Northwest Kyoto · Japan

Ninna-ji Temple

templepagodacherry grovegoogle verified

easy

9/10

best: late_spring, weekday

quiet, historic, seasonal

A local would say...

The cherry trees here are ancient and so old they've stopped growing tall — their blossoms hang at eye level.

A sprawling temple complex built in 888, head temple of the Omuro branch of Shingon Buddhism, with a notable five-storey pagoda and an unusual grove of short-trunked, multi-petal cherry trees called Omuro-no-Sakura. Unlike the tall standard cherries, these low trees bloom late and draw crowds in April. A good off-beaten-path counterpoint to the crowded nearby Ryōan-ji and Kinkaku-ji.