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Tofuku-ji Temple

Tofuku-ji Temple

Tofuku-ji Temple
4.5
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Southern Kyoto
Southern Kyoto has a reserved air. Though the Fushimi Inari Shrine is one of Kyoto's major tourist attractions, the surrounding nature, parks, gardens, temples, and shrines provide less-visited spaces for strolling and reflection. The Fushimi Inari Shrine itself is made up of 32,000 sub-shrines, and the mountain they are dotted across beckons hikers, picnickers, and lovers of the outdoors. Many of the mountain's off-set paths aren't frequented by tourists, and the mountain's serenity can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Southern Kyoto is the place to enjoy being outside, and to pay your respects to the ancient architecture and gods of the land that are celebrated here.
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See what travellers are saying
  • liucy752
    Taipei, Taiwan1,728 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A temple with exceptionally beautiful landscape
    One of the temples with exceptionally stunning landscape in Japan. The Tongtian Bridge (通天橋), the Woyun Bridge (臥雲橋) and temples among the green mountains and blue waters are like a fairyland on earth. As other famous spots for viewing fall foliage, this place will become crowded with people when the maples turn red a month later. The scenery will be more beautiful but lose its elegance and serenity.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 15 October 2023
  • Emma C
    Godalming, United Kingdom3,052 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Everything I hoped it would be!
    I thought this place was beautiful and everything I hoped it to be. We didn't pay the entry price to go on the bridge, though. It was a bit pricey, and the leaves hadn't quite changed colour at that point. Our reason for going was the Zen Rock Gardens, and the Moss Garden both were magnificent and since it is a bit out of the main drag there were far less people that at other Kyoko temples, that made it even more special for us. While we were there, there was a ceramics fair going on where I had to keep control of myself and only buy a couple of cups. It was hard as everything was beautiful. Yes, they do seem to be taking advantage of visitors by charging extra for certain things, but I would still recommend visiting. We'll definitely be back!
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 December 2023
  • chowso
    Gloucester, United Kingdom1,745 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A highlight of the trip
    This was my favourite temple in Kyoto. We paid ¥1000 for the gardens (maybe it's charged differently at other times of the year, otherwise I'm confused by the other comments about charging per building and it being a rip off, and the ¥10,000 comment has to be a typo!!) We went first thing just as it opened and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The buildings are large and it was so quiet, exactly how I'd hoped most of the temples would be. The multiple Zen gardens were also beautiful. I would love to come back and see it in autumn.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 28 April 2024
  • mabei0123
    Tsukuba, Japan16,693 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Tofuku-ji is the best temple to go for Autumn Color in Kyoto!!
    The best time for Autumn Color is usually late November in Kyoto, but because of warm weather this year, it was @2 weeks later than usual. Thus, I could visit Kyoto at the best time on Dec. 7 and 8, 2023 with my wife. In addition, since most people think the best is late November, too late in December, Tofuku-ji Temple was not crowded and we could go around and see it in @1 hour. It was really beautiful!! There are also different types of Gardens including Zen Garden in this Temple. You should not miss this Temple when you come to Kyoto in Autumn Color Season!!
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 May 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,851 reviews
Excellent
1,019
Very good
663
Average
141
Poor
17
Terrible
11

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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Siddharth B
Seattle, WA545 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
Tofukuji is best viewed in autumn, and we went too early as we went end of September. The beautiful view of the temple tucked in between the mountains and red bush is barely visible. However there are trails with beautiful sights of mossy trees as well as a beautiful area of shrubs adjoining the temple with a crossing bridge. If you’ve already seen many Japanese shrines, this might not amaze you but it’s beautiful otherwise. Amongst other features there is a rock garden here too, as well as an exhibit where you’ve to pay seperately for the garden with square-shaped design on the floor (see pics). There are many nice temples in the complex. Overall a good temple to stop by, especially given it’s walkable from here to Fushmi Inari (which is IMO the best temple in Japan), but not unmissable.
Written 10 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

liucy752
Taipei, Taiwan1,728 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Family
One of the temples with exceptionally stunning landscape in Japan.

The Tongtian Bridge (通天橋), the Woyun Bridge (臥雲橋) and temples among the green mountains and blue waters are like a fairyland on earth.

As other famous spots for viewing fall foliage, this place will become crowded with people when the maples turn red a month later.

The scenery will be more beautiful but lose its elegance and serenity.

Written 15 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jarmwr40
British Columbia, Canada2,999 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
wandered here through the sennyu-ji temple, a beautiful area.
maple trees just starting to turn colors.
we were visiting beloved kyoto for our third and most likely last time.
lucky to be able to meet up with our friend who was born here and have her show us her fav temples.
this buddhist temple was founded in 1236 and rebuilt in the 15th century.
it is one of the 5 great zen temples of kyoto.
the main gate is the oldest sanmon in japan, at 2 stories high and 5 bays wide.
the temple includes 24 sub temples.
there are large numbers of maple rees that pop with color in the fall, we were a little early to see that.
a beautiful sunny day, girls in rented kimono strolling about.
kyoto at its best.
we came here in oct. 2019 and due to covid I'm only just getting at sharing my experiences.
a beautiful spot.
Written 11 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ClemRobyns
Brussels278 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Solo
I have visited dozens of temples in Japan. This is the first one that manages to charge entry for every building SEPARATELY, and again for the garden. And the fees, at 1000 yen for each building and 500 for the garden, are the highest I've seen in Japan. This is not a temple, this is a rip off.
Written 14 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

wengkiong
Singapore, Singapore19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
It's like stepping into an autumn wonderland with gorgeous autumn foliage in every corner. Your eyes are filled with brilliant maple reds and brilliant ginkgo yellows. No wonder this is one of the top autumn spots in Kyoto!
Written 7 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

J.G.YUN
Busan, South Korea5,682 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Solo
It is said that Todai-ji (東大寺), the largest temple in Nara, and Kofuku-ji (興福寺), the most prosperous, were named Tofuku-ji (東福寺) after the characters “To” (東) and “Fuku (福)” from the names of the two temples. do.
The valley within the grounds of Tofukuji Temple is known as a famous autumn foliage spot in Kyoto. In particular, the autumn foliage seen from Tsuten Bridge provides a wonderful view.
The three gates are the oldest in Japan and a national treasure. Also, we recommend that you visit the South Garden, which includes the “Karesansui Garden,” which received favorable reviews in the “Michelin Green Guide Japan.”
Google
Written 5 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

E C
Victoria, Australia319 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Solo
As a previous reviewer has mentioned this place is a rip off! Most shrines are approx ¥5000-6000 to get in, this one was ¥10,000 which wouldn’t be so bad if it gave you access to all the other buildings and gardens on the site, but no the want ¥10,000 for each building!

The autumn colours were lovely but without those I don’t think this would be anything worth visiting
Written 17 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hubilie
418 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
The maple leaves are not yet red, and I imagined the beautiful scenery of red leaves on the Tongtian Bridge. The Tongtian Bridge is built on the mountain, crossing a mountain canal, with a very high terrain and maple trees all around. If you go there when the mountain is covered with red leaves, it must be a beautiful sight.
Google
Written 31 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

chowso
Gloucester, UK1,745 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
This was my favourite temple in Kyoto. We paid ¥1000 for the gardens (maybe it's charged differently at other times of the year, otherwise I'm confused by the other comments about charging per building and it being a rip off, and the ¥10,000 comment has to be a typo!!)

We went first thing just as it opened and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The buildings are large and it was so quiet, exactly how I'd hoped most of the temples would be. The multiple Zen gardens were also beautiful. I would love to come back and see it in autumn.
Written 28 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jacky B
2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Family
It boasts a very large temple area. There are many sub-temples, and I visited many of them, but it is impossible to see everything in half a day. The autumn leaves from Tsutenkyo Bridge are famous, but even outside of the autumn leaves season, it is a large temple that can be enjoyed. It is close to the JR station and can be reached on foot. I recommend narrowing down the places you want to visit before worshiping.
Google
Written 23 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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TOFUKU-JI TEMPLE (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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