Yasaka Koshindo
Higashiyama, Kyoto
Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Yasaka Koshindo, formally Kongo-ji, is a Tendai temple near the Yasaka Pagoda, and it's counted with Shitenno-ji in Osaka and Senso-ji in Tokyo as one of Japan's three great Koshin temples. Its charm is the kukurizaru, a monkey with its hands and feet tied, made to keep your own selfish wants in check.
Insider tip
The custom is to give up one desire and offer a kukurizaru to the main deity, Shomen Kongo, to get a wish granted. On Koshin days, every 60 days, and on 6 and 7 January and 3 May, the temple serves blessed konnyaku, and you eat three pieces facing north without a word.
What's on near Yasaka Koshindo
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Yasaka Koshindo, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Higashiyama Ward Fureai Hiroba 2026
東山区民ふれあいひろば2026
Time 10:30 to 15:00 Station Kiyomizu-michi City Bus stop, short walk
A ward festival with a stage of school band, dance and calligraphy performances, children's games, stalls selling vegetables, sweets and pottery, food stalls and a stamp rally. There is no visitor parking.
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 Smaller local events nearby
Shoten fair day at Rokuharamitsu-ji Festival
6 dates from 1 Nov to 16 Jan · Rokuharamitsu-ji, Higashiyama
Fair days of Shoten (Kangiten) at Rokuharamitsu-ji, held twice a month.
Map · Source: Rokuharamitsu-ji · お聖天さま御縁日
Benzaiten fair day at Rokuharamitsu-ji Festival
Sat 7 Nov, Mon 7 Dec, Thu 7 Jan · Rokuharamitsu-ji, Higashiyama
Monthly fair day of Minarikin Benzaiten, one of the Miyako Seven Lucky Gods, at Rokuharamitsu-ji.
Map · Source: Rokuharamitsu-ji · 巳成金弁財天御縁日
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 Yasaka Koshindo?
- 390 Kinen-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市東山区金園町390).
- How do I get to Yasaka Koshindo?
- The nearest station is Higashiyama-Yasui bus stop (City Bus 206). Yasaka Koshindo is in Higashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Yasaka Koshindo cost?
- Nothing. Yasaka Koshindo is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Yasaka Koshindo?
- Plan for 15 min.
- When is the best time to visit Yasaka Koshindo?
- On a Koshin day.
Stay near Yasaka Koshindo
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