2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple
- Dates
- Nov 10 (Tue) – Dec 10 (Thu)
- Hours
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Price
- Adults ¥1,500; elementary, junior high, and senior high school students ¥800
- Where
- Enkoji Temple (Ichijoji)
Moss and autumn colors in Jugyu Garden
Good to know
Enjoy autumn foliage at a Zen temple whose origins trace back to an educational institution founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Date-and-time reservations are required.
- Dates
- Nov 10 (Tue) – Dec 10 (Thu)
- Hours
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Venue
- Enkoji Temple
- Nearest station
- Ichijoji
- Admission
- Adults ¥1,500; elementary, junior high, and senior high school students ¥800
About this event
In Kyoto's Ichijoji district stands a temple founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu to promote education. Established in Fushimi in 1601, Enkoji welcomed ordinary people as well as Buddhist monks. Today its garden is celebrated for autumn foliage, especially the moss, stones and trees of Jugyu Garden. The grounds also contain the dry landscape garden Honryutei. Around 50,000 wooden printing blocks used for publishing are preserved at the temple. Its autumn scenery offers a window into education and printing in early Edo-period Japan.
Highlights
- Moss and autumn colors in Jugyu Garden
- Honryutei, a dry landscape garden representing a dragon
- The temple's origins as a school founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Approximately 50,000 historic wooden printing blocks
- A Toshogu shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Good for
- For visitors interested in Japanese gardens, Tokugawa history, Zen and early printing culture.
Good to know before you go
- Advance booking for a specific date and time is required through the official reservation calendar.
- Show your confirmation email at reception; a printed copy is also accepted.
- To change your date, time or party size, cancel and book again.
- The parking area is closed during the special viewing period. Extended photography sessions are prohibited.
Pochikichi's story cornerWhy did Tokugawa Ieyasu establish a school in Kyoto?
Enkoji began as an educational institution founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu in Fushimi in 1601. He invited the Zen priest Sanyo Genkitsu, formerly headmaster of the Ashikaga School, to spread learning. Education here was open to the general public, not only monks.
The temple published Confucian and other scholarly texts known as the Fushimi or Enkoji editions. Approximately 50,000 original wooden printing blocks survive at the temple, showing how Buddhist institutions also served as centers of education and publishing.
The grounds include Jugyu Garden, known for its moss and autumn foliage, and Honryutei, a dry landscape garden of white gravel and stones. Jugyu refers to the Zen teaching that compares stages of spiritual awakening to the search for an ox.
Enkoji is both an autumn destination and a place connected to Japan's educational and publishing history. That is why you should look at Jugyu Garden as an expression of Zen teaching, not simply as a beautiful landscape.
Sources: Enkoji Temple: Official History (English), Enkoji: Autumn Special Viewing 2026 (Japanese)
Next stop: book for later today PR
Experiences near here you can book on Klook.
Yuzen DyeingYuzen dyeing in a historic machiya→Kintsugi WorkshopKintsugi repair experience→Ad: Klook affiliate links.
🍜 Where to eat after
Restaurants near here on Google Maps→Many restaurants in Kyoto take reservations, and some are cash only. Check the restaurant page before you go.
FAQ
- What is 2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple?
- In Kyoto's Ichijoji district stands a temple founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu to promote education. Established in Fushimi in 1601, Enkoji welcomed ordinary people as well as Buddhist monks. Today its garden is celebrated for autumn foliage, especially the moss, stones and trees of Jugyu Garden. The grounds also contain the dry landscape garden Honryutei. Around 50,000 wooden printing blocks used for publishing are preserved at the temple. Its autumn scenery offers a window into education and printing in early Edo-period Japan.
- When is 2026 Special Autumn Foliage Viewing at Enkoji Temple?
- From Nov 10 (Tue) to Dec 10 (Thu), 2026.
- What are the opening hours?
- 09:00 – 17:00
- How much does it cost?
- Adults ¥1,500; elementary, junior high, and senior high school students ¥800
- Where is it and what is the nearest station?
- Enkoji Temple. The nearest station is Ichijoji.
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