Tofuku-ji Temple Autumn Leaves — photo by Luka Peternel via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Tofuku-ji Temple Autumn Leaves 2026 Confirmed

Name: Tofuku-ji Temple Autumn Leaves 2026
Start: 2026-11-14T08:30:00+09:00
End: 2026-12-06
Location: Tofuku-ji Temple (Tsutenkyo Bridge), Kyoto

東福寺の紅葉 — Kyoto (Kansai)

🎟️ Night viewing: booking required ↓

In Kyoto in November? See all 16 events in Kyoto that month →

Typical peak: Sat, Nov 14 – Sun, Dec 6, 2026
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Venue: Tofuku-ji Temple (Tsutenkyo Bridge), Kyoto
Illumination: Evening viewing is by fully reserved private sessions only — not a walk-in illumination. Typically mid-November to early December (in 2025: Nov 19 – Dec 7, 5:30pm–7:30pm). An early-morning private viewing also runs.
Tickets: Autumn period (Nov 14–Dec 6): Tsutenkyo/Kaisando adult ¥1,000; Hojo garden adult ¥600 (raised from ¥500 on Nov 1, 2026), child ¥300; no combo ticket during this period
Official site: tofukuji.jp

Book before you go

Daytime entry is ticketed on site. The evening viewing is private, fully reserved sessions only — not a walk-in illumination.

How to book — official site (tofukuji.jp) →

Open in Google Maps →

Tofuku-ji is the view you've seen on every Kyoto autumn poster: a sea of some 2,000 maples filling a wooded ravine, crossed by the covered Tsutenkyo bridge. Standing on the bridge, you look down onto the canopy rather than up at it — a perspective almost no other temple offers. Leaves peak from mid-November to early December, among Kyoto's latest. Special after-dark viewings run in season, but they are fully reserved private sessions, not walk-in illuminations.

Background

Founded in 1236 by the powerful regent Kujo Michiie, who named it after Nara's great Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji temples, Tofuku-ji is one of the five great Rinzai Zen temples of Kyoto. Its first abbot, Enni Ben'en, studied in Song-dynasty China, and the temple retains Japan's oldest surviving Zen sanmon gate.

Getting there

The easiest day trip in Kyoto: take the JR Nara Line one stop from Kyoto Station to Tofukuji Station (2 minutes), then walk about 10 minutes. The Keihan Line's Tofukuji Station shares the same building, handy if you're coming from Gion or Fushimi Inari, one stop south.

Tips

This is one of Kyoto's most crowded foliage spots — arrive before the 8:30am opening (early gates in peak season) or expect a long queue for the Tsutenkyo bridge by mid-morning.
In autumn (roughly November 14 to early December) admission rises to ¥1,000 for the Tsutenkyo bridge area and ¥1,000 again for the Hojo garden — budget ¥2,000 to see both.
Photography is banned on the Tsutenkyo and Gaunkyo bridges during peak season to keep the crowds moving — shoot from the garden paths below instead, where the angles are arguably better.
Combine with Fushimi Inari Shrine: it's one stop south on either JR or Keihan, so do Tofuku-ji at opening and the shrine gates before lunch.
From Nov 14 the Tsutenkyo bridge area opens at 8:30am and the Hojo garden at 9:00am; last entry to both is 4:00pm and the gate closes at 4:30pm.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to see Tofuku-ji Temple Autumn Leaves?: Autumn color here usually peaks Nov 15 – Dec 5. Color depends on how cold the nights have been, and peak can land a week either side of the usual window, so check a foliage forecast about a week out.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Wed, October 7, 2026

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