As we enter the month of March and are all looking forward to the Hanami season, various special events are taking place in Kyoto. Among these, the evening light-ups are certainly the most popular ones.
This is not a mere lighting up of the garden, but it is an actual light show. After visiting the interior of the temple (which is more a villa than a temple), one can view the beautiful circular pond-garden. The bamboo forest on the upper ground is another special sight, specially during the illumination.
At night, during the light show, the place appears to transform into a mysterious world—trees and flowers fading in the darkness, the five grand camphor trees (national natural monuments) majestically lit up, and a mandala of light, projected on the moss garden.
Shoren-In is located in the Southern Higashiyama area, right after the Chion-In Temple, north of Maruyama Koen Park (only 10 minutes on foot distance from the Yasaka shrine.)
You can easily find it thanks to the obvious landmark — huge camphor trees right in front of the gate of the temple. These five trees in front and around the temple are truly spectacular and actual national natural monuments!
Hello!
Really beautiful photos!
I can’t find the date on when you posted this.. But you visited Shoren-in Temple during March 2015? I’m actually intending to go there in 2016, but I’m not sure if they’ll have it there again. Their official website did not state anything about the light show during March, only December. Hence I was wondering if you’d have any idea whether the light show will still be on during March 2016~
Thank you!
Aki
Hello, Sorry for the late reply.
I am not sure about the schedule of the Shoren-In light-ups, but I am pretty sure they’ll do it during the Fall season as well as during the Cherry Blossom season, so probably in October/November/December and March/April. You may want to check and confirm this before your arrival.