Heian Shrine
- Heritage/Temple/Shrine
- Garden/Green Space/Nature
The why: A partial-scale replica of the original Heian-era Imperial Palace, with one of Kyoto's best cherry blossom gardens -- the weeping cherries bloom a few days after the rest of the city, extending the season.
Gotcha / logistics: The shrine itself is free but the garden behind costs 600 yen. The garden is the real draw -- do not skip it, especially in cherry season (mid-April).
Heian Shrine (平安神宮, Heian Jingu) has a relatively short history, dating back just over a hundred years to 1895. The shrine was built on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the capital’s foundation in Kyoto and is dedicated to the spirits of the first and last emperors who reigned from the city: Emperor Kammu (737-806) and Emperor Komei (1831-1867). “Heian” is the former name of Kyoto.
Architecture
A giant torii gate marks the approach to the shrine, around which there are a couple of museums. The actual shrine grounds are very spacious with a wide open court at the center. The shrine’s main buildings are a partial replica of the original Imperial Palace from the Heian Period, built on a somewhat smaller scale than the original. The vibrant vermilion and green structures give a sense of how the ancient imperial court must have looked.
The Garden
Behind the main buildings lies an attractive, paid garden with a variety of plants, ponds, and buildings. The garden’s most striking feature are its many weeping cherry trees, which bloom a few days later than most other cherry trees, making the garden one of the best cherry blossom spots in Kyoto around the tail end of the season — usually around mid-April. The garden spans across several areas, featuring stepping stones across a pond, a covered bridge, and tranquil water features.
Festivals
The shrine serves as a site of the Jidai Festival (Jidai Matsuri) each year on October 22, the anniversary of the foundation of Kyoto. The festival’s main event is a parade of people in costumes from different periods of Japanese history that leads from the Kyoto Imperial Palace to Heian Shrine.
Getting There
Kyoto City bus number 5 from Kyoto Station (about 30 minutes, 230 yen). Alternatively, take the subway via Karasuma Oike Station to Higashiyama Station (20 minutes, 260 yen), from where the shrine is a 10-minute walk.
Hours and Admission
Shrine hours vary by season: 6:00 to 18:00 (March 15-September), 6:00 to 17:30 (February 15-March 14 and October), 6:00 to 17:00 (November-February 14). No closing days. Shrine admission is free. Garden hours: 8:30 to 18:00 (March 15-September), 8:30 to 17:30 (March 1-14 and October), 8:30 to 17:00 (November-February). Garden admission ends 30 minutes before closing. Garden: 600 yen.
More in Kyoto
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A short, dense corridor of towering moso bamboo where wind through the stalks creates a sound the Japanese government has formally designated as one of the country's "100 soundscapes."
Fushimi Inari Taisha
The thousands of vermilion torii gates winding up Mount Inari are the most photographed image of Japan, and the shrine is dedicated to the kami of rice and commerce.
Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion)
Despite the name, the pavilion was never silvered — its restraint is the point. The dry sand garden with the conical "Moon-Viewing Mound" and the moss garden behind it are textbook wabi-sabi.
Gion District
Kyoto's most famous geisha district where traditional wooden machiya line atmospheric lanes -- the best chance of glimpsing a geiko or maiko on their way to an evening engagement.
Gion Shirakawa
The willow-lined canal lined with wooden ochaya teahouses on the north edge of Gion — the most photogenic evening pocket of the geisha district, and the section that remains open to walk.
Higashiyama District
The most atmospheric preserved historic district in Kyoto -- narrow lanes, wooden buildings, and traditional merchant shops between Kiyomizudera and Yasaka Shrine invoke the old capital like nowhere else.