Kyoto Oct 22: Jidai Matsuri or Kurama Fire Festival
Oct 22 in Kyoto is two festivals. Jidai is noon downtown; Kurama is night in the mountains. Pick one — times, seats, rain, last trains.
People treat 22 October in Kyoto as one festival day. It is not. Jidai Matsuri is a noon procession through the city centre. Kurama Fire Festival is a night walk in the mountains north of town. Same Thursday. Different trains, different clothes, different last-train problem.
If you try both, you spend the good hour of each in transit. Pick one.
October in Kyoto is still early for the famous maple temples — that crush is later; see Kyoto autumn foliage. This page is only the 22nd.
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Which one?
Choose Jidai if you want costumes you can actually see, a reserved seat, or a downtown day that still ends in time for dinner in Kyoto. Children and anyone who hates standing in a night crowd belong here.
Choose Kurama if you want fire, a mountain village, and you will check the last Eizan train before you go up. It is louder, later, and less comfortable. That is the point.
Skip both if you only have 22 October and you wanted empty temples. The city is busy that Thursday either way. Walk Higashiyama at opening and leave the festivals to people who came for them.
The national calendar listing is in Japanese festivals 2026. October weather sits in Japan in October.
Jidai Matsuri: the noon procession
Official times from Kyoto City Tourism Association: Thursday 22 October 2026 (Reiwa 8).
| Point | Clock |
|---|---|
| Leaves Imperial Palace Kenreimon | 12:00 |
| Karasuma Oike | about 12:50 |
| Arrives Heian Jingu | about 14:30 |
About two thousand people walk eight centuries of costume from the palace to the shrine. You do not need a ticket to stand on the route. You need a ticket if you want a chair, a marked time, and a clear sightline.
Paid seats
Seat details — general sale opened 8 September 2026 at 10:00. Leftovers, if any, are on that page, not on a reseller.
| Stand | Parade time | Front | 2nd row and back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyoto Gyoen | 12:00 | ¥7,500 | ¥5,000 |
| Oike | 13:20 | ¥7,500 | ¥5,000 |
| Jingu-michi | 14:20 | ¥7,500 | ¥5,000 |
| Otenmon special | shrine arrival | ¥15,500 (Japanese commentary) / ¥13,500 (English) | — |
Paid seating bans umbrellas, tripods, flash, and pets. Bring a compact rain layer you can wear, not a golf umbrella you will be asked to put down.
Rain
If the city delays for rain, it decides early on the morning of the 22nd and moves the procession to Friday 23 October. Tickets are not refunded. Check the official page before you leave the hotel — do not trust a tour blog from last year.
Where to stand for free
Kenreimon is the start, and it fills first. Karasuma Oike is the downtown pinch — good if you are already in the grid and do not want to walk to Okazaki. Jingu-michi is the last stretch; you wait longer and see the arrival. A side street one block off the official route is often the difference between seeing a horse and seeing someone's phone.
Kurama Fire Festival: the night one
Official outline from Kyoto City / Kyoto Tourism Federation: 22 October, 18:00 until midnight or later. Rain goes ahead (決行). This is not Jidai's delay rule. Pack a shell.
Watchers walk with — or stand beside — torches in a mountain village. It is a shrine festival, not a parade with numbered seats. Give people carrying fire room. Do not treat the narrow street as a photo studio.
Goshuin: the shrine office closes around 16:30 on the day. If a stamp is the reason you came, go up in the afternoon, then eat, then wait for 18:00. Do not assume the counter is open at night.
Getting there
Train is the plan. Eizan Electric Railway to Kurama Station, then about a six-minute walk. From downtown Kyoto that means Demachiyanagi, not a taxi fantasy after 15:00.
Cars are banned from 15:00 on the road between Kibuneguchi and Kurama Onsen. There is no useful festival parking. If a hotel offers a drop-off, confirm they are allowed on that stretch after three.
Last trains are the constraint. The festival runs past midnight. Eizan does not. Check the day's last departure from Kurama before you go up; missing it is a long, expensive taxi in a village that is already closed to ordinary traffic. Write the time down. Phone maps die in a crowd if you have no data.
A Japan eSIM installed at home — Airalo or Saily — is the difference between seeing the last-train board and guessing it.
Do not do both
Heian Jingu is in Okazaki. Kurama is in the mountains on the Eizan line. The procession ends around 14:30. Kurama's fire starts at 18:00. On a map that looks like a gap. On the day it is a cross-town move into the worst inbound train of the night, then a standing wait, then a last-train problem you have not planned.
You will see the tail of Jidai or the messy front of Kurama. Neither is why you came. Pick the one you can do at its good hour.
Book in this order
- Which festival — before the hotel
- Jidai seats if that is the day — official page only
- A room you can walk or train from — Gosho / Karasuma for Jidai, Demachiyanagi side for Kurama
- Eizan last-train time if you chose Kurama
- Data that works offline-ish — eSIM before you fly
Nothing else is required. This is not a ticketed night-illumination product.
FAQ
Exact date in 2026?
Thursday 22 October. Jidai rain delay, if called, is Friday the 23rd. Kurama goes ahead in rain.
Do I need a ticket for Jidai?
No for the street. Yes for a chair and a marked time.
Can I drive to Kurama?
Not after 15:00 on the Kibuneguchi–Kurama Onsen stretch, and you should not plan to. Take the Eizan line.
Are the maples out?
Usually not at the famous city temples. October 22 is a festival date, not peak momiji — foliage forecast.
Is this the same as Jidai every year?
The date is usually 22 October. Confirm the official page each year; rain rules and seat sales change.
Related
Alex Rivera
Travel & Living Editor
Expat guide. Helps people actually move to and navigate Japan.
Moved from London to Tokyo in 2018. Went through the full gaijin experience—visa, housing, banking, the works. Now writes the guide he wished he had.
Tokyo
Expertise
Moving to Tokyo, expat life, travel, Kyoto vs Tokyo, onsen
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