Konkai Komyo-ji Shiun Garden (Kurodani)
This season's opening
Autumn special daytime viewing
- Hours
- 10:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00)
- Admission
- Miei-do, Great Hojo and garden ¥1,000 (¥500 children). Sanmon gate a separate ¥1,000; set ticket ¥1,600
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking; tickets at the front of the Miei-do
The normally closed Great Hojo (the Tiger Room, where the number of tigers changes as the doors slide, and the audience room where Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo met Matsudaira Katamori) and the Shiun garden. You can also climb the Sanmon gate
Allow about 60 minutes for the halls and garden, 90 with the gate (official). The temple says that on a clear day you can see as far as Abeno Harukas in Osaka from the top of the gate
Autumn special evening viewing
- Hours
- 17:30–20:30 (last entry 20:00)
- Admission
- Miei-do, Great Hojo and Shiun garden ¥1,000 (¥500 children); Eisho-in sub-temple ¥800; set ¥1,600. Pay on site, cash only
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking for the regular evening viewing. The Friday/Saturday 'premium' tour (from 17:00, ¥2,000, with a garden guide, 30 people) is booked on the official site
Walk the Shiun garden after dark and find maples reflected in the water. Live traditional music plays in the Miei-do three times a night. Reflection photography is allowed at Eisho-in. The Sanmon gate is lit but not open
The route runs Miei-do, Great Hojo, then garden. Separate ticket from the daytime viewing. It is about 10 minutes downhill to the Higashi-Tenno-cho bus stop
About the garden
The Kurodani temple stands where the monk Honen is said to have built his first hermitage after leaving Mt. Hiei. The Shiun garden in front of the Great Hojo dates only from 2006: white gravel and haircap moss, with stones that tell Honen's life. The garden and the Hojo open only during the autumn special viewing.
Where to stand
From the Great Hojo, move your eyes from right to left. The right-hand rocks stand for Mimasaka (today's Okayama), where Honen grew up; the left-hand group for his training on Mt. Hiei; the centre for the founding of the Jodo school and the rise of this temple. It is a life read from right to left, so read it side by side at the same pace. At night you walk the garden and look for maples reflected in the water.
Practical notes
The Shiun garden and the Great Hojo open only for the autumn special viewing (Nov 13–Dec 6, 2026). Day and evening tickets are separate and sold at a tent in front of the Miei-do hall; the evening fee is cash only. The temple is on a hill about 10 minutes' walk from the Higashi-Tenno-cho bus stop, with stone steps. On Friday and Saturday a smaller guided 'premium' evening tour starts at 17:00 and must be booked online.
Tea and food nearby
Small places within walking distance. Check their opening days against the garden's.
- ☾ Open after the evening viewing6 min walk🍽 FoodOkariba (game-meat izakaya)
An izakaya where every table has its own sunken hearth and wild boar or venison goes on the charcoal. After an evening viewing you can warm up by the fire until midnight. Your coat will smell of smoke, and it is cash only.
Order：Charcoal-grilled wild boar
- ☾ Open after the evening viewing12 min walk☕ CafeYamatoya (jazz kissa)
A jazz café open since 1970. After the Kurodani evening viewing you can sit in front of its big vintage speakers and talk until 22:00.
Order：Coffee
- 9 min walk☕ Cafeswimpond coffee
A six-seat coffee counter in the residential streets of Jodoji. It opens at 8:00, so you can have a cup before walking up the hill to Kurodani.
Order：Drip coffee and the breakfast set