Is Kyoto worth visiting in December 2026?
Yes, if you go between December 1 and 13: the last maples are still on the trees in the north and east of the city, the temple night openings are still running, and Minamiza theater has its year-end kabuki. The crowds of late November are gone by then, and hotels are easier to get.
After the 13th the night openings end and Kyoto becomes a city of quiet temples and cold, clear days, which suits a slower trip. I would avoid December 28 to January 4 unless the New Year at a temple is the reason for going: the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Katsura Imperial Villa and Shugakuin Imperial Villa all close for that week.
What is on and what closes in Kyoto in December 2026?
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| December 1 to 24 | Minamiza, the kabuki theater on the river at Gion: the year-end Kaomise program. Day show from 10:30am, evening show from 4pm; no shows December 9 and 17. Tickets go on sale November 9. |
| December 1 to 20 | Kyoto National Museum: galleries closed, gardens and outdoor sculpture only, ¥300. |
| Until December 6 | Eikando, the temple with the pond garden in the eastern hills: day viewing 9am to 4pm, ¥1,500, and night opening 5:30pm to 8:30pm, ¥1,000, tickets on the day only. Kitano Tenmangu maple garden: 9am to 8pm with lights. |
| Until December 13 | Kodai-ji, the temple garden above Gion: lit from 5pm, last entry 9:30pm. To-ji, the temple with the five-story pagoda by Kyoto Station: autumn lights and night opening of its two main halls. |
| Mondays, December 7, 14 and 21 | Kyoto Imperial Palace, Katsura and Shugakuin closed, and the Kyoto National Museum. |
| Tuesdays, December 1, 8, 15 and 22 | Nijo Castle: Ninomaru Palace, the painted shogun's palace inside, closed. The grounds stay open. |
| December 22 to 27 | Kyoto National Museum galleries open with the collection, 9:30am to 5pm, ¥700. |
| Sunday, December 27 | Chion-in, the head temple below Maruyama Park with the great bronze bell: rehearsal of the New Year's Eve bell ringing from 2pm. |
| December 28 to January 4 | Kyoto Imperial Palace, Katsura Imperial Villa and Shugakuin Imperial Villa closed. Kyoto National Museum closed December 28 to January 1. |
| December 29 to 31 | Nijo Castle closed, and Ninomaru Palace also December 26 to 28 and January 1 to 3. |
| Thursday, December 31 | New Year's Eve bell ringing at Chion-in and Kiyomizu-dera, which rings its bell 108 times. Neither had posted the time or entry rules when I checked. |
Yasaka Shrine's New Year's Eve fire ritual, the announcement of the Kanji of the Year at Kiyomizu-dera, Senbon Shakado's radish-boiling days and any Kyoto Christmas market had no 2026 dates posted on their official pages when I checked on October 27, so they are not in the table.
Are there still autumn leaves in Kyoto in December?
In the first week, usually yes, in the north and in a few city gardens; by mid-December, usually not. I would not plan a December trip around the leaves, but I would plan the first days around the places that hold them longest.
Kyoto City's leaf guide gives these as the places whose usual peak runs into early December: Ohara, the valley north of the city with Sanzen-in and Jakko-in temples; Ruriko-in in Yase; the Imperial Park, Nijo Castle, Kitano Tenmangu and the Philosopher's Path; and Shimogamo Shrine, the forest shrine where the two rivers meet, which usually starts coloring in early December. It also lists the former Mitsui family villa at Shimogamo as late November to mid-December. A warm year moves all of this later and a cold one earlier, so check that page a week before you go.
The night openings are the better reason to come early in the month. Eikando lights its garden until December 6, and Kodai-ji and To-ji until December 13. For the full leaf season, the late November guide has the temples and timings.
What is closed in Kyoto over the New Year?
The imperial sites close December 28 to January 4, the national museum December 28 to January 1, and Nijo Castle December 29 to 31. The big temples stay open; the year's end is their busiest week, not their quietest.
Katsura Imperial Villa is the one to plan around. It is the garden I would book first on any Kyoto trip, and the Imperial Household Agency takes online bookings from 5am Japan time on the first day of the month three months ahead, until three days before. December places opened on September 1, so book now for any free slot; tours are ¥1,000, about 60 minutes, and there are no 4pm tours from October to February. If it is full, 70 same-day tickets are handed out at the villa from 8:40am. Children under junior high age cannot go.
For New Year's Eve itself, Chion-in's great bell is the one people come for, and its rehearsal on December 27 at 2pm is the easier way to see it. Restaurants close for a few days around January 1; ask when you book.
What is the weather in Kyoto in December, and does it snow?
Cold and mostly dry, and snow is rare. The Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991 to 2020 averages for Kyoto in December: highs of 11.6°C (53°F), lows of 3.5°C (38°F), 57.3 mm of rain and 134 hours of sun. Total December snowfall averages 2 cm; January's is 5 cm. A morning of snow on Kinkaku-ji happens some winters, but I would not book a trip for it.
Temple floors are unheated and you take your shoes off, so bring warm socks as well as a coat. Plan for short days: the national museum stops entry at 4:30pm and Nijo Castle at 4pm.
What would I do with three days in Kyoto in December?
Three days from Thursday, December 3 to Saturday, December 5: an imperial garden, the last leaves in the north and kabuki in Gion. The dates catch every night opening and avoid the Monday and Tuesday closures in the table.
- Thursday: Katsura and To-ji. Katsura Imperial Villa on a booked morning tour, then lunch in the city. To-ji in the evening, when the pagoda is lit, a short walk from Kyoto Station.
- Friday: Ohara and Eikando. Ohara in the morning for Sanzen-in, where the maples usually hold into early December, and back into the city for the afternoon. Eikando's night opening at 5:30pm, when tickets go on sale.
- Saturday: eastern Kyoto and Minamiza. Kiyomizu-dera early, then the lanes down to Kodai-ji and Gion. The Kaomise evening show at Minamiza from 4pm, booked when tickets open on November 9, and a late dinner in Gion after.
The three-day Kyoto itinerary has the same days in a normal month, including Fushimi Inari and Arashiyama if you want to swap one in. Stay downtown between Shijo and Karasuma Oike, the where to stay guide's pick, and Gion, the night openings and the theater are a short taxi or walk away. If you are in Tokyo first, the Tokyo in December guide covers the lights and closures there.