Temple · Higashiyama / Awataguchi
Shoren-in 青蓮院門跡
An elegant imperial-lineage temple guarded by giant camphor trees, where you sit on tatami with matcha looking onto a Soami pond garden, and blue-lit night viewings turn the grounds into a field of fireflies.
Junior high and high school: ¥400
Elementary: ¥200
Night viewing (adult): ¥1,200
About
Shoren-in is one of Kyoto's five Tendai monzeki temples, historically headed by members of the imperial family, and it served as a temporary palace after the Kyoto Imperial Palace burned in 1788. Five enormous camphor trees, some 800 years old, sprawl over the walls at the entrance. Inside, the visit flows through refined shoin rooms with modern lotus-painted fusuma to a pond garden attributed to the Muromachi landscape artist Soami, and the Kirishima garden attributed to Kobori Enshu, best seen in May when its azaleas bloom. A short walk up the hill reveals a bamboo grove and the Kogo-sha hall. It is one of the calmest temples in Higashiyama even though Chion-in and Heian Shrine are a few minutes away. Seasonal night viewings light the garden with hundreds of small blue lamps, an otherworldly effect that has become a Kyoto classic. Shoren-in also manages Shogunzuka Seiryuden on the hilltop above.
Highlights
- Giant 800-year-old camphor trees at the gate
- Soami pond garden viewed from tatami rooms
- Lotus fusuma paintings by Kimura Yoshiyuki
- Blue-lit night viewings in spring, summer and autumn
- Bamboo grove on the hillside path
Tips
- You can order matcha and a sweet to enjoy in the shoin overlooking the garden.
- The summer 2026 night viewing ran 17 July to 23 August; autumn and spring sessions are usual too.
- A combined trip with Chion-in and Heian Shrine is an easy 1-km loop.
- Rarely crowded in daytime, even in high season.
Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09
Save Shoren-in to your trip, see reviews and photos from travelers, and get directions.
Open in the appNearby
- Coin Lockers · Higashiyama Station (Tozai Line)Luggage Storage · 320 m away
- Chion-inTemple · 330 m away
- Gyoja-bashi BridgeBridge · 380 m away
- Kyoto Kanze Noh TheatreShows & Entertainment · 390 m away
- Ichizawa Shinzaburo HanpuUnique Store · 450 m away
- Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro StatueStatue & Monument · 460 m away
- Maruyama ParkPark · 480 m away
- FUFU KyotoStay · 490 m away