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).