April is the most popular month to visit Kyoto, thanks to the blooming of the world famous cherry blossoms. There’s a whole raft of events to celebrate their arrival, plus special openings of both the Imperial Palace and a stunning subtemple at the Daitoku-ji temple complex.
Cherry tree illuminated at night
15 March-13 April 2025
Event: Night Sakura Illumination
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 6:30pm-9:30pm (enter by 9:00pm)
Admission: ¥1000
Website: Official website (Japanese)
To-ji Temple looks magical in the evening when everything is lit up, including the towering pagoda for which the temple is famous. It’s a nice chance to check out this wonderful and historical temple.
20 March-2 April 2025
Event: Kitano Odori
Location: Kamishichiken Kaburenjo
Time: Starts at 2:00pm and 4:30pm
Admission: ¥6000 (¥7000 with tea ceremony)
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Each of Kyoto’s five geisha districts holds a major series of dance performances once a year. Four of these happen in the spring. This one, held by the geisha houses of the northern Kamishichiken Geisha District, is very special. The scale is rather intimate and the dance is always superb. It doesn’t necessarily feel like stepping back in time, it feels more like stepping out of time. Some of Kyoto’s specialist tour companies and concierges at high-end hotels and ryokan may be able to source you tickets for these and the other geisha dances. Check out our Kyoto Geisha page for more details on Kyoto’s geisha.
20 March-25 May 2025
Event: Spring Special Opening
Location: To-ji Temple
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm (enter by 4:30pm)
Admission: ¥500
Website: Official website (Japanese)
It’s not normally possible to enter the beautiful pagoda at To-ji Temple, but during this special opening, you can enter the first (ground) floor of the pagoda to examine some of the fine Buddhist images contained therein.
25 March-3 April 2025
Event: Night Time Illumination
Location: Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Admission: ¥500
Website: Official website (English)
Commanding a magnificent position on a hill in the Higashiyama District, overlooking the entire basin of Kyoto, no temple is more spectacular after dark than Kiyomizu-dera Temple. A pilgrimage here to enjoy the night time illumination is not to be missed!
28 March-18 May 2025
Event: Spring Special Opening
Location: Daitoku-ji Temple, Oubai-in
Time: 10:00am-4:00pm
Admission: ¥800
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Daitoku-ji Temple is actually a collection of subtemples, a walled-in world of miniature Zen paradises. The eponymous Daitoku-ji itself is very fine and is open all year round. However, if you’re here in April or the first half of May, make tracks for the Daitoku-ji complex because this is your chance to see what is perhaps the most spectacular subtemple there: Obai-in (sometimes written as Oubai-in in English). It’s only opened briefly in the spring and fall each year. It’s a collection of fine halls, superb karesansui (Zen gardens) and beautiful vistas from each room and window. Don’t miss it. See also Michael Lambe’s detailed Exploring Daitoku-ji article which guides you around the highlights of the complex.
Early April 2025 (To be confirmed)
Event: Night Time Illumination
Location: Nijo-jo Castle
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Admission: ¥600
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Nijo-jo Castle doesn’t usually make my list of favorite Kyoto spots, probably because of the crowds that pack the place, due to its spacious bus parking lot. But, at night, the atmosphere is totally different. Sure, it can still be crowded, but somehow you tend to notice the crowds less after dark. And, the sight of the castle at night is magical. It’s well worth a visit if you’re in town when this is being held. You could easily combine it with a stroll down nearby Pontocho or Kiyamachi-dori.
1 April-15 June 2025
Event: Spring Special Opening
Location: Daitoku-ji Temple, Kourin-in
Time: 10:00am-4:30pm
Admission: ¥800
Website: Official website (Japanese)
This is another lovely small garden in the Daitoku-ji complex (see above for more details). It would make a great addition to a visit to Obai-in (also above).
1 To Mid-April 2025
Event: Cherry Blossom Night Time Illumination
Location: Maruyama-koen Park
Time: After sunset-midnight
Admission: Free
Maruyama-koen Park is cherry blossom central in Kyoto. Here is where you go to find the biggest crowds, the wildest hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties and some of the best trees in the city. It gets pretty rowdy here on weekend evenings when the blossoms are in full bloom, but it’s a pretty tame crowd. If the crowd gets to be too much, you can see refuge at the higher eastern end of the park, overlooking the madness below. If you can’t be bothered to fix up your own hanami party, just grab a seat on one of the tables in the center of the park – you just have to buy some drinks and snacks from the nearby vendors to claim a place.
Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theater
1-30 April 2025
Event: Miyako Odori
Location: Gion Kobu Kaburenjō Theater
Time: Starts at 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm
Admission: ¥4000 (Regular Seat) or ¥6000 (Premium Seat)
Website: Official website (English)
This is the mother of all geisha dances. Put on by the girls of the main Gion geisha district in a huge hall, this is a sumptuous feast for the senses. The number of geisha, the constantly changing sets, the outright bizarre sounds from the musicians and singers, it will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. If you can go, by all means, GO! You will not regret it. Private tour operators and concierges may be able to source you tickets. Note that the venue this year is up at the Kyoto University of Art and Design (not the usual Gion event hall). Check out our Kyoto Geisha page for more details on Kyoto’s geisha.
6 April 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.
10 April 2025
Event: Ōka-sai
Location: Hirano Shrine
Time: 10:00am-3:00pm
Admission: Free
Hirano Shrine claims to have hosted this cherry blossom festival every single year since 985, which would make it the longest-running festival in Kyoto. Whether this is true or not, it’s a fun and impressive event. The highlight is the procession that sets off from the shrine around 1:00pm to make its way around the neighbourhood. There’s the usual o-mikoshi (portable shrine), but also women dressed in kimono in various historical styles, and men dressed as priests and warriors on horseback. Wonderfully evocative.
15 April 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.
19 April-15 June 2025
Event: Special Exhibition Commemorating Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai Japan, an Artistic Melting Pot
Location: Kyoto National Museum, Heisei Chishinkan Wing
Time: 9:00am–5:30pm (entrance until 5:00pm)
Fridays 9:00am–8:00pm (Entrance until 7:30pm)
Admission: ¥700
Website: Official website (Japanese)
Japan has a reputation for being a bit of a Galapagos, but there has always been — to a greater or lesser extent over time — a rich history of intercultural and international exchange throughout history. It’s precisely this dynamic cultural exchange that’s at the heart of this special art exhibition organised by the Kyoto National Museum to commemorate the World Expo in Osaka. Featuring paintings, sculptures, calligraphic works, and decorative arts across a millennia or several, it’s a timely reminder that no nation, even an island nation, is truly an island (in the metaphorical sense, anyway).
21 April 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.
The flea market in front of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine: Yasemin Olgunoz Berber / Shutterstock.com
25 April 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).
As with 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.
25 April-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.
Kyoto Vacation Checklist
- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Kyoto guide
- Check Kyoto accommodation availability on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
- You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka and Kyoto to Tokyo
- Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Kyoto
- See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
- You can buy an eSim to activate in Japan or buy a data-only SIM card online for collection when you arrive at Tokyo's Narita or Haneda Airports or Kansai International Airport. You can also rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
- Compare Japan flight prices and timings to find the best deals
- If you're making frequent train journeys during your visit, you might save money with Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
- World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world
- Do you want help planning your trip? Chris Rowthorn and his team of Japan experts at Japan Travel Consulting can help
