Summertime Illumination at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto

One of Kyoto’s oldest shrines, Kamigamo boasts a mythical origin story dating back 2,600 years. Today, this Unesco World Heritage Site features a sprawling complex dotted with magnificent prayer halls and buildings, many of which have been designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. 

The Shingu Shrine in particular, found in the inner grounds of the Kamigamo Shrine precinct, celebrates a water festival every year on the fourth Sunday of July. This celebration honours the shrine’s water dragon deity and prays for protection from the intense summer heat. For 12 days leading up to this tradition, Kamigamo Shrine is opening its doors after sunset for a special nighttime visit. 

Here you’ll find over 1,000 wind chimes decorating the shrine grounds while blue and green lights create a cooling atmosphere to counter the daytime summer heat. Moreover, you can enjoy dipping your feet in the Nara-no-Ogawa Stream flowing through the shrine and refresh yourself physically and spiritually.

Best of all, you get to watch the mystical shrine maiden dance (twice daily) as well as a sacred Shinto musical performance (three times daily) featuring the shinobue (Japanese bamboo flute) and the koto (Japanese zither).

For the full experience, you can even partake in a special worship tour guided by a priest, where you’ll venture into the normally restricted Naitei inner garden and visit the National Treasure Main Hall (Honden) and National Treasure Gonden. This requires a reservation plus an additional fee.