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Tenryuji Temple, Kyoto

4.3

#11 of 605 in Historic Sites in Kyoto

Religious Site Tourist Spot

• ©

Visit Tenryuji Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple and World Heritage Site, to meditate and reflect among daily visitors and worshippers. The temple, originally completed in 1345 to appease the spirits of the late Emperor Go-Daigo, underwent several reconstructions over the ages. Approach the temple through a walking path lined with soaring bamboo stalks. Be sure to stroll around the temple's garden, which survived the centuries in its original form. Use our Kyoto tour itinerary planning site to visit Tenryuji Temple on your trip to Kyoto, and learn what else travelers and our writers recommend seeing nearby.

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Tenryuji Temple Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1,765 reviews

Google

4.3

• By cherylfwoodward

  Tenryuji is a beautiful temple to visit. I love gardens and there are so many beautiful gardens in Kyoto. The pond is the centrepiece of the garden; the water is so still that the surrounds are reflec...  more »

• By Noel D

  Our Kyoto guide was clever enough to take us here very early so we were able to fully enjoy the serenity of the magnificent autumn gardens, one of the best we saw anywhere. A lovely site to wander thr...  more »

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Google

• By Victor San Gil

  Tenryuji temple was beautiful. There's a fee to visit the grounds at 500yen for the garden and 300yen for the temple. We opted to go through both and we were not disappointed. Before reviewing further, I would recommend that the place be visited during the fall when all the trees still have their autumn color leaves. We visited in late December and while the place was still beautiful, all the trees looked dead. The temple requires you to remove your shoes and had I known that before buying my temple ticket I would not have proceeded. The ground was very cold, but they do make an effort to warm it up a bit by placing mats everywhere. I highly recommend this temple and would definitely go again during autumn.

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• By Virginia Choy

  Very photogenic gardens! If you visit on a hot day, I recommend buying the temple & garden ticket. It's much cooler from inside the temple and you get an elevated view of the garden. Also fewer people buy the temple ticket so there's more room to move around and sit down. You'll need to be VERY patient to get shots without other tourists in it though.

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