Kyoto sightseeing guide: temples, shrines and hidden highlights

20 temples, shrines, streets, museums and craft workshops in Kyoto, each with its history, what stood there long ago, hidden highlights, hours, admission and access.

Free English audio guides

• 🎧 Kiyomizu-dera: A Walk Through Time with Pochika and Pochikichi
• 🎧 Fushimi Inari Taisha: Through the Gates of Time with Pochika and Pochikichi
• 🎧 Kinkaku-ji: The Golden Pavilion and Its Hidden Stories
• 🎧 Arashiyama: Bamboo, Poetry, and a Bridge Across Time

Temples (9)

• Kiyomizu-dera TempleHigashiyama / Gion · Kiyomizu-gojoBefore Kiyomizu-dera had its famous wooden stage, it had a waterfall. In 778, a monk named Kenshin discovered
• Rokuon-ji Temple (Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion)Rakuhoku · Kitano-hakubaichoThe Golden Pavilion was originally part of a shogun's private estate, serving as a stage for politics and dipl
• Jisho-ji Temple (Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion)Okazaki / Sakyo · DemachiyanagiThe Silver Pavilion is not covered in silver. Yet Ginkaku-ji holds an extraordinary place in Japanese cultural
• Ryoan-ji TempleRakuhoku · RyoanjiFifteen rocks rest on a field of white gravel. What they represent remains an open question. Neither the creat
• Tenryu-ji TempleArashiyama / Sagano · ArashiyamaTenryu-ji was founded in 1339 by Ashikaga Takauji to honor the memory of Emperor Go-Daigo, with whom he had pr
• To-ji Temple (Kyo-o-gokoku-ji)Kyoto Station / To-ji · TojiThe five-story pagoda near Kyoto Station rises approximately 55 meters, making it Japan's tallest wooden five-
• Byodo-in TempleFushimi / Uji · UjiThe Phoenix Hall, built in 1053, is a rare survivor of Japan's Heian-period court culture, standing for nearly
• Sanjusangen-do Temple (Rengeo-in)Higashiyama / Gion · ShichijoInside a hall approximately 120 meters long stand 1,001 images of Kannon, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassi
• Nanzen-ji TempleOkazaki / Sakyo · KeageNanzen-ji began as an imperial villa belonging to Emperor Kameyama before becoming one of Kyoto's great Zen te

Shrines (3)

• Fushimi Inari TaishaFushimi–Uji · InariFushimi Inari Taisha is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, but the real heart of this shrine i
• Yasaka ShrineHigashiyama–Gion · Gion-shijoStanding at the eastern end of Gion's Shijo Street, Yasaka Shrine is the spiritual home of the Gion Festival,
• Heian Jingu ShrineOkazaki–Sakyo · HigashiyamaHeian Jingu may look like an ancient imperial palace, but it was built in 1895 to celebrate 1,100 years since

Sights & streets (6)

• Nijo-jo CastleNijo-jo / Kyoto Imperial Palace · Nijojo-maeOne castle witnessed both the beginning and the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 160
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Togetsukyo BridgeArashiyama / Sagano · ArashiyamaTwo of Arashiyama's most recognizable sights are connected by the culture of Kyoto's imperial court. Togetsuky
• Gion and Hanamikoji StreetHigashiyama / Gion · Gion-shijoHanamikoji did not begin as a street of geiko and maiko. Gion grew from the approach to Yasaka Shrine, where t
• Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka Historic StreetsHigashiyama / Gion · Kiyomizu-gojoThe stone-paved slopes of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka look centuries old, but many of the traditional townhouses
• Nishiki MarketShijo / Kawaramachi · KarasumaWhy did a fish market flourish in the middle of Kyoto? Part of the answer lies underground. Nishiki Market ben
• Philosopher's PathOkazaki / Sakyo · DemachiyanagiThe Philosopher's Path was never intended to be a walking trail. It began as a maintenance path beside a branc

Museums (1)

• Kyoto National MuseumHigashiyama–Shichijo · ShichijoKyoto National Museum opened in 1897 to preserve and share the cultural treasures held by the old capital's te

Viewpoints (1)

• Nidec Kyoto TowerKyoto Station / To-ji · KyotoKyoto has no coastline, yet its most recognizable modern tower was designed to resemble a lighthouse. Opened i