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Temple and Shrine Approaches: 23 Live Cameras in Japan

The lane up to Kiyomizu-dera, both approaches to Fushimi Inari, the arcade to Senso-ji. Twenty-three cameras put up to show how busy it is right now.

What you can see

These 23 cameras were not installed to show scenery. They are there to tell you how many people are on the approach right now, before you set off. Twelve of the Kyoto cameras belong to the transport ministry's Kyoto National Highway Office, which watches them for road congestion; four belong to the Kyoto City Tourism Association, which uses them to spread visitors across different times and places. The rest come from the temples and shrines themselves, or from shops at their gates: Senso-ji runs its own two, Higashi Hongan-ji is filmed from the Buddhist-goods shop across the street, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu from a shop on the approach, Zenko-ji by the local cable company, Kinpusen-ji by the temple, and Izumo Taisha by the Shimane prefectural tourism federation.

Twenty-two of the 23 are live video. A still image once an hour cannot show a flow of people, so cameras meant to show crowding end up being video. The one exception is Izumo Taisha, a still camera that cycles through three directions roughly every ten seconds.

You can read the crowd because each frame contains something that does not move: the count of stone steps, the gap between torii pillars, the run of roofs down the Senso-ji arcade. On the Kiyomizu lane the paving stones are still visible early on, and the slope fills in as the day goes on. The two Senso-ji cameras face opposite ways from the same height, so you can see the precinct and the arcade one after the other. Fushimi Inari has one camera on each of its two approaches — compare them and you can see which one is moving.

That said, not all 23 are busy places. Ohaharano-jinja's approach runs through woodland, Jakko-in is up a flight of steps deep in Ohara, Zuishin-in is quiet for most of the year outside plum season, and Daikaku-ji has grounds wide enough to disperse its visitors. If you are trying to avoid crowds, those are the more useful views.

Cameras you can watch now: 23

22 video, 1 still. Tap one to open it in the camera list.

When to watch

A temple camera shows nothing outside visiting hours. Where the gates close, the approach empties once they do. Fushimi Inari is the exception: it never closes its gates, so there are often people on the path even in the small hours.

Early morning is emptiest — the paving on the Kiyomizu lane is still showing. The worst is midday during a seasonal event.

The seasons split cleanly by camera. February and March are plum: Kitano Tenman-gu (which also draws exam-season worshippers and a fair on the 25th of every month), the weeping plums at Jonan-gu from late February, and the plum garden at Zuishin-in at the end of March. Spring is cherry: Daigo-ji, famous for Hideyoshi's blossom party, and the raised centre walk at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, planted with cherries on both sides. October brings the Jidai Matsuri, whose procession passes in front of Heian-jingu. Late November is autumn colour: the gate of Zenrin-ji, known as 'Eikan-do of the maples', Jingo-ji up in Takao where the whole valley turns, and the hedged approach to Ginkaku-ji, where movement stops from morning onward.

The first three days of January are when this page earns its keep. Fushimi Inari, Senso-ji, Zenko-ji and Izumo Taisha all fit the New Year queue inside the frame. Open them before deciding whether to go.

Snow divides by altitude. Kifune-jinja and Jakko-in sit higher than the city, and can be white on a day when central Kyoto has nothing.

If it isn't showing

Kyoto's cameras also cover roads, rivers and station forecourts; all of them together are on Kyoto live cameras. For how to use them, see Reading Kyoto's crowds before you go.

To follow the autumn colour alone, see Autumn Leaves; Mount Yoshino itself is on Mount Yoshino, and the garden beside the old palace is on Kyoto Imperial Garden. The twelve station and crossing cameras are on Shibuya Crossing & Station Fronts.

Where to find Temple and Shrine Approaches

Agencies publishing the cameras on this page

The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.

To find other cameras, go to the camera list. You can narrow all 233 cameras by format, region, subject and provider.