Ninna-ji
Kinkakuji, Kyoto
1 Dec to 29 Feb
- Daily
- 9:00 to 16:30
Rest of the year
- Daily
- 9:00 to 17:00
Hours of the Goten palace and garden. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Open every day.
Source: ninnaji.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Emperor Uda finished Ninna-ji in 888, and imperial princes served as its head priests until 1867. The Kondo main hall is the oldest surviving Shishinden, the ceremonial hall of the Imperial Palace, moved here between 1624 and 1643 and now a National Treasure. The five-storey pagoda went up in 1644, and in early to mid April the low, late-blooming Omuro cherries flower inside the middle gate.
Insider tip
Outside cherry season the grounds are free. During the Omuro Hana Matsuri in cherry season, adults pay ¥800 to go past the middle gate. The Goten palace and garden cost ¥800, and high school students and younger don't pay. The autumn light-up runs 18:30 to 21:00 on Fridays, weekends and holidays from 24 October to 13 December 2026, for ¥2,800. Domoto Insho painted the sliding doors of the Kuro-shoin in 1937.
What the guides say about Ninna-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.
Tickets and tours
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What's on at Ninna-ji
Upcoming events at Ninna-ji, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Ninna-ji Reihokan Autumn Treasures Exhibition
仁和寺 霊宝館 秋季名宝展
Time 10:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00), closed Mondays except 12 Oct and 23 Nov Station Omuro-ninnaji Station (Randen), 2 min walk
The temple museum shows its autumn selection of treasures. Reihokan admission is ¥500 for adults.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Bonji (Siddham Script) Exhibition at the Ninna-ji Imperial Garden
仁和寺御所庭園 梵字展
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Omuro-ninnaji Station (Randen), 2 min walk
An exhibition on Bonji, the Sanskrit-derived script used for Buddhist deities, held in the Goten garden to mark the completed repair of the Shiro-shoin. A monk draws Bonji on the south garden's white gravel on 11 October, and the temple runs a seven-site stamp rally.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Ninna-ji Kyozo (Sutra Repository) Special Opening
仁和寺 重要文化財「経蔵」特別拝観
Time 9:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00) Station Omuro-ninnaji Station (Randen), 2 min walk
The Important Cultural Property sutra repository, normally closed, opens to visitors, with its rotating bookcase, paintings of the Eight Bodhisattvas and sixteen arhats and a dragon. It is part of the Ryuo-sen shogi match tie-in with Myoshin-ji.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Ninna-ji 'Sea of Clouds' Autumn Light-up
世界遺産仁和寺 紅葉雲海ライトアップ
Time 18:30 to 21:00 (entry 18:00 to 20:30; entry opens 18:30 on 20 Nov) Station Omuro-Ninnaji bus stop (City Bus 26), 1 min walk
Ninna-ji lights its autumn maples above a 'sea of clouds', with a 528 Hz 'healing sound garden' playing. It runs on Fridays, weekends and holidays only, not on 8 or 28 Nov, and high school students and younger get in free.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Omuro Flower Festival at Ninna-ji
御室花まつり（仁和寺）
Time 8:30 to 17:30 (last entry 30 min before) Station Omuro-Ninnaji (Randen), about 3 min walk
Ninna-ji's Omuro cherries, a protected Place of Scenic Beauty, are at their best in early to mid April, with azaleas and then new maple leaves after them. The grounds charge a special entry fee during the festival.
josef knecht, CC BY 3.0 Smaller local events nearby
Bonji Exhibition for the Completed Repair of the Shiro-shoin Exhibition
23 Oct to 20 Nov · Ninna-ji, Omuro
An exhibition of Bonji (Sanskrit characters) marking the completion of repairs to the Shiro-shoin in the Omuro Imperial Palace garden at Ninna-ji.
Map · Source: Ninna-ji · 仁和寺御所庭園白書院修理完成記念『梵字展』
Ninna-ji Autumn Leaves Light-Up with Sagano Scenic Railway Illumination
24 Oct to 13 Dec · Ninna-ji, Omuro
Evening illumination of the autumn leaves at Ninna-ji, run together with a Sagano Scenic Railway program on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Map · Source: Ninna-ji · 秋の京都・洛西を彩る嵯峨野トロッコ列車と仁和寺紅葉ライトアップ
Nearby
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 Ninna-ji?
- 33 Omuro Ouchi, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市右京区御室大内33).
- What are the opening hours of Ninna-ji?
- 1 Dec to 29 Feb: Daily 9:00 to 16:30. Rest of the year: Daily 9:00 to 17:00. Hours of the Goten palace and garden. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Open every day.
- How do I get to Ninna-ji?
- The nearest station is Omuro-Ninnaji (Randen Kitano Line). Ninna-ji is in Kinkakuji, Kyoto.
- How much does Ninna-ji cost?
- Ninna-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Ninna-ji?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Ninna-ji?
- Early to mid April.
Stay near Ninna-ji
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