Tenryu-ji
Arashiyama, Kyoto
- Daily
- 8:30 to 17:00
Last entry 16:50. The halls close at 16:45 and the Dharma Hall at 16:30. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30.
Source: tenryuji.com, checked 11 Oct 2026.
The shogun Ashikaga Takauji founded Tenryu-ji in 1339 in memory of Emperor Go-Daigo, and it still ranks first among Kyoto's five great Zen temples. You come for the Sogen Pond garden, laid out by Muso Soseki nearly 700 years ago and still close to how he left it, with the Arashiyama hills borrowed as its backdrop. It's one of the UNESCO-listed monuments of ancient Kyoto.
More photos of Tenryu-ji
Insider tip
The garden is ¥500 and the halls ¥300 more. Kayama Matazo's cloud dragon on the Dharma Hall ceiling is a separate ¥500, open on weekends and holidays, and every day from 19 September to 6 December 2026. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30. Leave by the north gate and you're on the bamboo path.
What the guides say about Tenryu-ji
Stay in Arashiyama if you want the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove at first light. There's no charge and no opening hours on the path, and Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30. Places to stay cluster round Togetsukyo Bridge. Kyoto City's register of licensed places to stay (end of July 2026) lists 39 within a kilometre of it, and 15 of its 16 ryokan and hotels are within 500 m, on both banks. The other 23 hold the simple-lodging licence that guesthouses, hostels and rented houses use. Hanaikada, a hot-spring ryokan, is a minute's walk from the bridge.
4. Arashiyama, as early as you can manage. The bamboo path runs about 400 m past Tenryu-ji's north gate, and it's free. Kyoto City streams a live camera of it, so you can check the crowds before you leave. Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30, and Muso Soseki's pond garden borrows the Arashiyama hills as its backdrop (¥500). Leave by the north gate and you're on the bamboo path. JR Sagano Line rapids reach Saga-Arashiyama in about 11 minutes.
Tickets and tours
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What's on at Tenryu-ji
Upcoming events at Tenryu-ji, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Tenryu-ji Hatto Cloud Dragon Painting Autumn Opening
天龍寺 法堂「雲龍図」特別公開
Time 9:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:20) Station Randen Arashiyama Station (Keifuku), 13 min on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama
The Hatto hall's Cloud Dragon ceiling painting by Kayama Matazo is open daily in autumn, with a separate ticket from the garden.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 Early Morning Visit to Sogenchi Garden at Tenryu-ji
天龍寺 曹源池庭園《早朝参拝》
Time From 7:30 (garden ticket office only; north gate from 8:30) Station Randen Arashiyama Station (Keifuku), 13 min on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama
The garden opens early on the garden ticket during the peak autumn-leaf weeks.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 New Year's Eve Bell at Tenryu-ji
天龍寺 除夜の鐘
Time From about 23:30 (tickets from 23:15) Station Randen Arashiyama Station (Keifuku), 13 min on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama
The temple bell is rung from about 23:30 on New Year's Eve, with numbered tickets for the first 108 groups handed out from 23:15.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 Tenryu-ji Hatto Cloud Dragon Painting Spring Opening
天龍寺 法堂「雲龍図」特別公開
Time 9:00 to 16:30 Station Randen Arashiyama Station (Keifuku), 13 min on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama
The Hatto hall's Cloud Dragon painting was open daily from March to May in 2026. Dates are from the usual pattern and the 2027 dates are not announced yet.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 Tenryu-ji Old Cloud Dragon Painting and Embroidered Nirvana Picture
天龍寺 大方丈 旧「雲龍図」・法堂「刺繍八相大涅槃図」特別公開
Time Daihojo 8:30 to 16:45; Hatto 9:00 to 16:30 Station Randen Arashiyama Station (Keifuku), 13 min on foot from JR Saga-Arashiyama
In 2026 the Daihojo showed the old Cloud Dragon painting by Suzuki Shonen, and the Hatto showed an embroidered Nirvana picture, for three weeks in March. Dates are from the usual pattern and the 2027 dates are not announced yet.
Kimon Berlin, CC BY-SA 2.0 Smaller local events nearby
Knowing and Enjoying Kyoto Through Paintings Exhibition
On now, until 28 Feb · Saga Arashiyama Museum of Arts and Culture
An exhibition of Nihonga that introduces Kyoto sights, festivals, geiko and Kyoto vegetables, with folding screens of Kyoto and wagashi wrapping paper designs.
¥1,000, combined ticket with Fukuda Art Museum ¥2,300 · 10:00 to 17:00 · Map · Source: Saga Arashiyama Bunkakan · 絵で知る、もっと楽しむ京都
Monthly zazen at Tenryu-ji Festival
Sun 8 Nov, Sun 13 Dec, Sun 10 Jan · Yuun-an, Tenryu-ji, Arashiyama
A 9:00 to 10:00 zazen session on the 2nd Sunday of the month needs no booking and welcomes beginners. A talk (Ryumonkai) follows at 10:00. There are no sessions in February, July or August.
Free · Map · Source: Tenryu-ji · 天龍寺坐禅会
Nearby
Around Arashiyama
Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura
Arashiyama is on Kyoto's north-western edge, where Togetsukyo Bridge crosses the Oi River with wooded hills right behind it. You'll want the bridge, Tenryu-ji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and so will everyone else. Go early. Then walk north into Sagano. Its temples line the foot of Mount Ogura, and it's quieter at the far end, which Kyoto's official tourism site calls Okusaga.
Arashiyama has 30 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 14 shrines and temples, 4 landmarks, 3 parks and gardens, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 cafe, 1 museum, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop and 1 neighbourhood. Read the Arashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Tenryu-ji?
- 68 Saga-Tenryuji Susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町68).
- What are the opening hours of Tenryu-ji?
- Daily 8:30 to 17:00. Last entry 16:50. The halls close at 16:45 and the Dharma Hall at 16:30. From 14 to 30 November 2026 the garden opens at 7:30.
- How do I get to Tenryu-ji?
- The nearest station is Arashiyama (Randen). Tenryu-ji is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Tenryu-ji cost?
- Tenryu-ji is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Tenryu-ji?
- Plan for 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Tenryu-ji?
- Right at opening.
Stay near Tenryu-ji
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