While Heian Shrine is relatively modern, what impressed me most was the famous interior garden with its full blooming iries and the different perspectives that were presented as we strolled in the sprawling gardens in the Heian Shrine complex. There is an additional fee to visit the gardens and I thought it was well worth the small ticket fee.
Inside there is a large open area surrounded by buildings, they are very impressive.
Outside the shrine you look down the road to a very large Torii gate across the road.
Worth a look. We were only there for a short time and we didn't have time to look at the gardens, but they look fantastic.
The gardens at Heian Jingu are one of my top 3 favorite spots in Kyoto. The shrine is fine, but not in itself better than others early. Its garden is the hidden gem!Thankfully It’s less well known by tourists (therefore really nice and quiet, especially in the morning around 10am when we went). entry to the garden may be harder to find if you can’t read Japanese. But it’s worth finding the garden and paying the 600yen entry fee- these are perhaps my favorite gardens in all of Japan!
There are “drooping cherry blossom trees” (likely good in April), water lillies (blooming for us at the end of May), irises (just started blooming, likely perfect in early June) and wisteria (not blooming yet), picturesque stepping stones across a pond, fish you can feed, turtles, and a covered bridge.
Tip: bring a water bottle (or buy from a vending machine before entering the gardens).
We were on the hop on hop off bus, this shrine is right where you get off on stop 10. Free to have a look with interesting art also free to attend. My son 14 loved it because he thought of Kung fu Panda. Plus there is an adjoining souvenirs and food shops available.
One of the most beautiful gardens we saw during our trip to Japan. The shrine is also nice, but rather typical, although it has a significant historical importance.
A Torii gate (24.2 m) is very beautiful.
