キョウチカKyotoKYOCHIKA KYOTO
Photo: the venue and its surroundings (Wikimedia Commons)

Festival & seasonal event in Kyoto

2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple

Enjoy autumn foliage at a Zen temple whose origins trace back to an educational institution founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Date-and-time reservations are required.

Dates
Nov 10 (Tue) – Dec 10 (Thu)
Hours
09:00 – 17:00
Venue
Enkoji Temple
Nearest station
Ichijoji
Admission
Adults ¥1,500; elementary, junior high, and senior high school students ¥800
Official website (Japanese)Open in Google Maps

About this event

In Kyoto's Ichijoji district stands a temple founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu to promote education. Established in Fushimi in 1601, Enkoji welcomed ordinary people as well as Buddhist monks. Today its garden is celebrated for autumn foliage, especially the moss, stones and trees of Jugyu Garden. The grounds also contain the dry landscape garden Honryutei. Around 50,000 wooden printing blocks used for publishing are preserved at the temple. Its autumn scenery offers a window into education and printing in early Edo-period Japan.

Highlights

  • Moss and autumn colors in Jugyu Garden
  • Honryutei, a dry landscape garden representing a dragon
  • The temple's origins as a school founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu
  • Approximately 50,000 historic wooden printing blocks
  • A Toshogu shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu
Good for
For visitors interested in Japanese gardens, Tokugawa history, Zen and early printing culture.

Good to know before you go

  • Advance booking for a specific date and time is required through the official reservation calendar.
  • Show your confirmation email at reception; a printed copy is also accepted.
  • To change your date, time or party size, cancel and book again.
  • The parking area is closed during the special viewing period. Extended photography sessions are prohibited.
Pochikichi's story corner

Why did Tokugawa Ieyasu establish a school in Kyoto?

Enkoji began as an educational institution founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in Fushimi in 1601. He invited the Zen priest Sanyo Genkitsu, formerly headmaster of the Ashikaga School, to spread learning. Education here was open to the general public, not only monks.

The temple published Confucian and other scholarly texts known as the Fushimi or Enkoji editions. Approximately 50,000 original wooden printing blocks survive at the temple, showing how Buddhist institutions also served as centers of education and publishing.

The grounds include Jugyu Garden, known for its moss and autumn foliage, and Honryutei, a dry landscape garden of white gravel and stones. Jugyu refers to the Zen teaching that compares stages of spiritual awakening to the search for an ox.

Enkoji is both an autumn destination and a place connected to Japan's educational and publishing history. That is why you should look at Jugyu Garden as an expression of Zen teaching, not simply as a beautiful landscape.

Sources: Enkoji Temple: Official History (English), Enkoji: Autumn Special Viewing 2026 (Japanese)

FAQ

What is 2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple?
In Kyoto's Ichijoji district stands a temple founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu to promote education. Established in Fushimi in 1601, Enkoji welcomed ordinary people as well as Buddhist monks. Today its garden is celebrated for autumn foliage, especially the moss, stones and trees of Jugyu Garden. The grounds also contain the dry landscape garden Honryutei. Around 50,000 wooden printing blocks used for publishing are preserved at the temple. Its autumn scenery offers a window into education and printing in early Edo-period Japan.
When is 2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple?
From Nov 10 (Tue) to Dec 10 (Thu), 2026.
What are the opening hours?
09:00 – 17:00
How much does it cost?
Adults ¥1,500; elementary, junior high, and senior high school students ¥800
Where is it and what is the nearest station?
Enkoji Temple. The nearest station is Ichijoji.

More in Kyoto

See all events in Kyoto → · This page in Japanese

Every Thursday we post picks for the Tokyo weekend on Instagram at @kyochika.tokyo. Add this site to your home screen to open it like an app.

We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).