Kyoto Events August

August is when you can witness the spectacular Daimonji Fire Festival, where massive Chinese characters set up on the hills around the town are set ablaze. The lantern floating ceremony and the otherworldly candlelight of the Sento kuyo ceremony are two other visually stunning events happening this month.

[Daimonji Yaki Festival at Satsuki Mt: EarthScape ImageGraphy / Shutterstock.com]

1 August-7 September 2025 (To be confirmed)

Event: Kamishichiken Beer Garden
Location: Kamishichiken Kabukai
Time: 5:30am-10:00pm
Admission: From ¥2500
Website: Official website (Japanese)

While meeting maiko or geiko in person usually requires an invitation or an expensive reservation-only banquet, there’s no need for any of that at the Kamishichiken Beer Garden. Held every summer at the Kaburenjo theatre in the Kamishichiken geisha district, the beer garden is staffed by geiko, maiko, and other women working in the district, who take orders and chat with customers. This beer garden is open to anyone who pays the entrance fee, and it’s a rare opportunity to chat to these artisans in person in a more relaxed environment. Reserve tickets online early to avoid disappointment.

1 August-7 September 2025

Event: Yayoi Kusama Print Works: Repetition & Proliferation
Location: Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art
Time: 10:00am-6:00pm
Admission: TBC
Website: Official website (English)

Even if you’ve never heard the name Yayoi Kusama, you’ll probably have seen the avant-garde artist’s distinctive polka dots and net patterns somewhere, whether it’s on a sculpture or a Louis Vuitton bag. This exhibition at the Kyocera Museum of Art will showcase a selection of her prints --- woodblock, silkscreen, and others --- from the artist’s own collection as well as that of the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, which has the largest collection of Kusama prints in the world. Unmissable for Kusama fans.

1-18 August 2025

Event: Special Night Time Opening
Location: Kodai-ji Temple
Time: After sunset-9:30pm
Admission: ¥600
Website: Official website (English)

Kodai-ji Temple, in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district, is always a magical place. But, when darkness falls and they light the place up, the effect is magical. As always, my favorite bit is the bamboo grove, which looks like something straight out of Narnia.

3 August 2025

Event: “Garakuta-ichi,” To-ji Temple Flea Market
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 7:00am-4:30pm
Admission: Free

If you can’t be in town for Kyoto’s two famous flea markets (Kobo-san Market and Tenjin-san Market), this is a good choice. Like the Kobo-san Market, it’s held on the grounds of To-ji Temple. You’ll usually find a good selection of antiques at this market.

7-10 August 2025

Event: Gojo-zaka Pottery Festival
Location: Gojo-zaka
Time: 9:00am- 10:00pm
Admission: Free

Gojo-zaka, which leads up to Kiyomizu-dera Temple, has always been known for its pottery. And, this three-day event celebrates that fact. If you’re a fan of pottery, get yourself there, but don’t expect to buy any treasures from unsuspecting merchants — these folks have been at it for decades.

[Shimogamo-jinja shrine, Kyoto — image © Damien Douxchamps]

11-16 August 2025

Event: Kyoto Used Book Fair
Location: Shimogamo-jinja Shrine
Time: 10:00am-5:30pm (ends at 4:00pm on the last day)
Admission: Free

This used book fair is a major annual event for Japanese book collectors. Needless to say, with most of the titles being in Japanese, the appeal is limited to foreigners. Still, there are plenty of good picture books about, some English books, and, you might just be one of those foreigners who actually reads Japanese. It’s a good day out.

15 August 2025

Event: Chion-ji Temple Handicraft Market
Location: Hyakumanben Chion-ji Temple
Time: 8:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Chion-ji Temple hosts a fabulous handicraft market on the 15th of every month. It’s a great place to pick up unique, locally made souvenirs during your travels to Kyoto. It’s also a good chance to see Japan’s alternative community and local expats.

16 August 2025

Event: Gozan no Okuribi
Location: Various places in Kyoto city
Time: Starts at 8:00pm
Admission: Free

This is the crowning event of the month of August. More commonly known as the “Daimonji Fire Festival,” this is when they set those massive Chinese characters on the hills around town ablaze. The main mountain is the eponymous Daimonji, which towers over Ginkaku-ji Temple and the rest of northern Higashiyama. It’s set alight promptly at 8:00pm, and the other four mountains are set alight in counterclockwise fashion every 15 minutes. The best places to view the scene include from the east side of Yoshida-yama, parts of the Imperial Palace Park (Gosho), parts of the Kamo-gawa Riverbank, and, if you can afford it, a hotel rooftop beer garden.

16 August 2025 (To be confirmed)

Event: Arashiyama Toro Nagashi (Lantern Floating Ceremony)
Location: Vicinity of Arashiyama Togetsukyo Bridge
Time: around 7:00am-9:00pm
Admission: Free (Lantern is ¥1000)

This highly photogenic event takes place just after dusk near Arashiyama’s famed Togetsukyo Bridge. Floating lanterns are set adrift in the waters of the Katsura-gawa River, both to wish for good luck and to dispel bad luck. Bring a tripod if you’re serious about taking some good pictures.

21 August 2025

Event: Kobo-san Market
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 8:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free

Named for Japan’s most revered Buddhist Saint, Kobo Daishi, this market is one of the two best markets in town (the other being the Tenjin-san Market, held on the 25th). You’ll find all manner of goods on sale here including used kimono, antiques, ceramics, food, bric-a-brac, old postcards and books, and assorted Japanalia. In addition to being a great market, this is also a chance to see Kyoto’s foreign community, which turns out in full, along with hordes of locals.

[Stone statues in Adashino Nenbutsu-ji buddhist temple: Kononchuk Alla / Shutterstock.com]

23-24 August 2025

Event: Sento Kuyo Memorial
Location: Adashino-Nembutsu-ji Temple
Time: 5:30pm-9:00pm (admission closes at 8:30pm)
Admission: ¥1000
Website: Official website (English)

Adashino-Nembutsu-ji Temple, in the far northwest of town, a bit of a stroll from Arashiyama, is one of the more mysterious temples. It’s said that dead bodies used to be left there to rot, the great Buddhist saint Kukai turned it into a temple and properly honored the dead. Other legends have it that another great saint, Honen, played a role. Now, there are thousands of Buddhist images there and on the evenings of 23 and 24 August, candles are lit to pray for the souls of the departed. It’s an otherworldly sight.

25 August 2025

Event: Tenjin-san Market
Location: Kitano Tenmangu
Time: 6:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free

Like the Kobo-san market (see previous), this is one of the two best markets in town. It’s named for Sugawara no Michizane, a 9th century poet and scholar who is the patron saint of academic pursuits in Japan. Known colloquially as Tenjin-san, the market is a great excuse to visit this shrine and see people, especially school children, rubbing the two stone bulls in front of the main hall of the shrine (doing so is said to make one more intelligent).

Like the Kobo-san market, this is a great chance to buy used kimono, ceramics, antiques and bric-a-brac, along with food and drink. You’ll also rub shoulders with an interesting assortment of expats and locals.

Kyoto Events Month By Month 2025

• Kyoto Events January 2025
• Kyoto Events February 2025
• Kyoto Events March 2025
• Kyoto Events April 2025
• Kyoto Events May 2025
• Kyoto Events June 2025
• Kyoto Events July 2025
• Kyoto Events August 2025
• Kyoto Events September 2025
• Kyoto Events October 2025
• Kyoto Events November 2025
• Kyoto Events December 2025

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