The Cricket Temple of Kyoto: Why Suzumushi-dera Is Worth the Climb

A temple where crickets sing year-round, a monk delivers a sermon over matcha, and one wish — just one — might come true. Here’s what to expect at Kyoto’s most unusual spiritual experience.

By Samurai · 6 min read · Kyoto, Kansai, Japan

Kyoto has over 1,600 temples. Most of them follow a familiar formula — ancient wooden halls, raked gravel gardens, incense smoke, and the quiet shuffle of tourists. Suzumushi-dera does something completely different.

The official name is Kegonji, a Buddhist temple founded in 1723. It became known as Suzumushi-dera — the Cricket Temple — because one devoted priest spent decades breeding bell crickets so their chirping could be heard year-round inside the temple walls. JapanTravel Today you sit in a warm tatami room surrounded by cricket cages, drink matcha, listen to a monk deliver a gentle, humorous sermon, then make one wish at the Jizo statue outside. It takes about an hour. It is unlike anything else in Kyoto.

What actually happens at Suzumushi-dera

The approach

The temple sits on a hillside in the Arashiyama area of western Kyoto, reached by climbing 80 stone steps through a moss-covered garden. The 80 stairs are said to represent the steps to heaven — the first stage toward inner peace. No complaining allowed. MATCHA The garden on the way up is beautifully maintained and worth taking slowly.

The cricket room

You enter a large tatami room where the walls are lined with cricket cages. The temperature inside is kept warm year-round — crickets only chirp in warmth — which makes it a particularly welcome stop in winter. Tea is served while a priest gives a lecture about the history of the temple, the crickets, and Buddhist values. JapanTravel The sermon runs about 20 minutes, delivered in Japanese with quiet humor. Even without understanding every word, the atmosphere is calming in a way that’s hard to explain.

The sermon

The sermon’s theme changes every month, conducted in a soft Kyoto dialect. The priests take turns preaching daily, MATCHA covering topics from Buddhist philosophy to everyday wisdom to current events — always with warmth rather than solemnity. Japanese visitors often laugh. Non-Japanese visitors follow the mood even without the language. It works.

The Kofuku Jizo — the wish-granting statue

Outside the main hall stands the Kofuku Jizo — a small Jizo statue wearing straw sandals, which is unusual. The sandals signify that this Jizo will walk to your home to grant your wish. The condition: you must recite your home address clearly when you pray, so the Jizo can find you. One wish only — make it count. MATCHA

The yellow fabric amulet (omamori) sold at the temple is famous across Kyoto for love and relationship blessings. It’s one of the most recognizable temple charms in the city.

Why it’s worth going

Most Kyoto temples are about architecture and history. Suzumushi-dera is about experience. The combination of the cricket sound, the warm room, the matcha, the gentle sermon, and the single wish creates something genuinely different from standing in front of a famous gate and taking a photograph.

The temple keeps the cricket room warm throughout the year, which makes it a pleasure to visit in winter when most other Kyoto attractions feel cold and exposed. JapanTravel In autumn, the moss garden on the approach path turns extraordinary colors. In spring, the hillside blooms. There is no bad season to visit.

It’s also one of the few temple experiences in Kyoto that feels participatory rather than observational — you are given something (tea, a sermon, a wish) rather than simply looking at something old.

Practical info

• Official name: Kegonji (華厳寺) / Suzumushi-dera (鈴虫寺)
• Hours: 9:00 AM — 5:00 PM daily (last entry 4:30 PM)
• Entry fee: ¥600 — includes tea, sweets, and the sermon
• Getting there: From Kyoto Station, take the Kyoto Bus to the Kokedera-Suzumushidera stop (about 40–50 minutes). Or take the Hankyu Arashiyama Line to Kami-Katsura Station and walk about 25 minutes.
• Combine with: The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Tenryuji Temple are nearby. Saihoji (the famous Moss Temple) is a short walk — though that requires advance reservation.
• Crowds: Busy on weekends and national holidays. Weekday mornings are quieter. Avoid Golden Week entirely.

One thing to remember

You get one wish. Think about it before you arrive — the Jizo is waiting, sandals on, ready to walk