Daitokuji Ikkyu
Kitano, Kyoto
- Daily
- 12:00 to 20:30
Meals by reservation only, last entry 18:00. The natto shop is open 9:00 to 18:00. Closed on irregular days that follow Daitoku-ji's events.
Source: daitokuji-ikkyu.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Daitokuji Ikkyu has cooked Daitoku-ji's shojin ryori, the temple's vegetarian cuisine, since the late 1400s, and says the monk Ikkyu gave it its name. Meals come as a fuchidaka box or as a full honzen spread on red lacquer trays, with its own Daitokuji-fu, gisei-dofu and ikada-gobo among the dishes.
Insider tip
You'll need to book, since it only cooks to order. The fuchidaka box is ¥6,050 (served 12:00 to 16:00) and the honzen starts at ¥9,680, service included. It also sells Daitokuji natto, 9:00 to 18:00.
What the guides say about Daitokuji Ikkyu
10. Daitoku-ji's Daisen-in. It's open every day for ¥500, and its dry garden turns a waterfall, a river and the open sea into standing rocks and white sand. Book lunch at Daitokuji Ikkyu, which has cooked the temple's vegetarian shojin ryori since the late 1400s (the fuchidaka box is ¥6,050).
Shojin ryori is Zen vegetarian cooking with no animal products at all. Shigetsu is Tenryu-ji's own restaurant, with a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a Green Star in the Kyoto Osaka 2026 guide. Its Yuki set (one soup, five dishes) is ¥3,800, you book it two days ahead, and the ¥500 garden fee goes on top. Daitokuji Ikkyu has cooked Daitoku-ji's vegetarian food since the late 1400s. The fuchidaka box is ¥6,050, and a full honzen meal on red lacquer trays starts at ¥9,680.
What's on near Daitokuji Ikkyu
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Daitokuji Ikkyu, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Genbu Yasurai Festival
玄武やすらい祭
One of the three odd festivals of Kyoto and an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Four flower umbrellas parade with gongs and drums through the parish.
Daitoku-ji Juko-in 460th Anniversary Special Opening
大徳寺 聚光院 開創460年 特別公開
Time 9:30 to 15:30 (last entry) Station Daitokuji-mae bus stop (City Bus 1, 204, 205, 206), 5 min walk
Sen no Rikyu's family temple at Daitoku-ji opens for the first time in about three and a half years, with copies of the National Treasure wall paintings by Kano Eitoku and his father Shoei, Senju Hiroshi's waterfall panels and the tea room Kan'in-seki. It's cash only, preschool children can't enter, and it's closed on 14, 16 to 18, 27 and 28 Oct and 21, 22 and 27 to 29 Nov.
Eric Salard, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kokei Memorial Tea at Daisen-in
古渓忌(こけいき)お茶でくつろぐ会
Time 09:30 to 15:30 Station Daitokuji-mae bus stop, 8 min walk
Daisen-in serves tea in its tea room in memory of Kokei, linked to Sen no Rikyu. Visitors can join freely. The fee includes admission to the temple.
Bigjap, CC BY-SA 3.0 Spring Zen experience class at Daisen-in
大仙院 禅寺体験教室（春）
Time 10:00-12:30
Zen experience class at Daisen-in, a Daitoku-ji sub-temple, on 28 March from 10:00 to 12:30 (reception from 9:30).
Bigjap, CC BY-SA 3.0 Eco Festa NORTHGs 3rd
エコフェスタ「NORTHGs.3rd」
Time 10:30 to 13:30 Station Kitaoji (Karasuma Line), 10 min walk
A free reuse market of children's clothes, picture books and tableware, with workshops, food bank collection, local vegetables and kitchen cars at the Kita Ward Office.
Smaller local events nearby
Issy Wood and Evelyn Taocheng Wang at Korin-in Exhibition
5 to 10 Nov · Korin-in, Daitoku-ji, Murasakino
An Art Collaboration Kyoto partner exhibition of works by Issy Wood and Evelyn Taocheng Wang in the Korin-in temple of Daitoku-ji.
Free · 10:00 to 16:30 · Map · Source: Art Collaboration Kyoto · A03 Issy Wood and Evelyn Taocheng Wang
Nearby
Around Kitano
Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji
Start at Kitano Tenmangu, head shrine of about 12,000 Tenjin shrines, founded in 947 for Sugawara no Michizane, the scholar students still pray to before exams. Come on the 25th, when the Tenjin-san Market fills the approach and the lanterns are lit after dark. Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, lines the shrine's east approach, and Daitoku-ji's Zen temples are about 1.7 km north-east.
Kitano has 25 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 3 cafes, 3 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 viewpoint, 1 neighbourhood, 1 museum, 1 bar and 1 market. Read the Kitano guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Daitokuji Ikkyu?
- 20 Murasakino Daitokuji Shimomonzen-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市北区紫野大徳寺下門前町20).
- What are the opening hours of Daitokuji Ikkyu?
- Daily 12:00 to 20:30. Meals by reservation only, last entry 18:00. The natto shop is open 9:00 to 18:00. Closed on irregular days that follow Daitoku-ji's events.
- How do I get to Daitokuji Ikkyu?
- The nearest station is Daitokuji-mae bus stop (City Bus 1, 101, 204, 205, 206). Daitokuji Ikkyu is in Kitano, Kyoto.
- How much does Daitokuji Ikkyu cost?
- Daitokuji Ikkyu is at the higher end, marked ¥¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Daitokuji Ikkyu?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Daitokuji Ikkyu?
- Lunch, booked ahead.
Stay near Daitokuji Ikkyu
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