Northern Higashiyama

The Northern Higashiyama Area is one of Kyoto’s most important sightseeing districts. It’s less crowded than Southern Higashiyama but it contains at least as many first-rate sights, including fantastic temples, shrines and lots of greenery.

[Heian Jingu’s Torii and Okazaki Canal]

Northern Higashiyama Area Description

The Northern Higashiyama Area runs along the base of the Higashiyama (Northern Mountains) from Sanjo-dori in the south to Shugakuin in the north. The western boundary of the district is the Kamo-gawa River. The area at the base of the mountains is basically one long strip of temples, while the central area, known as Okazaki-koen, is the city’s museum district.

Northern Higashiyama Highlights

• Nanzen-ji Temple
• Honen-in Temple
• Ginkaku-ji Temple
• Path of Philosophy

[Nanzen-ji Temple: Nook Thitipat / Shutterstock.com]

Things To Do And See In Northern Higashiyama

• Nanzen-ji Temple
  One of the best temples in the Northern Higashiyama district, Nanzen-ji Temple is a sprawling Zen paradise surrounded by lush green hills.
• The Kyoto International Community House
  The Kyoto International Community House has a lot to offer the short-term visitor, including a library with international papers and magazines, free internet and wifi.
• Murin-an Villa
  This perfect walled in garden just down the hill from Nanzen-ji Temple is a brilliant place to escape the crowds that plague the big-name spots of Higashiyama.
• Heian-jingu Shrine
  Heian-jungu Shrine is one of the most important and visually impressive Shinto shrines in Kyoto. It’s worth a visit, particularly on Shinto festival days.
• Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art (formerly Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art)
  The Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art is the best museum in Kyoto (it’s only eclipsed by the Kyoto National Museum when the National is holding a special exhibition)
• National Museum of Modern Art
  Kyoto’s National Museum of Modern Art is a reasonably interesting museum that occasionally holds worthwhile special exhibits.
• Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design (formerly Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts or Fureaikan)
  The Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design is a small free museum that showcases the main traditional crafts of Kyoto. It’s a great rainy day activity.
• Kyoto City Zoo
  If your kids are strangely unimpressed by the subtleties of Buddhist temples, the Kyoto City Zoo can be a godsend.
• Eikan-do Temple
  One of Kyoto’s most famous fall foliage spots, Eikan-do Temple is a sprawling complex of gardens and halls that’s worth a visit outside of the fall foliage season.
• Konchi-in Temple
  Konchi-in Temple is one of the finer small temples in the Northern Higashiyama Sightseeing district. The garden alone is worth the price of admission.

[Path of Philosophy: takuya kanzaki / Shutterstock.com]

• The Path of Philosophy
  The Path of Philosophy is easily one of the most attractive sights in Kyoto — a streamside path lined with blossoming trees and shrubs of every description.
• Reikan-ji Temple
  Only open for two brief periods a year, Reikan-ji Temple is a must-see attraction if you’re lucky enough to be in town when the gates are open.
• Anraku-ji Temple
  Another tiny charmer of a temple off of the Path of Philosophy, Anraku-ji is highly recommended if you’re in town when it’s open.

[Honen-in Temple: PAUL ATKINSON / Shutterstock.com]

• Honen-in Temple
  Honen-in is our favorite temple in all of Kyoto, and that’s saying a lot in a city with over 1600 temples.

[Ginkaku-ji Temple: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com]

• Ginkaku-ji Temple
  Ginkaku-ji temple, the famed “Silver Pavilion”, has magnificient halls and gardens. It’s predicably popular so best visited in off-peak time.
• Mt Daimonji-yama Hike from Ginkaku-ji Temple
  The one-hour roundtrip hike from Ginkaku-ji Temple up to the viewpoint on Mt. Daimonji-yama is the best short hike in Kyoto. The view of the city from here in incredible! Here is everything you need to do this hike.
• Shinyo-do Temple
  Shinyo-do Temple is a beautiful temple located atop Yoshida-yama Hill. The main hall here is sublime and the ground is dotted with cherry and maple trees.
• Konkaikomyo-ji Temple (Kurodani)
  Konkaikomyo-ji Temple, better known as Kurodani, is a superb and rarely visited (by tourists) temple on Yoshida-yama Hill.
• Enko-ji Temple
  This small temple in far Northern Higashiyama packs a huge punch: It’s got two incredible gardens, some fine Buddhist artwork and even a small bamboo forest reminiscent of the famous one in Arashiyama.
• Manshu-in Temple
  A small gem of a temple well to the north of the “beaten path,” Manshu-in rewards the visitor with a fine garden, brilliant architecture and superb decorations.
• Shisen-do Temple
  Another northern temple far from the beaten track, Shisen-do Temple is the perfect choice for visitors who want to escape the crowds that plague better known spots.
• Shugakuin Rikyu Imperial Villa
  Shugakuin Rikyu Imperial Villa is the most spacious and, in some ways, the most pleasing of Kyoto’s four imperial properties.
• Bishamon-do Temple
  Bishamon-do Temple is a beautiful temple just over the Higashiyama Mountains from Kyoto in the suburb of Yamashina. It can be reached by train and subway, or by hiking trails from Nanzen-ji Temple.
• Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery
  Located a short walk from Ginkaku-ji Temple, the Robert Yellin Yakimono Gallery is a carefully curated gallery of Japanese pottery in a lovely traditional Kyoto house.

Shopping In Northern Higashiyama

• Kyoto Handicraft Center
  For one-stop souvenir shopping, the Kyoto Handicraft Center should be at the top of your list.
• Tozando
  For wanna-be samurai and other fans of Japanese swords and knifes, Tozando should be high on your itinerary.

Nightlife In Northern Higashiyama

• Metro
  The only club we’ve ever seen inside a train station, the aptly named Metro is located in one of the entrance tunnels to the Keihan Line’s Marutamachi Station.

Getting To Northern Higashiyama

• By subway from Kyoto Station: Take the Karasuma Subway Line to Karasuma-Oike Station and change to the Tozai Subway line heading east. Get off at Higashiyama Station and walk north to get to Okazaki-koen. Or, get off at Keage Station and walk north to get to Nanzen-ji Temple and the Path of Philosophy.
• By bicycle from Kyoto Station: Cycle east to the Kamo-gawa River and then cycle north (upstream) until you hit Sanjo-dori or Marutamachi-dori.
• By Hankyu Line (from Osaka etc): Get off at Kawaramachi Station and walk to Sanjo Keiko and take the Tozai Line east (see below for stations).
• By Keihan Line (from Osaka etc): Get off at Sanjo Keihan Station and switch to the Tozai Subway Line to Higashiyama Station (for Okazaki) or Keage (for temples).

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