Ryogon-ji Temple, in Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture, is famous for the thousands of azaleas that bloom in the spring, and lotuses in the summer. In fact, Ryogon-ji Temple is the second of the 25 Most Famous Flower Temples of Western Japan. The temple grounds are also home to a 400 year-old camellia, a 500 year-old bo tree, and a 400 year-old crape myrtle, all of them ranked in the Top Hundred Ancient Trees of Ayabe. The sliding paper doors within Ryogon-ji Temple are patterend with crows in all four seasons, painted by the unique painter Ikka Nagai, famous for crow motifs. These patterns earned the temple the nickname Temple of Crows. (Visitors wishing to see the crows on the sliding paper doors must make a reservation prior to visiting.)

Address

Ryogonji-6 Tachicho, Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture

Access

Train: From JR Ayabe Station, take Aya bus (the Shigananboku line), get off at "Tachi" bus stop, and walk east for 15 minutes.

Car: Go straight from the Mikata Intersection on National Route 27 until crossing the Tamba Bridge onto Kyoto Prefectural Route 8. Turn right at the Torigatsubo intersection onto Prefectural Route 9. Turn right again at the Kuricho intersection, then turn left at the road infront of the Toyosato Post Office, and from there continue to go north.

Business Hours

Open all year round

Parking

Space for regular-sized vehicles: 50 (Price: Free)

Space for large vehicles: 3 (Price: Free)