Ruriko-in temple located at the northern part of Kyoto city is the one of the most popular autumn leaves spots in Kyoto.
Ruriko-in temple is opened to public for only one month during spring and fall to preserve their beautiful garden.
To limit the number of visitors and avoid an accident, the temple hands out the numbered tickets and the visitors should wait for buying the ticket and entering the temple.
Even though the visitors have to wait for a long time, many people want to see the magnificent scenery.
Unfortunately, Ruriko-in temple doesn’t have any sings and explanation in English, so our KoI staff researched there.
“I plan to visit Ruriko-in temple but how long should I wait for?”
“I’d like to look up for as much as possible in advance.”
“Is there any other spot to watch?”
This time, we’d like to answer these questions from those who want to visit Ruriko-in temple.
【Index】
1.What’s the Ruriko-in Temple?
2.The Breathtaking Landscape in Ruriko-in Temple
3.How was the autumn foliage on November 19th, 2019?
4.Is there any activity at Ruriko-in Temple?
5.Is there any discount ?
6.Is the Ruriko-in Temple a handicap friendly?
7.How to get to the Ruriko-in Temple
8.How long does it take to enter the Ruriko-in Temple?
9.Are there any shops or restaurants around the Ruriko-in Temple?
Information
What’s the Ruriko-in Temple?
Ruriko-in temple is located at the northern part of Kyoto city and near the Mt. Hiei.
The Ruriko-in temple is one of the branch of the Komyo-ji temple,Jodo Sect, and the main worship is Amidanyorai.
とはいえ、the temple was originally built as a villa for 政治家 in Taisho era.
The Ruriko-in temple had opened since 2014 but it decided to open twice a year, spring and fall to preserve the environment of the gardens.
Even so, the number of tourists get higher year by year because of the popularity of Instagram.
The amazing reflection of the maple trees on the table is just stunning.
The Breathtaking Landscape in Ruriko-in Temple
It takes more than an hour to see the scenery but it surely deserves it.
Everyone can take a magnificent shot.
Of course it is a breathtaking view, but the crowds made me suffocating.
“Ruri Garden” is also picturesque.
Beside the crowds, the birds tweeted as sing and the garden looks like a heaven as its concept.
The reflected red light were shining brightly in the room near the “Garyo Garden”.
How was the autumn foliage on November 19th, 2019?
The weather forecast announced that the autumn leaves gets peak around on November 23 in 2019.
Then the day we visited, no doubt that the magnificent scene became even better when we saw through the wooden windows.
The peak of the autumn leave is surely during the last week in November, but the number of visitors get peak as well.
If you want to see the scenery with more relaxing, you should visit there in the early December.
Is there any activity at Ruriko-in Temple?
The staff gives you a piece of paper and a pen for the Sutra copying at the entrance.
There are some tables on the second floor for that.
Goshuin (a signature that is given at a shrine or a temple)
The fee is as you wish but it commonly 300 yen.
We would suggest to go to ground floor and pay for a cup of green tea and Japanese sweet. The view was not as good as the upper floor, but much fewer people that you could enjoy the peace.
There are many cultural treasures in the room so don’t miss to see them.
Is there any discount ?
Warning that IT IS QUITE EXPENSIVE for Entry fee about 2000 yen.
Otherwise of it, you can take pictures everywhere in the house and take an experience of the Sutra Copying.
Students and a person with disabilities are able to take a discount 1,000 yen when you show the identification card.
（Ruriko-in Temple Website）
Is the Ruriko-in Temple a handicap friendly?
The approach to the entrance is a steep stairs, and it would dangerous when it rains.
Also, it isn’t a good place for children and elderlies because it takes a long time to enter and the visitors wait where it gets chill when it’s cloudy.
How to get to the Ruriko-in Temple
There are three way to get to the Ruriko-in temple.
Avoid Traffic Jam！ Get the train
JR Kyoto St.→Get off the “Tofuku-ji” St. on the JR Nara Line and Exchange to “Tofuku-ji” St. on the Keihan line.(Same place)→Get off the “Demachi Yanagi” St. and Exchange to “Demachi Yanagi” St. on the Eizan line. Get off the “Yase Hieizan Guchi” St. and 5-minute walk from the station.
Time: 44 minutes
One-way Fare : 690 yen
Easy way. Direct Bus
Get on the Kyoto Bus #17 head to “Yase Eki Mae” at the Kyoto St. and 7-minute walk from the station.
Time: 54 minutes * The bus could be delayed by apx. 15 minutes because of the traffic jam.
One-way Fare : 400 yen
The combination of a subway and a bus
JR/ Karasuma Subway line “Kyoto” St. →Get off ”Kokusai Kaikan” St. on the Karasuma Subway line→Get on the Kyoto Bus #19 head to “Yase Eki Mae” at the ”Kokusai Kaikan” St.and 7-minute walk from the station.
Time: 37 minutes
One-way Fare : 520 yen
KoI staff chose the third one “The combination of a subway and a bus”.
Here is the reason.
The first way, the staff thought the fare is expensive as one-way because the tourists should visit several / many spots for sightseeing.
The second one, it is the easiest way to get the Ruriko-in and you can enjoy watching the city view but the route could be crowded in fall. We want to arrive the temple as soon as possible for the check in, so we don’t want to waste the time.
We suggest the third one is the best way to get the temple.
It able to avoid the crowded area and fare is reasonable.
We used the “ Subway, Bus One-Day Pass” so it costs only 900 yen.
If you trip around Kyoto it worth getting.
Kyoto City Transportation Bureau：Subway, Bus One-Day Pass Website
We know the “Bus One-Day Pass”, but the Yase / Ohara area include Ruriko-in is excluded.
How long does it take to enter the Ruriko-in Temple?
Everyone care about the CROWDS.
When you google “Ruriko-in”, you can find “Wait for 3 hours!” “Awful waiting” ……
It‘s kind a amusement park.
KoI staff waited for an hour for entire steps on November 19th, 2019.
The process to getting a ticket and the entrance
1.Buy a ticket
et in the queue at 11:00 and the Ruriko-in staff gave me a 整理券 written the gathering time on it. Our gathering time was 11:40.
*The payment is only in cash.
2.Go to the meeting place
We went there around 11:20.
The queue was 40 people by 10 minutes.
3.The announcement by Rurikoin staff explain the notice, then visitors head to the house.
The Notice:
a.Walk in the one line.
b.Be quiet during the move because in the residential street.
c.Don’t take a picture of the houses on the way.
d.Don’t enter the house on the way.
*The staff speaks only in Japanese.
4.Enter the Ruriko-in Temple
The staff will take a picture of visitors one by one in front of the gate to limit the number of visitors.
Done!
It could take more time to enter the temple on holidays.
We recommend you to get the ticket first and explore around there.
Are there any shops or restaurants around the Ruriko-in Temple?
The Ruriko-in temple is in the rural area in Kyoto, so there aren’t many shops to eat.
Even so, there are a few casual restaurants that offers noodles or light meal.
Some vendors are there.
Information
Term:
October 1st ~December 10th *No close day during this term.
Time:
10:00~17:00
Admission Fee:
2,000 yen
*Reservation isn’t available.
Parking Lot:
No
*The road around the temple is so narrow.
Address:
55 Kamitakano Higashiyama, Sakyo ku, Kyoto, 606-0067
Do you need more information?
You should receive such local information of Kyoto by an application “KoI APP”.
With this application, even if you don’t have Wi-Fi, you can find nearby stores and so on.
You can install the application from the following URL.
