PhotoKyoto · Kyoto Prefecture

Autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto

In short

An autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto lasts 30 minutes, usually at Tofuku-ji from its 8:30 opening, or at Kiyomizu-dera from 6 am for a dawn start. Peak colour runs from about 20 November into early December. It costs from $260 for 15 edited photos within 3 days; temple fees of ¥500–1,000 are separate.

Starting from: $260
Duration: 30 min
Edited photos: 15

Why here

Why choose Autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto?

Kyoto’s maple fortnight is the most crowded time of the year in the city, and the two temples with the most intense colour — Tofuku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera — are also the two with the strictest crowd rules. An autumn session here is planned around a temple’s opening time and its photography rules, not around a sunrise.

How the shoot is planned

How the shoot runs around Kiyomizu-dera

The route

At Tofuku-ji we are in the queue at the gate before 8:30 and walk straight to the Gaun-kyo bridge, the smaller wooden bridge downstream, which looks up the ravine to the Tsutenkyo floating over some 2,000 maples. Photography is banned on the Tsutenkyo itself at peak, so this is where the frame is made. With the Tsutenkyo ticket we then cross into the valley path below, where the colour closes in overhead; the climb to the Kaisando fits if you add an extra hour. If you choose Kiyomizu-dera instead, the half hour runs from the 6 am opening: the stage seen across the red valley from the Okunoin terrace, then the path down past the Otowa waterfall.

The timing

Colour usually starts in the middle of November and is at its deepest from around 20 November to the first days of December; weekends in that window are the busiest days of the year, and Tofuku-ji’s gate can have a queue at opening. Weekdays and the first week of December are calmer. Book by July: kimono shops and hotels in the city fill as fast as photographers. Early-November dates usually bring only partial colour, which we will tell you plainly.

What’s included

What Autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto includes

In the package

15 edited photos
Spot chosen on the colour reports for your week
Start in the low-sun hours, morning or late afternoon
Private online gallery within 3 days

Fees and permits on the route

Kiyomizu-dera: About ¥500; opens at 6 am. No tripods; pre-wedding shoots need the temple’s prior approval
Kinkaku-ji: ¥500; 9 am–5 pm. One-way route, no tripods, no stopping on the path for long
Tofuku-ji: Tsutenkyo bridge and Kaisando about ¥1,000 in autumn. Photography is banned on the bridge itself during the November peak; shoot from Gaun-kyo bridge instead

Book online

Inspiration

Autumn leaves photoshoot: ideas for your shoot

Frames by photographers on Unsplash, credited below — the mood to plan your own shoot against, not our portfolio.

Photos: Micah Bratt, Cole Keister, Jay, Diana Lisunova, Na visky on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto

How much is an autumn leaves photoshoot in Kyoto?

From $260 for 30 minutes and 15 edited photos within 3 days. Temple tickets are paid on the day: about ¥1,000 for Tofuku-ji’s Tsutenkyo and Kaisando in autumn, or about ¥500 at Kiyomizu-dera.

Can we be photographed on the Tsutenkyo bridge?

Not during the November peak, when the temple bans photography on the bridge to keep people moving. The classic view is from the Gaun-kyo bridge looking at it, which is where we shoot.

Which is better for autumn, Tofuku-ji or Kiyomizu-dera?

Tofuku-ji has the denser colour; Kiyomizu-dera has the earlier opening and the city view. If you can only get up early once, Kiyomizu-dera at six gives the emptier frame.

How do we book from China?

Message us on WeChat with your dates; we confirm the temple, the time and kimono there, and a Mandarin-speaking assistant can join for $70.

Same shoot elsewhere