Kyoto Temple Light Up: Hanatouro History, Kiyomizu-dera, Kodai-ji at Night

It is a cold evening in Higashiyama. The souvenir shops on the slope are pulling down their shutters, and yet a line is forming at a temple gate, because tonight is a Kyoto temple light up: the temple stays open after dark, and a thin blue beam is already cutting across the sky above Kyoto.

In short: Kyoto temple light ups, called yakan tokubetsu haikan (special night viewing), open for a few weeks in spring, summer and autumn at temples such as Kiyomizu-dera and Kodai-ji; the exact dates change every year, so check each temple's official page. The habit spread across the city after the Hanatouro lantern walks began in 2003 to bring visitors back in the quiet months. This story explains where the lights came from, then shows you three places to feel it yourself.

Why Kyoto started lighting its temples at night

Kyoto in winter used to be a strange contrast. Cherry blossom spots in spring and maple temples in autumn were packed, but in the coldest months the sightseeing streets were close to empty. The city wanted people to come in those gaps and, ideally, to stay the night instead of leaving on the last train.

So in fiscal 2002 the Kyoto Hanatouro Promotion Council launched a project built around one simple idea: light. Higashiyama Hanatouro opened in March 2003, and Arashiyama Hanatouro followed in December 2005, both placed in months when Kyoto was quieter. The city carried most of the cost; in fiscal 2019 it paid 130 million yen of a 168 million yen budget.