THE 10 BEST Kyoto Gardens
Gardens in Kyoto
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Types of Attractions
Nature & Parks
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Travellers' Choice Awards winners (including the "Best of the Best" title) are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor, according to the reviews and opinions of travellers across the globe.
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53 results sorted by traveller favourites
- Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, number of page views, and user location.
Recommended Outdoor Activities (91)
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Historic Sites • Religious Sites
Northern Kyoto
Gardens • Scenic Walking Areas
Northern Kyoto
Gardens • Art Museums
Northern Kyoto
Religious Sites • Gardens
Western Kyoto
Religious Sites • Gardens
Northern Kyoto
Historic Sites • Points of Interest & Landmarks
Southern Kyoto
Gardens
City Center
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Gardens
Northern Kyoto
Showing results 1-30 of 53
What travellers are saying
- Soko37Budapest, Hungary14,040 contributionsNice park area with historical buildings, we have few visits of different religious places and I started to be confused. Nice wooden temple with position walk aroundWritten 13 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- ZN9999Mollymook, Australia483 contributionsOne of the best gardens I have seen in Japan. We went in May and expected to see more spring flowers than we did. They were a little early this year. Some Irises were out.
But the spring growth on all the trees was superb and the pines were tortured within an inch of their life. Very impression garden and also quite spacious.
We took the english guided tour which was very informative. While we had to book a fews weeks/months on advance. The process for that was easy and the day we had was bright and sunny.
Getting there was easy a 15-20m flat walk from the nearest rail station. The walk itself was also very interesting. Take a little longer than you need to enjoy that also.Written 1 July 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Wim TSligo, Ireland40 contributionsA beautiful garden created by the late actor Denjirō Ōkōchi. The gardens give a very natural impression and you have a nice view over the valley from the gardens. The paths are narrow and steep in places.Written 28 November 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- 649001Springfield361 contributionsIt is a nice place to stroll. The greenhouse is good. There are flowers, a couple of fountains, and a bonsai garden.
Unfortunately there are not a lot of specific Japanese plants.
Allow at least 2 hours.Written 20 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Global715255Tokyo, Japan22,198 contributionsYou have to do advance booking and only 50 people for each tour is allowed in but it is worth it. The view overlooking Kyoto and the surrounded mountains like Mount Hiei was amazing. The autumn foliage was also very beautiful at the beginning of November.Written 26 November 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- FernandoNevesAlmeidaLisbon, Portugal374 contributionsIt' s a huge and magnificent complex of sub-temples, some with beautiful zen gardens. There few tourists which is a blessing in gentrified Kyoto. It will take a morning to visit the highlights.Written 5 November 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- LolaGo1Washington DC, DC6,624 contributionsLocated across from my hotel, I asked what was behind the fence. Decided to visit it on my last day when I learned that it is a Garden. Entrance fee is 500 yen per person.
Inside are some very old buildings , not available to go inside them. There are also 2 wooden bridges, perfect background for taking photos. The water around here does not appear to be clean, especially the water in the pond. it is greenish, perhaps due to algae.
Except for the toilet facilities, there are no benches here to sit down and relax. No Snack Stores either!Written 27 April 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Erkki NFinland884 contributionsRight next to Nanzen-ji San-mon gate the Tenju-an (a subtemple of Nanzen-ji) has a beautiful garden with white gravel field viewed from temple platform and also a stroll garden. The view from temple is characterized by a path of diagonally placed square stepping stones and moss. Japanese maples behind the field were about to enter the autumn colour season when I visited and had individual, slightly off-green hues making a beautiful background. The stroll garden is much like a wild forest – its route goes around a beautiful pond and you get also to walk over it using round stepping stones.Written 9 August 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Ozzie2001Perth, Australia246 contributionsNovember 26th 2024
Best garden by far for colour
Caught train and walked about 1000 metres
Are great temple gardens quite close in nearbyWritten 26 November 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - United3millionmilerCupertino, CA167 contributionsMy wife and I visited March 31, 2023, just as this private garden cherry blossoms were reaching full bloom as well as other flowering plants. Wow! A few hours here was at the top of our visit to Kyoto. 1,500 yen admission. Shuttle bus offered, but we took a taxi to and from the garden.Written 4 April 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Erkki NFinland884 contributionsKonchi-in is a temple (a subtemple of Nanzen-ji) with a stroll garden and the “Crane and Turtle Garden”, a karesansui garden viewed from temple balcony. Toshugu shrine on temple grounds has a history connecting to the Tokugawa shogun family. There is lots of moss clad beauty to see here, although to me this garden did not appeal quite as much as some others nearby (Nanzen-ji main temple or Tenju-an). The karesansui here uses the idea of borrowed landscape - there is a display of stones behind teh field of gravel and behind them rise the trees creating nice depth to the picture.Written 9 August 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Pamela A OSeattle650 contributionsWe were planning to go to the Kyoto Botanical Garden, which is right next door, but the garden was closed due to an electrical problem, so we came here instead. This is an outdoor park, made of mostly concrete and lots and lots of falling water and pools. On some of the concrete walls are painted large and quite well done reproductions of some of the great art pieces of the world by artists such as Michelangelo, van Gogh, Renoir, etc.I particularly enjoyed the reproductions of Chinese screens because you can get right up close to these and see all the details that you really can't see well at all when looking at the original in a regular museum. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this place.Written 28 November 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- carloscharmyBangkok, Thailand780 contributionsCame here on a rainy Tuesday afternoon and we were like 4 people. It was lovely. Cherries were not in full bloom yet but it was totally worth it. Loved spending a few hours here.Written 22 April 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- wanderlust855Austin, TX39 contributionsVery beautiful gardens that unlike many shrines and temples you can actually travel across the stones and bridges. If you go to Kyoto stop here!Written 20 July 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- hfot2 🌸🍁🌸Vermont7,684 contributionsSeeking red leaves and few tourists, we found Hakuryuen moss garden.
This is truly a special place. It’s expensive; it’s not that easy to get to; it limits the number of visitors to 100 in the morning; and it is only open for one month in the autumn.
Getting there is an adventure on its own and involves waking early to stand in line at the Eizan Dentetsu's Demachi Yanagi Station to be one of the 100 who can purchase tickets on the train and into the garden. You can only purchase the “Special Viewing” tickets to enter the garden at the station - they are not sold at the garden. The ticket entitles you to a morning visit and you must leave by We read that the tickets go on sale at 9 AM but you need to be there much earlier than that. We arrived at about 6:50 and there were already 18 people in line. We could have arrived about a half hour later and still have been within the 100 person limit for that day. At about 8:30AM a train person started counting people in line and putting up signs and rope barriers along the line. At about this time they set up a table and began selling tickets. For ¥2300 each we get a ticket to the garden and a day pass for the train. We understand that the garden is open only from early October to early December and the entrance charge is higher in November and December.
The train waited until all 100 passengers boarded and others who were not going to the garden board as well. The stop for the garden is Ninose. Once you have exited the train, follow the crowds from the station through a residential area and up the hill to the garden gate.
We walked beyond the entrance since the garden opens at 10:00 and we had almost a half hour to photograph the surroundings. Along with everyone else, we tried to take photos of a train crossing the bridge with the gorgeous red trees beneath it. A few trains passed until we got it right.
One of the people at the entrance ticket tent explained the rules and gave us an information sheet - the conversation was mostly in Japanese with a lot of hand signals. The garden is only open to the public from 10:00 to 12:30 so we needed to spend our time there wisely. After 12:30 more visitors, who paid a higher entrance fee, get to visit the garden with even fewer people.
The 100 person limit protects the moss. The moss covers everything and you are given instructions to step only on the stone paths set in the moss. The red maple leaves are a special treat against the green moss and a few red umbrellas. There are very few people there which is wonderful. However, the garden is small so we still had to wait for some photos until other visitors got out of our frame. You can photograph everything except the shrine at the rear of the garden. Especially lovely and lovely to photo are the tea houses. You can use them in many ways in your shots. In addition, each was lovingly decorated with a few leaves or a small bunch of flowers some of which were placed in water in hollowed stone. The whole place is meticulously tended.
It was a wonderfully serene visit away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the crowds at popular koyo sites.
Since we had paid for a day pass on the train, we took advantage of it and went from here to Kurama dera.
Visitor’s tips
Arrive at the Eizan Dentetsu's Demachi Yanagi Station very early in the morning to get in line for tickets
Rest rooms in the garden are on the lower level behind the tea house
A fancy restaurant is across the street or you can do what we did and go to Kurama for lunchWritten 27 October 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
