Kiyomizu-dera Temple Autumn Night Illumination 2026

For just ten nights in late November, at the peak of the fall foliage, Kiyomizu-dera keeps its gates open until 21:30 so you can see the temple after dark. The grounds hold around 1,000 maple trees, and you can keep walking among the autumn leaves and around the famous wooden stage of the Main Hall after dark. Look up for the single blue beam of light shining into the night sky from the temple: it represents the compassion of Kannon, the temple's principal deity, and lights up the old city below. There is no reservation or timed ticket; you simply walk in, and there is no clearing of the grounds between day and night, so you can arrive in the late afternoon and stay on as the lights come up. During the same ten days the Jojuin sub-temple also opens its "Moon Garden" in the evening. If you are planning an evening of fall-foliage night viewing in Higashiyama, this is the classic one.