Nonomiya Shrine

Nonomiya Shrine tickets and tours: which one to book

Nonomiya Shrine is a small Shinto shrine in the Arashiyama district on the western edge of Kyoto, and visiting it costs nothing. There is no ticket, no gate fee and no booking; you simply walk in from the lane that runs through the bamboo grove. Charms, prayer plaques and written fortunes are sold at the shrine office for a few hundred yen each. Few products are sold for the shrine alone. It appears instead as a short stop on guided days in Arashiyama and the hills around it, where a guide leads you through the bamboo forest, Tenryu-ji and the riverside, sometimes adding more distant temples reached by car or minibus from Osaka or Kyoto.

Such tours generally include transport and the guide, while the entry fee for Tenryu-ji and its garden is often extra. They suit travellers who want everything arranged in one day, but the shrine itself needs no explanation that a printed leaflet cannot give. Independent travel is straightforward. Take the JR Sagano line to Saga-Arashiyama, the Randen tram to Arashiyama, or the Hankyu line to Arashiyama station, and walk ten to fifteen minutes to the bamboo grove; the shrine stands right beside the path. Rickshaw runners around the district also stop here on their circuits if you prefer to ride.

Visiting Nonomiya Shrine: what to see and how to behave

Nonomiya is tiny, and that is part of its charm. Its entrance is marked by a torii of dark, unbarked oak, a rare archaic form that recalls how the earliest shrines looked, flanked by a low brushwood fence. Inside, a cluster of small wooden halls stands among moss gardens, with a main sanctuary dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and minor shrines to other deities around it. The shrine's fame comes from its role in the Heian court. Before an imperial princess could serve as high priestess at the Ise Shrine, she spent a year or more in purification in a temporary residence in the fields west of the capital, and Nonomiya marks that place. The site was chosen anew by divination for each princess, so the present location is one of several used over the centuries.

The setting appears in the Tale of Genji, in the scene where Genji visits Lady Rokujo as she prepares to leave for Ise, and later in the Noh play of the same story. Today the shrine is visited above all by people praying for a good marriage and for success in exams. Look for the stone known as the turtle stone, which visitors stroke while making a wish, and for the racks of wooden plaques covered in hand-written prayers. The moss garden beside the main hall is small but carefully kept. Follow ordinary shrine etiquette: bow before passing under the torii, rinse your hands and mouth at the water basin, and at the hall toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice and bow once more. Photography is fine in the grounds but be discreet with people praying.

Nonomiya Shrine: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The grounds are open throughout the day, and the shrine office usually sells charms from about 9 am to 5 pm. Because the shrine sits on the main bamboo grove path, it fills up from mid-morning with the crowds heading through Arashiyama, so arrive before 8 am or after 5 pm for a calm visit. Autumn, with maples in the hills from mid to late November, and cherry blossom season in early April are the busiest and most beautiful times. In winter the moss stays green and the area is much quieter.

The Saigu procession, which recreates the journey of the imperial priestess in Heian costume, sets out from the shrine in October and continues to the Togetsukyo Bridge; check the date locally. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough for the shrine itself. Combine it with the bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji, the Okochi Sanso villa and a walk along the Katsura river, or continue north to the quieter temples of Sagano such as Gio-ji and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji.