In late September, Japan quietly pivots from summer to autumn. On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the country marks Shubun no Hi — Autumnal Equinox Day, a national holiday — and the seven days surrounding it, September 20 to 26, are O-higan, a week of Buddhist memorial services, sutra copying and family grave visits that has been observed for well over a thousand years. In 2026 the equinox also caps a rare five-day Silver Week holiday run (September 19–23), so temples and shrines will be lively and the country will be on the move. Here is how to experience the season like a local: five temples and shrines with equinox ceremonies you can actually attend, and where to find the flower that gives the week its color — the red spider lily.
What is Higan?
Higan means "the other shore": the far bank of the river that separates this world from the world of the awakened. On the equinox the sun rises due east and sets due west, and in Pure Land Buddhism the Western Paradise of Amida Buddha lies precisely west — so twice a year, when the sunset points straight at the Pure Land, Japanese families visit graves, clean headstones, offer flowers and incense, and eat ohagi, soft rice balls wrapped in sweet adzuki paste. Unlike Obon in August, Higan is not a festival of lanterns and dance; it is a week of quiet reflection. For travelers this is good news: ceremonies are open to anyone, solemn but genuinely welcoming, and they show you a side of Japan most itineraries miss.
Osaka: sunset through the stone torii at Shitennoji
Founded by Prince Shotoku in 593, Shitennoji Temple is Japan's oldest state-founded temple, and no place in the country is more closely tied to the equinox. Its great stone torii on the west side frames the setting sun on the equinox itself, and for centuries believers have gathered there for nissokan — sunset contemplation, watching the sun sink toward Amida's Western Paradise. The surrounding neighborhood is literally named Yuhigaoka, "Sunset Hill." The autumn Higan services begin on September 20 and run through the week, with sub-temples holding memorial rites and the precinct filling with stalls and worshippers. Come in the late afternoon and stay for the sunset at the west gate.
Getting there: 5 minutes on foot from Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station (Tanimachi subway line), or about 12 minutes from JR Tennoji.
Kyoto: Higan services at Chion-in
Chion-in Temple is the head temple of the Jodo (Pure Land) school — the tradition for which the westward-setting sun matters most — and its autumn Higan services also begin on September 20. Chanting in the vast Mieido hall, incense drifting across the courtyard, and above it all the Sanmon, one of the largest wooden temple gates in Japan. The temple sits at the northern end of the Higashiyama walking district, so a morning service pairs naturally with a stroll south past Maruyama Park toward Kiyomizu.
Getting there: 10 minutes on foot from Higashiyama Station (Tozai subway line), or city bus to Chion-in-mae.
Nara: copy a sutra at Yakushi-ji
Yakushi-ji Temple, the UNESCO World Heritage temple in Nara's Nishinokyo district, is Japan's great home of shakyo — sutra copying. On the equinox itself (September 23) the temple holds a special Higan sutra-copying session, and this is the single best participatory experience of the week: you trace the Heart Sutra character by character with a brush, no Japanese ability or calligraphy experience required, and your finished copy is enshrined in the temple. Two days earlier, on September 21, the temple's guardian shrine Yasumigaoka Hachimangu holds its annual grand festival with dedicatory sumo in the precinct — a vivid reminder of how deeply shrine and temple traditions intertwine here.
Getting there: 2 minutes on foot from Nishinokyo Station (Kintetsu Kashihara line).
Tokyo: ancestor rites at Hie Shrine
Shinto marks the day too. On September 23, Hie Shrine in Akasaka — protector shrine of the old Edo Castle and home of the Sanno faith — holds the Sanno Sorei-sai, its festival for ancestral spirits, together with a rite in which priests bow from afar toward the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor conducts the Shuki Koreisai for the imperial ancestors that same morning. The ceremony is brief and dignified; afterwards, walk down the rear approach through the photogenic tunnel of vermilion torii, one of central Tokyo's best-kept photo spots.
Getting there: 3 minutes from Tameike-Sanno Station or 5 minutes from Akasaka Station.
Miyajima: Shubun-sai at Itsukushima Shrine
On the island of Miyajima, Itsukushima Shrine holds its Shubun-sai, the autumn equinox rite, at the Soreisha ancestral shrine on September 23. The World Heritage shrine over the sea needs no introduction, but late September is a particularly rewarding time to visit: summer crowds have thinned, the light turns golden earlier, and if the tide cooperates you can watch the great torii reflected in still water at dusk — the equinox sunset, once again, sinking due west over the Seto Inland Sea.
Getting there: ferry from Miyajimaguchi (JR Sanyo line from Hiroshima Station, about 30 minutes, then a 10-minute crossing).
The flower of the week: higanbana
Right on schedule with the equinox, the red spider lily (Lycoris radiata) erupts along riverbanks, rice-field edges and temple gardens across Japan. Its Japanese name is higanbana — literally "the flower of Higan" — and its sudden crimson fireworks, appearing overnight on bare stems, have been associated with the world of the dead for centuries. White and golden varieties mix with the red in many temple gardens, often at the feet of stone Jizo statues, as in this guide's cover photo. The most famous mass bloom is at Kinchakuda in Hidaka, Saitama, where roughly five million flowers carpet a river bend — but part of the flower's charm is that you don't need a famous spot. Any countryside path or old temple in the last ten days of September will do.
Practical tips
- September 23, 2026 is a Wednesday and a national holiday, closing out the September 19–23 Silver Week. Shinkansen and hotels around these dates book up early — reserve as soon as your plans firm up, and expect holiday timetables on local transit.
- Higan ceremonies are religious services, not shows. You are welcome to watch and usually to sit in; keep quiet, follow the lead of worshippers, and skip flash photography indoors.
- Eat ohagi. Every wagashi shop and department-store food hall sells them during the week, and they are at their best fresh on the day.
- Weather: late September is the tail of typhoon season. Expect around 25°C and humidity, and carry a compact umbrella; ceremony schedules can shift if a storm passes through.
Image: Red, yellow and white spider lilies with stone Jizo statues at Josen-ji Temple, Yamato, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
