Korin-in Hojo Garden (Daitoku-ji)
This season's opening
Korin-in Autumn Special Opening
- Hours
- 10:00–16:30 last entry (16:00 from Dec 1). There was also a Sep 5–29 run; no opening Sep 30–Oct 2.
- Admission
- ¥800; ¥400 junior/senior high; ¥300 elementary (with a guardian)
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking for individuals; groups of 10+ must book.
The normally closed temple shows its gate and main hall (Important Cultural Properties), the abbot's garden restored by Nakane Kinsaku, and the Kankyo-tei tea room.
Photos of the garden only. It runs until Dec 15, the longest of the Daitoku-ji autumn openings, so it can wait until after the maple weekends.
About the garden
Built by the Hatakeyama lords of Noto and later re-roofed by Maeda Toshiie, whose clan took it as their family temple. The dry garden in front of the abbot's hall sets rocks on white gravel to depict Horai, the island of the immortals; Nakane Kinsaku rebuilt it from records when the hall was dismantled for repair.
Where to stand
Sit on the veranda of the abbot's hall and count the rock groups as islands in the gravel sea. The hall's roof is built lower than later abbot's halls, so look up at the eaves from where you sit and see how their line relates to the rocks. On the way out, stop at the cypress-bark gate (Important Cultural Property), one of the older gates in Daitoku-ji.
Practical notes
Photography is allowed in the garden only, not of the buildings. Autumn 2026 runs Oct 3–Dec 15 (last entry 16:30, 16:00 from Dec 1), ¥800, no booking for individuals. It is the Daitoku-ji opening to save for December.
Tea and food nearby
Small places within walking distance. Check their opening days against the garden's.
- 3 min walkfrom Obai-in Gardens (Daitoku-ji)🍽 FoodIzusen Daiji-in (temple cuisine)
Buddhist vegetarian cooking served in a sub-temple inside the Daitoku-ji precinct, so lunch happens without leaving the temple grounds.
Order：The lightest course (Ayame, ¥4,500) is plenty
- 5 min walk☕ CafeKoro-an Chaho (tea house)
A tatami tea room serving Uji tea from its own fields. You whisk your own matcha or brew sencha, which makes it easy to talk after a silent morning of gardens.
Order：The make-your-own matcha set
- 11 min walkfrom Obai-in Gardens (Daitoku-ji)☕ CafeKissa Hisui (Showa-era coffee house)
A 100-seat coffee house open since 1961 at the Kitaoji-Horikawa corner: roomy enough to sit and plan the rest of the day after two or three temples.