Byodoin, Uji · Walking routes
How long does Byodoin take?
About 50 minutes for the main sights, or 90 minutes for every corner. Those are the temple's own two walking courses. Add the time for the Phoenix Hall interior, which has its own timed ticket.
Buy the interior ticket first, then walk a course while you wait: the temple suggests the same for its 90-minute course.
Today's forecast wait for the Phoenix Hall interior appears here with JavaScript on.
Which course?
| 50 minutes | 90 minutes | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Phoenix Hall from the front, Hoshokan Museum | Everything in the 50, plus goshuin, tea room, old gate, sub-temples, Fan Lawn |
| Stops | 3 | 14 |
| Walking | About 510 m | About 1,070 m |
| Good for | A wait of about an hour, or a short visit | A long wait for the interior, or a slow visit |
Walking distances are our own, measured along the paths on our map; the times are the temple's.
The 50-minute course: the main sights
The Phoenix Hall from the front, then the museum. The temple calls it the basic course.
Come in and walk past the side of the Phoenix Hall towards its front.
Look through the round window in the lattice: you can see the face of the Amida Buddha from outside. This is also the classic photo across the pond.
Follow the pond to the museum entrance and see the National Treasures up close: the original bodhisattvas, the phoenixes and the bell.
Walk back behind the Phoenix Hall to the Main Gate, or leave by the South Gate.
The 90-minute course: every corner
The 50-minute course plus the goshuin office, the tea room, the old gate, the sub-temples behind the hall and the Fan Lawn.
The temple’s own advice for this course: first go to the interior reception and book your Phoenix Hall time.
The front view across the pond, and Amida’s face through the round window.
A handwritten temple stamp as a record of your visit, ¥300.
A small six-sided hall.
The National Treasures up close, and the museum shop.
The bell in the garden; the National Treasure bell is the one inside the museum.
A break with Uji green tea (closed Mon–Wed except public holidays).
An old gate now inside the grounds.
One of the two sub-temples, founded in the late 15th century.
Built in 1640; look up at the dragon on the ceiling.
The main hall of Saishoin.
The warrior who died here in 1180.
The other sub-temple, of the Tendai school.
Where Yorimasa is said to have written his farewell poem.
Back to the Main Gate.
Questions
- How long does a visit to Byodoin take?
- The temple suggests two walking courses: about 50 minutes for the main sights (the front of the Phoenix Hall and the Hoshokan Museum) and about 90 minutes to see every corner. Those times don’t include the Phoenix Hall interior: its tickets are timed, so add the wait until your session and the visit itself.
- Do the walking courses include the inside of the Phoenix Hall?
- No. The interior is a separate ¥300 timed ticket. Buy it first at the interior reception, then walk a course while you wait for your session.
- Can I start or finish at the South Gate?
- Yes. The temple’s course page says you can also enter or leave by the South Gate, by the museum and the tea room.
Sources: the temple's model courses (Japanese), checked 21 October 2026. Stop notes are our own.
Before you go
See today's interior wait and best time to arrive — no sign-upMap of everything in the groundsHow the Phoenix Hall interior tickets workLast updated: