Ryogin-an Gardens (Tofuku-ji)
This season's opening
Ryogin-an autumn opening (Tofuku-ji)
- Hours
- 9:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), based on 2025
- Admission
- ¥1,000 (children ¥500), based on 2025
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking was mentioned in 2025
The normally closed sub-temple's National Treasure abbot's hall and Shigemori Mirei's three gardens: Nothingness (south), Dragon (west) and Inseparability (inner court)
Separate from the Tsutenkyo bridge and Hojo tickets. The main temple gets crowded before noon in maple season, so start here at 9:00 and continue to Sokushu-in next door. In 2025 the Sanmon gate was also open (¥1,000 extra).
About the garden
A sub-temple reached by crossing the Engetsu-kyo bridge behind Tofuku-ji's main office. Its abbot's hall, a National Treasure, is the oldest of its kind still standing, and Shigemori Mirei wrapped three gardens around it: bare white gravel to the south, and to the west a stone dragon rising through clouds of dark gravel. The gate stays shut for most of the year.
Where to stand
Start on the south side of the hall, where the Garden of Nothingness is only raked white gravel. Let your eyes empty out there, then walk round to the west. In the Dragon Garden the stone setting is the dragon itself, the white and dark gravel are clouds, and the pattern of the bamboo fence behind is lightning; follow the angle of the stones to decide where the head is and which way it is climbing. The inner courtyard, the Garden of Inseparability, draws on a childhood legend of the founder, Mukan Fumon.
Practical notes
Ryogin-an opens only in short windows: a few days in mid-March and about four weeks from early November. The 2026 autumn dates had not been announced by late September, so check tofukuji.jp; in 2025 entry was ¥1,000, separate from the Tsutenkyo bridge and Hojo garden tickets. Sokushu-in next door usually opens over the same weeks.
Tea and food nearby
Small places within walking distance. Check their opening days against the garden's.
- 5 min walkfrom Tentoku-in Garden (Tofuku-ji)☕ CafePan to Coffee to Hirarinto (cafe)
An old house two minutes from Tofukuji Station where you take your shoes off at the door. It opens at 7:00, so you can have breakfast here before the sub-temples open.
Order：Bread and coffee, as the name says; soba is also served
- 10 min walkfrom Sokushu-in Garden (Tofuku-ji)☕ CafeChikujoso (house cafe)
A house cafe in the residential streets south of Tofuku-ji. You sit on tatami looking at a small garden of its own, a quiet place to talk over the gardens you have just seen.
Order：Japanese sweets and tea; there is sake too
- 10 min walkfrom Ikka-in Four Guardians Gardens (Tofuku-ji)☕ CafeROOT2 COFFEE
A small coffee shop in a renovated townhouse right outside Tofukuji Station. It stays open until 20:00 and serves wine, handy before the train home.
Order：Coffee, or a glass of wine later in the day