Eikan-do

Its formal name is Zenrin-ji, but nobody calls it that. The temple goes back to 853, when Shinsho, a disciple of Kukai, bought the old villa of the courtier Fujiwara no Sekio on this hillside, and Emperor Seiwa gave it the name Zenrin-ji ten years later. Everyone uses the name of a later abbot instead, the monk Eikan (1033 to 1111), and the temple is the head of the Seizan Zenrin-ji branch of Jodo Buddhism.

The reason to come is in the Amida Hall. Before dawn on 15 February 1082, the story goes, Eikan was walking round the Amida statue chanting when the Buddha stepped down, walked ahead of him and looked back over its left shoulder to say "Eikan, you're slow." The statue, carved in the early Kamakura period and now an Important Cultural Property, still has its head turned. You see it from a few metres away, but the pose is unlike anything else in Kyoto.

The other reason is the maples, roughly 3,000 of them around the pond garden and up the slope to the Tahoto pagoda, which is why the temple is known as "Momiji no Eikan-do", Eikan-do of the maples. They usually peak from mid to late November, and so does the crowd. In 2026 the autumn treasure exhibition runs from 11 November to 6 December at 1,500 yen for adults, and the night light-up from 20 November to 6 December, entry 17:30 to 20:30, for 1,000 yen. Day and night are separate tickets, and the grounds are cleared in between. The covered Garyuro stair corridor is closed during the exhibition, and the pagoda can close when it gets too busy.

Outside autumn it is a different place: quiet, green, with the same Amida and fewer people. Since April 2026 normal admission is 1,000 yen for adults, entry 9:00 to 16:00, gate closing at 17:00.

From Kyoto Station take city bus 5 to Nanzenji Eikando-michi, three minutes' walk away; note that this stop is closed in the busiest weeks. From Keage Station on the Tozai subway line it is about 15 minutes on foot. In the autumn season the temple does not take private cars, so come by bus or on foot.