{"id":99,"date":"2026-07-26T23:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T14:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/kyoto-hidden-photo-spots-en\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T23:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T14:25:09","slug":"kyoto-hidden-photo-spots-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/en\/kyoto-hidden-photo-spots-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto's Hidden Photo Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"jlp-figure jlp-cover\"><img src=\"\/assets\/images\/blog\/kamigamo.jpg\" alt=\"Kamigamo Shrine\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption>Kamigamo Shrine \u00b7 Sample image \u00b7 Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Kamigamo_Shrine-05.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Immanuelle<\/a> (CC BY 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gion is beautiful, Fushimi Inari is striking and Arashiyama is dreamy \u2014 but they are always packed. If you want photos in Kyoto that look different from everyone else's, these 7 hidden spots are the answer.<\/p>\n<h2>\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f 7 hidden photo spots<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Fujinomori Shrine \u00b7 Hydrangea Garden<\/h3>\n<p>A hydrangea spot from June to July. 3,500 hydrangea bushes cover the slope in purple and blue, a hidden gem that foreign visitors almost never reach.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Renge-ji \u00b7 Strolling pond garden<\/h3>\n<p>An overlooked gem in Sakyo Ward. Beautiful in every season, admission is only 400 yen, and you'll often have it to yourself.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Iwakura \u00b7 Jisso-in<\/h3>\n<p>The \"floor maple\" is Kyoto's most underrated autumn sight \u2014 the red leaves outside the window are reflected in the polished floor.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Honen-in \u00b7 Moss garden<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"jlp-figure\"><img src=\"\/assets\/images\/locations\/philosopher.jpg\" alt=\"Philosopher&#x27;s Path\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption>Philosopher&#x27;s Path (Honen-in is close by) \u00b7 Sample image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It sits right beside the Philosopher's Path, yet almost no visitors turn in. The green moss garden is full of Zen calm and suits quiet portraits.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Umekoji Park \u00b7 Handmade market<\/h3>\n<p>A handmade market on the first Saturday of each month, with all kinds of crafts and street performers \u2014 the most authentic slice of everyday Kyoto.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Kamigamo Shrine \u00b7 Tatesuna sand cones<\/h3>\n<p>One of Kyoto's oldest shrines, with far fewer visitors than Kiyomizu-dera. The huge lawn is perfect for lying-down shots.<\/p>\n<h3>7. Shisen-do \u00b7 Path through the bamboo<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"jlp-figure\"><img src=\"\/assets\/images\/blog\/shisendo.jpg\" alt=\"Shisen-do garden\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption>Shisen-do garden \u00b7 Sample image \u00b7 Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Shisen-do,_Garden_-1_(November_2014)_-_panoramio.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ttshr1970<\/a> (CC BY 3.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A small temple in Sakyo Ward with almost no visitors, even more romantic during firefly season in summer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip-box\">\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udca1 Tip:<\/strong> For these hidden spots I recommend the Extended package (2 hours), which can cover 1\u20132 hidden spots plus 1 classic sight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cta-in-article\">\n<h3>\ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f Explore a different Kyoto<\/h3>\n<p>JLP PHOTO can create a custom shooting route that takes you to Kyoto's little-known beautiful corners.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/contact\/\" class=\"btn\">Ask about a hidden-spot route \u2192<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Skip the Gion and Fushimi Inari crowds: 7 quieter photo spots in Kyoto, including the Fujinomori Shrine hydrangea garden, with the best season for each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jlp.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}