Temple

Kinkaku-ji

Kinkakuji, Kyoto

Address
1 Kinkakuji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto 〒603-8361 京都市北区金閣寺町1
Hours
Daily
9:00 to 17:00

Open every day of the year.

Source: shokoku-ji.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.

The Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond among pines
Photo: John Mason / Flickr (CC BY 4.0)

Kinkaku-ji's formal name is Rokuon-ji, and it started life as the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who began building here in 1397. The pavilion's top two floors are covered in pure gold leaf over lacquer, there's a phoenix on the roof, and the garden around it centres on the Kyoko-chi pond, about 6,600 square metres. Each floor is built in a different style, from palace to samurai house to Zen hall.

More photos of Kinkaku-ji

A closer view of the gold-leaf upper floors of Kinkaku-ji
Photo: Pom' / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji seen from the side, with its white ground floor and gilded upper storeys
Photo: Kentaro Ohno / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Nearest station Kinkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 12, 59, 204, 205, M1)
Cost ¥
Time needed 45 min
Best time Right at opening

Insider tip

Entry is ¥500 for adults and ¥300 for primary and junior high school students, in cash or by Omairi Pay. Photos are for personal use only, and the temple asks you not to post them publicly, social media included. Past the pavilion the path climbs steps, so wheelchairs and buggies turn back there. There are no lockers, so leave big bags at the station.

What the guides say about Kinkaku-ji

3. Ryoan-ji first, then Kinkaku-ji. Ryoan-ji opens at 8:00 from March to November, an hour before the Golden Pavilion, so do them in that order. Its rock garden is 15 stones in 248 square metres of white sand, and nobody knows what its maker meant (¥600). Kinkaku-ji costs ¥500 and takes about 45 minutes. There aren't any lockers, so leave big bags at the station. The Kinkakuji guide adds Ninna-ji, on the same road.

2. Take the subway as far as it goes, then the bus. That's the advice on Kyoto's official tourism site. The Karasuma Line runs north to south through Kyoto Station, the Tozai Line east to west through Nijojo-mae and Higashiyama, and they cross at Karasuma Oike. A ride costs ¥220 to ¥360. For Kinkaku-ji, ride to Kitaoji and take City Bus 204 or 205.

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What's on at Kinkaku-ji

Upcoming events at Kinkaku-ji and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.

Festival

Fudo Hall Opening Service at Kinkaku-ji

不動堂開扉法要

3 Feb Kinkaku-ji (Rokuon-ji), Kinkakuji

Time 09:00 to 10:45 and 12:00 to 15:00 Station Kinkakuji-michi bus stop

On 3 February the hidden stone Fudo Myoo statue, said to be by Kobo Daishi, is opened for a service.

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Official site
The Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji reflected in its pond among pines John Mason, CC BY 4.0
Exhibition On now ¥600 adult, ¥450 high school and university, ¥300 age 65+, free for junior high and under

Muses: The Models Who Inspired Insho's Art

〈開館60周年記念〉特別企画展Ⅱ モデルになったミューズたち

15 Oct to 20 Dec Kyoto Prefectural Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, Kinkakuji

Time 9:30 to 17:00 (last entry 30 minutes before closing) Station Ritsumeikan Daigaku-mae bus stop (City Bus), right outside

Paintings by Domoto Insho of women from his student years to his late career, shown for the museum's 60th anniversary. Closed Mondays except 23 Nov, and closed 24 Nov.

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The white facade of the Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, covered in Domoto Insho's relief patterns, with its name sign Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0
Exhibition Museum admission ticket required (¥600 adult)

Insho Domoto Museum: Yama no Atelier Special Opening

堂本印象美術館「山のアトリエ」特別公開

22 Nov Kyoto Prefectural Insho Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, Kinkakuji

Time Entry 11:00 to 11:30 and 14:30 to 15:00 Station Ritsumeikan Daigaku-mae bus stop (City Bus), right outside

The museum opens the renovated Yama no Atelier, a registered Tangible Cultural Property, to visitors with a museum ticket in a morning and an afternoon slot.

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The white facade of the Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts, covered in Domoto Insho's relief patterns, with its name sign Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0
Performance Starts in 9 days Free

Ritsumeikan Library 10th Anniversary Concert

立命館大学 平井嘉一郎記念図書館 開館10周年記念 LibraryConcert

1 Nov Hirai Kaichiro Memorial Library, Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Campus, Kinkakuji

Time 17:10 to 18:00

The university symphony orchestra plays Carmen, Hungarian Dance No. 5 and a John Williams tribute in the library's ground-floor Library Valley. Free, no booking, and people from outside the university are welcome.

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Nearby

Waratenjin Shrine Shrine · 5 min walk Waratenjin, formally Shikichi Jinja, is the shrine people visit to pray for a safe birth. Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts Museum · 7 min walk The painter Domoto Insho designed this museum himself, inside and out, and opened it in 1966. Kyoto Museum for World Peace Museum · 8 min walk Ritsumeikan University opened this museum in 1992 and calls it the world's first peace museum run by a university. Hirano Shrine Shrine · 10 min walk Hirano Shrine grows about 400 cherry trees of some 60 varieties, many of which started here, so something's in flower for about six weeks from... Fruit Parlor Cricket Cafe · 11 min walk Fruit Parlor Cricket has been a fruit specialist since 1974, opened by an owner who traded at Kyoto's central wholesale market. Toji-in Temple · 13 min walk Ashikaga Takauji founded Toji-in in 1341 at the foot of Mount Kinugasa, and it became the family temple of the Ashikaga shoguns.

Around Kinkakuji

Three World Heritage temples on one road under Mount Kinugasa

Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji and Ninna-ji all sit on Kinukake-no-Michi, a road that climbs about 2.5 km from Omuro-Ninnaji Station up to the Golden Pavilion. Start at Ryoan-ji, which opens at 8:00 from March to November, an hour before Kinkaku-ji. South of the road, Myoshin-ji's grounds don't close at all, and they hold more than 40 subtemples.

Kinkakuji has 14 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 9 shrines and temples, 2 museums, 1 cafe, 1 restaurant and 1 viewpoint. Read the Kinkakuji guide.

Good to know

What is the address of Kinkaku-ji?
1 Kinkakuji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市北区金閣寺町1).
What are the opening hours of Kinkaku-ji?
Daily 9:00 to 17:00. Open every day of the year.
How do I get to Kinkaku-ji?
The nearest station is Kinkakuji-michi bus stop (City Bus 12, 59, 204, 205, M1). Kinkaku-ji is in Kinkakuji, Kyoto.
How much does Kinkaku-ji cost?
Kinkaku-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
How long do you need at Kinkaku-ji?
Plan for 45 min.
When is the best time to visit Kinkaku-ji?
Right at opening.

Stay near Kinkaku-ji

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