijien is a garden of about 350 maples along the Odoi, an earthwork embankment built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the west side of the shrine. A path runs along the top of the embankment and down into the Kamiya River ravine below.
The garden opens in daylight from October 31, but the evening illumination doesn't begin until mid-November (Kyoto's city and prefectural tourism sites list November 7). If you want the lit-up view, check the date before you go.
2026 Dates: Garden from Oct 31, Lights from Mid-November
The daytime opening and the evening illumination run on different schedules. The garden opens during the day from October 31, before the evening illumination begins in mid-November.
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Garden open | October 31 (Sat) – December 6 (Sun), 2026 |
Daytime hours | 9:00–16:00 (last entry 15:40) |
Illumination | Around mid-November – December 6 (city/prefecture sites say from November 7) |
Evening hours | Sunset – 20:00 (last entry 19:40) |
Here's the catch before you plan an evening. The shrine's own site gives the illumination start as "mid-November" with no exact day. Kyoto City's tourism site and the Kyoto Prefecture tourism federation both list November 7 (Sat). Those don't quite agree, and November 7 is technically earlier than "mid-November."
So don't treat any single night in early-to-mid November as guaranteed. The shrine usually posts a firm date in late October; confirm it there before you go.
Once the illumination period begins (mid-November, running to December 6), the garden stays open straight through from day into evening (9:00–20:00, last entry 19:40). The lights come on "at sunset," but no exact switch-on time is published. Sunset gets earlier through November and December, so arriving in late afternoon lets you catch the leaves in daylight and then stay for the lit-up view.
Price and Getting In
You pay admission at the gate on the day. None of the official or public sources mention advance booking, timed tickets, or entry caps.
- Adults (junior high and up): ¥1,500
- Children (elementary): ¥700
- Preschoolers: free (no tea sweet included)
Admission for adults and elementary-age children includes a traditional tea-ceremony sweet: a modern take on fu-no-yaki, a thin wheat-flour confection said to have been devised by the tea master Sen no Rikyu, served inside the garden. In 2025 admission was ¥1,200 for adults and ¥600 for children, so 2026 is a step up. The same admission rate applies during both daytime and evening hours.
What You'll See
The path along the top and bottom of the Odoi gives you two angles: looking down from the embankment, and looking up from beside the Kamiya River.
- The Sansa-no-momiji, a maple over 400 years old.
- Uguisu-bashi, a vermilion arched bridge over the Kamiya River, a favorite photo spot where the red bridge meets the leaves.
- A lookout with a view over the National Treasure main hall (honden) framed by maples.
- Baikoken, a teahouse stage that opens onto the garden.
The shrine doesn't publish guidance on photography or tripods, or any information about crowds, so don't assume tripods are allowed. Paths get dark after sunset, so wear shoes you can walk in comfortably.
Peak Color and Timing
There's no official peak date. In an average year the color is best from mid-November into early December; check that season's foliage reports for the current outlook.
Evenings just after sunset draw the biggest crowds. Last entry is 19:40, so arriving a little later in the evening, rather than right at sunset, means a calmer walk. Kyoto evenings in late autumn get cold, with temperatures often falling into the single digits Celsius once the sun is down, so bring a warm layer for an evening visit. (For a fuller packing guide, see What to Wear in Japan in Autumn 2026.)
Getting There
Kitano Tenmangu is in Kamigyo Ward, northwest Kyoto. The garden entrance is on the west side of the main hall.
- Randen (Keifuku) line: 5 min walk from Kitano-Hakubaicho Station
- City bus: Kitano Tenmangu-mae stop (routes 50, 55, 10, 51, 203 and others)
- From Kyoto Station: about 35 min on city bus route 50
By car it's about 30 minutes from the Kyoto-Minami or Kyoto-Higashi expressway interchanges, with a shrine lot open during visiting hours only (closed on the 25th of each month for the monthly market). Roads around Kyoto get congested and parking fills up in autumn, so public transport is the safe bet. For getting around the city in peak season, see Getting Around Kyoto in Autumn 2026: The Bus Day Pass Is Gone.
If you want to pair two illuminations in one evening — Kitano Tenmangu runs from mid-November to December 6 — the east side of the city has options such as Eikando Autumn Illumination 2026: Dates, Hours and Tickets.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
