Temple · Matsuo / Nishikyo

Kegon-ji (Suzumushi-dera) 華厳寺 (鈴虫寺)

The Bell Cricket Temple, where crickets sing all year in glass cases while a monk delivers a witty sermon with tea and sweets, and a straw-sandalled Jizo will grant one wish.

Hours9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30)

ClosedOpen daily

PriceAdult (includes tea and sweet): ¥500

Getting thereKoke-dera Suzumushi-dera bus stop (Kyoto Bus 63, 73), 3 min; Matsuo Taisha Station (Hankyu), 15 min

Time needed1 hour

Best timeWeekday mornings

Address31 Matsumuro Jikecho, Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto

Websitesuzutera.or.jp

About

Kegon-ji was founded in 1723 by the monk Hotan, and since the 1960s its monks have bred suzumushi, bell crickets, whose chirping is a classic sound of autumn in Japan; here they sing year-round. Visitors sit in a hall filled with the insects' sound and listen to a 30-minute sermon, famously humorous, while sipping tea and eating a sweet. Afterward you buy a yellow omamori charm and pray at the Kofuku Jizo by the gate, the only Jizo in Japan wearing straw sandals, because he is said to walk to your home to grant your single wish. The approach climbs 80 stone steps through bamboo near the Moss Temple.

Highlights

Bell crickets chirping year-round
Humorous sermon with tea and sweets
Kofuku Jizo in straw sandals
Bamboo-lined stone steps
Near Saiho-ji and Matsuo Taisha

Tips

Sermons are in Japanese, but the experience and crickets are enjoyable anyway.
Expect a queue on weekends; sermons start every 30 minutes or so.
Write your address on the omamori so Jizo can find you, as instructed.
Combine with Saiho-ji and Matsuo Taisha in western Kyoto.

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

Plan it in Tabitomo

Save Kegon-ji (Suzumushi-dera) to your trip, see reviews and photos from travelers, and get directions.

Open in the app

Kegon-ji (Suzumushi-dera) 華厳寺 (鈴虫寺)

About

Highlights

Tips

Nearby