Shobo-ji Garden, Yawata
This season's opening
Shobo-ji autumn open days
- Hours
- Four days only: Sat–Sun Oct 24–25 and Sat–Sun Nov 28–29. 10:00–15:00
- Admission
- ¥700
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking is mentioned for individuals. Dates can change and the temple asks visitors to call ahead (075-981-0012). Groups of ten or more can ask about other dates
The temple opens itself on only eight days in 2026 (four in spring, four in autumn). You go up into the main hall and great abbot's hall (both Important Cultural Properties), see the hillside garden, a Kyoto Prefecture Place of Scenic Beauty, from the study hall and small abbot's hall, and a second garden in front of the main halls. The Chinese-style gate is also an Important Cultural Property
The temple also opens Nov 14–23 for the cultural-properties programme (¥1,000). From Keihan Iwashimizu-hachimangu Station take a Keihan bus to Hashiriagari, then walk about five minutes south. Look for the peony openwork carving around the posts of the Chinese-style gate
62nd Kyoto Non-public Cultural Properties special opening
- Hours
- Entry 10:00–15:00 (shorter than the programme's usual 9:00–16:00)
- Admission
- ¥1,000 adults, ¥500 secondary students (one accompanied child of primary age or younger free)
- Booking
- No bookingNo booking (organiser's notice)
The main hall, the great abbot's hall and a seated Amida Buddha (all Important Cultural Properties), among others. You get inside the normally closed temple, with the prefectural scenic-beauty garden spread in front of the study hall and small abbot's hall
The same programme also opens Zenporitsu-ji (Nov 14–21, first time), Iwashimizu Hachimangu and the Shokado Garden and Art Museum in Yawata. Shobo-ji stops admitting at 15:00, so go there first in the morning
About the garden
Okame, a daughter of the Shimizu family, became a consort of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the mother of Yoshinao, first lord of Owari; this was her family's temple. It is normally shut. On a few open days a year you can go inside and look out from the study hall and the small abbot's hall at a hillside garden designated a Place of Scenic Beauty by Kyoto Prefecture.
Where to stand
Start in the study hall (shoin). It has two rooms: the first, with an alcove and a built-in writing desk, and a second room to its south. From the first room, trace the slope from bottom to top. Then move to the second room and on to the small abbot's hall (ko-hojo), and compare how the same hillside changes from room to room; the temple itself describes the garden as taking on a different character from each side. Finish at the garden in front of the main hall and great abbot's hall, and compare the huge pine painted across eight fusuma panels in the great abbot's hall (thought to be by Kano Tan'yu) with the real branches outside.
Practical notes
Shobo-ji is normally closed. In autumn 2026 it opens on Oct 24–25 and Nov 28–29 (¥700, 10:00–15:00) and for the Kyoto Non-public Cultural Properties programme on Nov 14–23 (¥1,000, entry 10:00–15:00); no booking either way. From Keihan Iwashimizu-hachimangu Station take a Keihan bus to Hashiriagari and walk about five minutes south. There is almost nothing to eat beside the temple: the City Hall area 10–15 minutes' walk away has a coffee room and local restaurants, and Shokado Garden is about 15 minutes on foot.
Tea and food nearby
Small places within walking distance. Check their opening days against the garden's.
- 12 min walk🍽 FoodMenya Rakushokushu Ishizue (ramen)
A ramen shop opposite Yawata City Hall, best known for its chicken-broth shio ramen. Most of the seating is on tatami, so you can take your shoes off and settle in.
Order：Kiwami tori-shio ramen (chicken and salt)
11:00–15:00 (LO 14:30), 17:00–21:00 (LO 20:30); lunch only on TuesdaysClosed: Wednesdays (Nov 18 during the cultural-properties opening)¥1,000–2,000 at lunchDetails ↗ - 13 min walk☕ CafeYawata Cultural Center coffee room
A coffee room on the ground floor of the city's cultural centre near Yawata City Hall. It is a place for locals rather than visitors, and the right distance from Shobo-ji to sit down over coffee and talk about the garden.
Order：Coffee and a light meal
10:00–18:00Closed: Wednesdays and irregular days (Nov 18 during the cultural-properties opening)Under ¥1,000Details ↗ - 16 min walk🍽 FoodKotani Shokudo (Showa-era diner)
A diner with a Showa-era feel in Yawata-Yamamoto, on the way back towards Iwashimizu-hachimangu Station. Many people come for its curry-flavoured Chinese noodles (kare chuka). It is a little over 15 minutes' walk north of Shobo-ji, so treat it as lunch on your way back to the station.
Order：Kare chuka (curry-broth noodles)
11:00–17:30 per the Yawata tourism association; closes early when sold outClosed: Thursdays and the 3rd Wednesday (closed Nov 18–19 during the cultural-properties opening). Cash only¥1,000–2,000Details ↗