Kodaiji Temple Autumn Night Illumination 2026

Kodai-ji was founded in 1606 by Nene, the widow of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, to pray for his memory, and each autumn it stays open late for a fall-foliage night illumination (light-up) of its gardens. From late October to mid-December the lights come on at 17:00 and the temple remains open until 22:00. The visitor route leads through a pond garden attributed to the landscape designer Kobori Enshu, past the Otamaya mausoleum where Hideyoshi and Nene are enshrined (famous for its gold lacquer work), and up into the bamboo grove at the back of the garden. It is a walk-in visit with no reservations or timed slots, and the price is the same day or night. There is no clearing of the grounds at dusk, so you can go in around 16:30 and watch the autumn leaves change as the illumination comes up. Kodai-ji sits on Nene-no-michi, the stone-paved lane between Gion and Kiyomizu-dera, which makes it an easy stop on an evening walk through the old town.