🔇 Prefer no talking, just the sound of the city? Watch the silent version on Walks in Japan: https://youtu.be/gWpjfKyK17I
⏩ Short on time? The same walk, sped up, on Fast Walks in Japan: https://youtu.be/ox02giFCskM
A slow evening walk through Kyoto’s Higashiyama, timed for Kiyomizu-dera’s summer Special Night Viewing — one of only a few nights each August when the temple opens after dark — with music and on-screen captions telling the story of the shrines, slopes and streets along the way.
📅 Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026
☀️ Weather: Clear
🌡️ Temperature: 29°C / 84°F
💧 Humidity: ~72%
📍 Distance: about 4.5 km / 2.8 miles
🕐 Start Time: 7:22 PM
📷 Camera: DJI Osmo Pocket 4 (4K)
💬 Captions: Japanese / English
The walk begins at Gion-Shijo as the lanterns come on, passes through the great vermilion gate of Yasaka Shrine and the dark paths of Maruyama Park, then follows Nene-no-Michi to the stone slopes of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. At the top, Kiyomizu-dera is open late for the Special Night Viewing: the Deva Gate lit from below, the wooden stage glowing above the valley, the three streams of Otowa Falls running under lanterns. The way back comes down the same slopes, now emptying, to the floodlit Yasaka Pagoda and the quiet stone alleys of Higashiyama, ending where it began at Yasaka Shrine.