Bunnosuke Chaya
Higashiyama, Kyoto
- Daily
- 11:00 to 17:00
Closes on irregular days.
Source: ecstore.bunnosuke.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Bunnosuke Chaya was opened in 1909 by the rakugo storyteller Katsura Bunnosuke II as an amazake stop for people walking between Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera. Amazake is still on the menu, next to the warabimochi it's known for, with shaved ice in summer and grilled mitarashi dango and zenzai in winter.
Insider tip
Only this shop serves Mubi, a warabimochi made with bracken starch from southern Kyushu and wasanbon sugar that has to be eaten the day it's made. No reservations.
What the guides say about Bunnosuke Chaya
In Gion, order the kuzukiri at Kagizen Yoshifusa. It's made to order from Yoshino kudzu and eaten with black sugar syrup, and the tea room's closed on Mondays. Gion Tsujiri, an Uji tea merchant since 1860, serves matcha parfaits upstairs for ¥1,600 to ¥3,000. On the walk from Yasaka Shrine to Kiyomizu-dera, Bunnosuke Chaya is the only shop that serves Mubi, a warabimochi you've got to eat the day it's made.
What's on near Bunnosuke Chaya
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Bunnosuke Chaya, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Spring Night Viewing at Kodai-ji
春の夜間特別拝観（高台寺）
Time 17:00 to 21:30 (gates close 22:00) Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206), 7 min walk
Hideyoshi's widow Nene's temple lights its garden for spring evenings: the Garyu pond and the bamboo grove past the Kasa-tei and Shigure-tei tea houses are the ones to see. You follow the same route as by day.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Autumn Night Viewing at Kodai-ji
秋の夜間特別拝観（高台寺）
Time 9:00 to 22:00, lit from 17:00 (last entry 21:30) Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206, 207)
Kodai-ji stays open after dark through the autumn season, with the grounds lit from 17:00. One ticket covers day and night, ¥800 for adults in 2026, but you can't go back in once you've left.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Kodai-ji Museum: Hideyoshi's Daizuigu Bosatsu on Show
高台寺掌美術館 秀吉天下一統の念持仏 大随求菩薩公開
Time 9:00 to 17:10 (reception to 17:00), to 21:10 during the 23 Oct to 13 Dec night viewing Station Higashiyama Yasui bus stop (City Bus), 7 min walk
The museum shows the Daizuigu Bosatsu, the personal Buddhist image of Hideyoshi, together with Nene's thousand-Jizo and other treasures from Kodai-ji and related temples.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 New Year's Eve Bell at Kodai-ji
高台寺 除夜の鐘
Time 22:00 to 02:00 Station Higashiyama-Yasui bus stop, 7 min walk
Kodai-ji hands out 108 numbered tickets, one per group, from about 22:00 for the New Year's Eve bell. The grounds are lit and open for a first visit from 22:00 to 02:00.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Yobanashi evening tea gathering at Kodai-ji
夜咄（よばなし）の茶会（高台寺）
Winter evening tea gathering on Friday to Sunday evenings with tea ceremony, guided visit and a meal included. Not held on 6 and 7 February.
Tetsuhiro Terada, CC BY 2.0 Smaller local events nearby
Autumn Exhibition: Sakamoto Ryoma and the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance Exhibition
On now, until 23 Nov · Ryozan Museum of History, Higashiyama
An exhibition at the Ryozan Museum of History on Sakamoto Ryoma and the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance, shown in two periods and closed Mondays except holidays.
¥1,000, students ¥600, children ¥300 · 10:00 to 17:30 · Map · Source: Ryozan Museum of History · 2026年 秋の企画展「坂本龍馬と薩長同盟」
Nearby
Around Higashiyama
Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the temples and pottery below it
Higashiyama is a whole ward, but this guide covers the slope from Kiyomizu-dera down to Shichijo-dori. Go early. The temple's gates open at 6:00, and if you're there then, you'll reach its wooden stage long before the day's crowds. Later, walk down past the pottery shops of Gojozaka to Sanjusangendo, where 1,001 statues of Kannon stand in a hall 120 metres long.
Higashiyama has 22 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 4 shops, 2 museums, 2 neighbourhoods, 1 cafe, 1 viewpoint, 1 restaurant and 1 landmark. Read the Higashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Bunnosuke Chaya?
- 373 Yasaka-kamimachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区下河原通東入八坂上町373).
- What are the opening hours of Bunnosuke Chaya?
- Daily 11:00 to 17:00. Closes on irregular days.
- How do I get to Bunnosuke Chaya?
- The nearest station is Kiyomizu-michi bus stop (City Bus 206, 207). Bunnosuke Chaya is in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Bunnosuke Chaya cost?
- Bunnosuke Chaya is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Bunnosuke Chaya?
- Plan for 30 min.
- When is the best time to visit Bunnosuke Chaya?
- Mid-afternoon break.
Stay near Bunnosuke Chaya
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