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Temple · Saga / Arashiyama

Daikaku-ji 大覚寺

A former imperial villa-temple in Saga with vermilion corridors, painted sliding doors and Osawa-no-ike, Japan's oldest surviving garden pond, made for moon-viewing boat parties.

Hours9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30)
ClosedOpen daily
PriceHalls (adult): ¥500
Osawa-no-ike pond (adult): ¥300
Getting thereDaikakuji bus stop (bus 28, Kyoto Bus), 1 min; Saga-Arashiyama Station (JR), 15 min
Time needed1 hour
Best timeCherry blossom season; the autumn moon festival
Address4 Saga-Osawa-cho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto
Websitedaikakuji.or.jp

About

Daikaku-ji was the detached palace of Emperor Saga in the early 9th century and became a temple in 876; it remained headed by imperial princes and was the seat of the Southern Court emperors in the 13th century. Its buildings are linked by covered corridors with "lightning bolt" angles, and the Shinden hall, transplanted from the Imperial Palace, holds peony and plum fusuma by Kano Sanraku. Outside, the vast Osawa-no-ike pond, laid out for Emperor Saga, is the oldest surviving pond garden in Japan. Every year at the mid-autumn moon (Kangetsu-no-Yube), dragon-headed boats carry visitors across the pond under the full moon. The temple is also the head of the Saga school of ikebana and has a quieter, more spacious feel than central Arashiyama's temples. It is frequently used as a location for period dramas.

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Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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