6 sights Updated 16 September 2026

Sights in Kyoto

What the ticket buys, and when to be at the gate

6 sights in Kyoto, each with the current admission, the opening hours, and whether it earns the time.

The Golden Pavilion is a twenty-minute one-way walk with one great view in it. Knowing that before you arrive is most of the visit.

Not to be missed

The gates everyone photographs are a short stretch near the bottom. The shrine that is worth two hours starts where most visitors turn round.

Not to be missed

One temple in Kyoto opens at six in the morning. Using that is the single most effective thing you can do about crowds here.

Not to be missed

The Silver Pavilion has never been silver, and since April 2026 it costs twice as much as the Golden one. What you actually get for the new price.

Not to be missed

The headline price gets you a moat and a garden. The palace with the nightingale floors and the room where the shogunate ended costs 500 yen more.

Not to be missed

A 120-metre hall holding 1,001 gilded Kannon. Nobody can photograph it, so nobody queues to. The most underrated hour in Kyoto.

Not to be missed

The rest of Kyoto

Every other collection in the city guide, with what is in it.