Kyoto Guide to Its Temples, Shrines, and Festivals

I. Introduction

Kyoto has to be the second most popular city in Japan and its historical and cultural centre. Ancient temples and shrines erected a thousand years ago are a feast and delight to the eye and soul.

This article presents some of the most important landmarks in Kyoto, which I visited in October 2024. It is geared towards amateur enthusiast photographers on their first trip to Kyoto. We hope that the advice and information provided based on our experience will help other photographers make the most of this vibrant, historic city.

II. Kyoto vs Tokyo: A Short Comparison

Unlike Tokyo, which is expansive and massive, Kyoto is relatively smaller in size and population. In theory, you should be able to cover more ground very quickly. In practice, the continuous avalanche of tourists and the less diverse transport system, which relies heavily on buses, will make it a bit harder to get around.

While some attractions are in the city centre and close to the Kyoto Train Station, many are within 20-45 minutes of the bus station. You should also expect to walk a fair bit from bus or train stations to the visiting sites.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan and the emperor’s seat from 794 until 1868. It is also the religious centre of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, and this branch was developed in the nearby Mt. Heie monasteries. As such, Kyoto boasts a vast number of temples and shrines with their unique architectural style.

Kyoto also has the world-renowned historic Gion area. Recently, rules were introduced prohibiting photography in the inner precinct. Gion, like other tourist attractions, can be extremely crowded at peak visiting times.

The weather in Kyoto is slightly warmer, and the days are somewhat longer than in Tokyo during the same period.

III. How Much Time Should I Spend in Kyoto?

Suppose you are arriving in Kyoto from Tokyo and leaving either to Osaka or again to Tokyo, and you are probably using the Shinkansen. In that case, you will need to factor in two days for your arrival and departure. While the trip from Tokyo will take roughly 2-3 hours, you will need around half a day door-to-door. So that’s between one and one and a half days to begin with.

Once you are in Kyoto, you will need somewhere between three and five days to visit the most popular attractions. If you happen to be there in spring or autumn and want to attend the highly recommended Jidai Matsuri, add another full day. If you want to do day trips from Kyoto to Nara or Osaka, then that’s a further day or two in your itinerary.

The numbers we arrived at are calculated with the idea of a photography trip in mind. Armed with a camera, tripod, and a few lenses, photographers tend to spend a bit more time on site than an average tourist.

IV. Kyoto Temples and Shrines

A. Higashi Hongan-ji Temple

The Higashi Hongan-ji Temple is conveniently located only seven minutes away from Kyoto Main Station and is ideal for a morning or evening visit. The temple is enormous, boasting a few buildings and structures. A few minutes from Higashi Hongan-ji is its sister temple, the Nishi Honganji.

Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji are the headquarters of the two factions of the Jodo-Shin Sect (True Pure Land Sect) of Japanese Buddhism.

When I arrived around 8 a.m., the place was calm. There were only a few visitors, primarily worshippers. At 8:30 a.m., the morning prayers commenced, which visitors (worshippers and tourists alike) could attend. The calming ambience and soothing atmosphere were a beautiful experience and a great way to start your day.

The weather was also great, with bright blue skies and high clouds forming an ideal background against which the dark wooden structures of the temple beamed with golden yellow and brown hues.

What was remarkably superb about Higashi Hongan-ji was that photographing inside the main hall was OK.

B. Eikandō and Nanzen-ji Temples

Eikando (also known as Zenrinji) is a beautiful Buddhist temple tucked in a grove on a mountain slope. Its main features are the Tahoto Pagoda and the Hojo Pond. As you can see from the pictures, around the end of October, some autumn colours were visible, but the temple was not in full bloom yet.

The temple has many interesting artifacts in its main hall, the Shakado (Hall of the historical Buddha), such as a rock garden and beautifully painted sliding doors (fusuma). Miedo building is where the Jodo sect’s founder, Honen, is enshrined, and Amidado or Amida Hall is where the sideward-facing Amida statue is worshipped.

Nanzen-ji is very close to Eikando and is also worth a visit. The struggle with the high-contrast scenes at Nanzen-ji was particularly acute. The dark wooden structure of the large gate contrasted heavily with the overcast skies.

C. Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Kiyomizu-dera Temple is one of the oldest temples in Japan, dating back to 780 AD. It features a wooden stage around 13 meters high just in front of the main hall.

Upon your entrance to Kiyomizu-dera, you will be greeted by a large, beautiful, bright, red-painted gate. In the morning, the gate will be backlit, whereas in the evening, the sun will be shining on the temple. It seems that the best time to capture photos would be late afternoon and sunset. You can see the slight loss of contrast in the image above. Another prominent feature of Kiyomizu-dera’s entrance is a dragon statue the size of a person.

Once you enter the gate, you are greeted by the main hall, from which a large wooden stage protrudes. The view of Kyoto City and the remainder of the temple complex is quite beautiful. You can also walk to the Koyasu pagoda through a narrow pathway tucked into the mountain slope and hugged by trees.

As soon as you leave the temple, you can enter one of the most photogenic streets in Kyoto, Sannenzaka. The beauty of this narrow street is rivalled only by that leading to the Yasaka shrine and pagoda.

D. Shimogamo Shrine

Like Fushimi Momoyama Castle (see next section), Shimogamo Shrine is one of those rarely mentioned sites in Kyoto that are absolute gems. The shrine’s various structures include a main hall, a large gate, two Torii gates, a small pond crossed by a bridge, and two stages where cultural performances (story-telling, traditional dances, taiko drumming) are performed.

I arrived at Shimogamo Shrine around 3:30 p.m., and the shrine buildings were glimmering in golden yellow. The bright red colour of the Torii gates looked vibrant. Cultural performances were being performed on the two stages for (primarily local) visitors. Unlike other, more touristy places, visiting Shimogamo felt tranquil, calm, and welcoming.

The architectural style of the Shimogamo and its sibling Kamigamo Shrine is somehow different from those in Tokyo or Nikko. For example, you will find thatched roofs, fewer colours, and lanterns with distinctive polygonal shapes.

Shimogamo Shrine is well worth a visit and offers plenty of photo opportunities. In May, you can see the Aoi Matsuri.

E. Tofukuji Temple

Tofukuji is a large Buddhist Zen temple most famous for its astounding autumn colours. In November, maple trees take on bright orange and red hues, which tourists can contemplate from the large wooden bridge called Tsutenkyo, which connects the slopes of a small valley. As you can see from the images above, taken towards the end of October, there was hardly anything except green; the peak autumn colours would only appear in November.

Tofukuji is also known for its rock gardens, beautifully curated with granites, moss-covered boulders, and small ponds.

In hindsight, I would not have prioritized Tofokuji. However, if you happen to be close, then sure. There are other great places to visit in Kyoto.

F. Yasaka Shrine

V. Fushimi Momoyama Castle

Fushimi Momoyama Castle is one of the truly hidden gems of Kyoto. This landmark building is not advertised (as far as I have seen) on tourist maps or brochures. I was pleasantly surprised by its beauty. However, there are a few things to note about the castle.

• First, it is not open to the public, so you cannot stroll inside or even enter its walls.
• Second, it is in a residential suburb on the outskirts of Kyoto, so expect to walk for about 20 minutes without seeing a coffee shop or convenience store.
• Third, the two buildings of the castle look amazing at sunset as they face the west, and therefore, sunset is the best time to visit.
• Fourth, the castle entrance is not apparent. You must enter the castle grounds through a medieval gate from a parking lot. I nearly missed the parking lot and kept walking upward on the road until I saw the castle on my right, at which point I had to retrace my steps.
• Finally, Momoyama Castle is a replica of the one originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which was destroyed by an earthquake.

VI. Jidai Matsuri

Attending the Jidai Matsuri made my trip to Kyoto in October 2024 incredibly impressive. It was an immense privilege to experience a 120-year-old tradition that began in 1895.

Around 2,000 participants from Kyoto marched in a two-hour procession dressed in the style of each era of Japanese history, from the Meiji Restoration (1868-1889) to the Enryaku period (782-806), right when Kyoto was built.

The attires, artifacts, and wagons are as authentic as you can expect. If you arrive an hour or two before the procession commences, you will have plenty of opportunity to pick a good place to install your camera and tripod. One of the wisest tips that anyone could give you is to bring a small foldable chair, some snacks, and a water bottle, and then you can sit and wait for the parade.

The photo opportunities are plenty. While the procession moves slowly, there is, in theory, plenty of time to get the pictures taken, and the number of participants is large enough to make you want to move between subjects really fast. Here is where a camera with superb autofocus (especially eye-detect autofocus) and a fast lens would come in really handy. You also want to use the widest aperture to maximize the subject-background separation, predominantly if your background consists mainly of other photographers and tourists.

Naturally, some places along the procession route are more advantageous than others. The best vantage point is when the subjects are coming toward you, with a background of the castle or castle gate. You want to avoid having modern elements in your frame along with a samurai in full battle armour.

For such occasions, I use a long telephoto zoom lens exclusively. The convenience of the zoom lens and the ability to capture portrait shots from a distance has several advantages. First, you can avoid high-contrast scenes when the sky is much brighter than your subject. Second, the subject/background separation can be maximized as the subject gets closer. Nikon has a superb 70-200mm F4, which is my go-to lens in these situations. I have seen YouTubers hailing the 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 Nikon as the best travel lens. While the extra range can be handy, I found the plastic construction and the image quality not as excellent as that of the 70-200mm F4.

VII. Closing Remarks

Readers who have read this far may now ask, “What about Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Arashiyama, and Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)?” I have simply decided to skip them. While they are probably worthwhile, I have seen so many pictures of these sites that I thought my time would be best spent discovering new places. In the end, Kyoto has over 1,600 temples, and I only had five days.