How to Visit Katsuoji Temple on a Day Trip from Osaka

It was my fourth time in Osaka (and sixth time in Japan!), and for this trip, I was keen to explore more of the sights beyond the city’s sprawling metropolis.

Despite arriving on a late-night international flight the evening before, we woke to clear blue skies and made a snap decision to escape the city for the day. After a much-needed caffeine hit, we jumped on a train bound for the hills of Mino.

Our destination? Katsuo-ji Temple – a stunning spot tucked away in the forested mountains north of Osaka, home to thousands of Daruma dolls and some seriously spectacular natural scenery.

There were **thousands** of Daruma scattered throughout the grounds

Table of Contents (click to expand)

What You Need to Know About the Daruma Temple Before You Visit

I knew going into our journey that Katsuo-ji Temple wasn’t going to be a “hidden gem” – I had first heard about it myself by seeing viral videos on social media of the unique temple stamp that has firmly placed Katsuo-ji on the tourist map these days.

However, in comparison to many of the other things to do in Osaka, it’s definitely still lesser-known, and what I didn’t appreciate from the social media videos is how stunningly beautiful the extensive temple grounds were – it now holds the spot for my favourite temple in Osaka (you can read about a few of my other favourites in my 4 day Osaka itinerary).

The temple grounds were stunning – one of my favourites in Osaka, and maybe even all of Japan

I took hundreds of photos of the sprawling temple grounds, with its many water features, koi ponds and lush green gardens, which at the time of our visit towards the end of May, were flourishing and bursting with vibrant green foliage as Japan heads into its summer months.

The temple features thousands of Daruma dolls, covering almost every flat surface and hidden away between stones, tree branches and almost every other spot imaginable. These distinctive red dolls are a symbol of good luck. Visitors flock here across Japan to pray for luck in their work, studies, relationships, health and everything in between.

The custom is to purchase a blank Daruma doll with no eyes. Write your goal at the bottom of the doll and say a prayer, and paint in the doll’s right eye. Take the doll home and display it somewhere prominent where it will motivate you. Once your goal has been achieved, draw in the other eye and return the Daruma to the temple.

The highest point offers near panoramic views of the surrounding forested hills

You can also purchase a Daruma-Mikuji (fortune telling) doll to take home as a souvenir like we did, or find its final resting place on the temple grounds. This little Daruma doll cost 500 Yen, including the fortune.

Expect to pay a lot more for the bigger ones – the largest one available was a whopping 50,000 Yen!

What to do with a fortune telling Daruma

Best Time to Visit

Katsuo-ji Temple is famed for its vivid autumn hues come November; however, I would highly recommend visiting almost all year round.

In spring, the temple flourishes with delicate pink cherry blossoms, and hydrangeas in the peak of summer in July and August. At the time of our visit in late May, no flowers were blooming, but the gardens were a vibrant, lush green everywhere we looked.

I wouldn’t recommend visiting if it’s raining heavily, and personally would avoid making the trip out on a very hot and humid day in the peak of summer, as it is almost entirely outdoors, and there is a lot of walking with hilly terrain.

Make sure to wear your walking shoes, there’s a lot to explore!

Entrance Fee & Opening Hours

Tickets to the temple are 500 Yen per adult.

Whilst you can technically pre-purchase tickets on the official temple website, I wouldn’t recommend it – I tried to do this and my bank flagged the purchase and blocked my card!! Which ended up being a major headache to resolve. It’s also not necessary, even if there is a line to enter the temple, it moves quite quickly, so there’s no benefit to pre-purchasing.

Katsuo-ji Temple is open from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays, Sundays and public holidays, and 8 am to 6 pm on Saturdays (last admission 30 minutes before closing).

You can always double-check opening hours here before your visit.

How to Get There from Osaka

To get to Katsuoji Temple from Osaka in 2025, you will need to catch the train from Minoh Kayano Station – don’t get this mixed up with the nearby Hankyu Minoo (Minoh) Station!

If you’re staying in downtown Osaka near or around Namba or Dontonbori, hop aboard the red Midosuji line, which takes about 35 minutes to reach Minoh Kayano Station.

Bus to Katsuo-ji Temple

From Minoh Kayano Station, head downstairs to the bus terminal attached to the station and follow the signs for Bus 30, which departs on the far side from Stop 8 – there are signs in place showing Katsuo-ji Temple and the bus timetable.

Katsuo-ji Bus Timetable from Minoh Kayano Station

The bus fare from Minoh Kayano Station to Katsuo-ji Temple is 800 Yen per adult, and you can use your Suica or ICOCA. Just like other buses in Japan, enter the bus from the centre doors and exit from the front doors. If you’re paying with cash, pay the driver when you exit. Large bills cannot be exchanged, so make sure you have some 1,000 Yen notes on you.

The bus comes every 30 minutes on weekdays, and every 20 minutes on weekends and public holidays.

Wait in line to get the bus (you won’t be alone!)

When we arrived on a Friday at 10.20 am, there was a huge line waiting for the 10.30 am bus. I was worried we would have to wait for the next bus at 11 am, but another bus was provided shortly after the 10.30 am bus departed.

We were lucky to be one of the first ones on this second bus, but it was still standing room only by the time it departed.

It was a windy 20 – 25 minute uphill drive from the station to reach the temple.

The return bus departs from the temple back to Minoh Kayano Station, see the timetable below. There’s a taxi stand near the bus stop, too.

Note: all timetables are based on our visit in May 2025, to check or confirm operating times, you can access the latest here (Katsuo-ji Temple website) or here (Hankyu Bus website).

The timetable to get back to Minoh Kayano Station

Taxi

Since the bus fare is quite high at 800 Yen per adult, 400 Yen per child, consider getting a taxi from the station to Katsuoji Temple if you have a group of people or are a family travelling with children – the price will probably be quite similar, but it will be a lot more convenient.

There is a taxi stand outside the front of the station, or you can use Uber or the native GoTaxi app to order a taxi which will also give you a fare estimate.

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Temple Stamp

Katsuo-ji has one of the most unique temple stamps that I’ve come across in Japan. When you pay for your entrance ticket, you receive a blank postcard like a piece of paper with a border around it.

Inside the expansive temple grounds, there are 6 stations where you can stamp your paper to slowly fill in the complete picture. We had a lot of fun filling this out, and it makes a great souvenir to take home!

The completed temple stamp – a great souvenir!

Other Things to Do in the Area

We spent around 1.5 hours exploring the temple grounds and collecting our temple stamps, taking many photos and admiring the picturesque grounds, hillside views and various shrines.

We left the temple and headed to the taxi stand just outside the temple, near the bus stop. From here, it was a quick 10-minute, 1300 Yen taxi ride to our next destination, Minoh Falls.

We spotted other travellers walking on the road, traversing the 3.5 km between Minoh Falls and Katsuo-ji on foot. There isn’t a dedicated walking path, and the road is quite windy and steep. I was happy with our choice to get a taxi, but walking is always another option if you don’t want to get a taxi.

Minoh Falls

Visiting the waterfall and walking the 3 km trail from the waterfall to Minoo Station ended up being another highlight of our time in Osaka. The waterfall was beautiful, but even more delightful was the forest trail leading back to the station, which took us past little snack stalls, tranquil temples, scenic bridges and even an Insectarium, which we ended up visiting.

We also spotted one of the local monkey residents! These are the Japanese macaques, the same type as the famous Nagano Snow Monkeys and those at the Iwatayama Monkey Park in Kyoto.

Spotted this guy on our walk down to the station

For more information about visiting Minoh Falls and what to expect and do, read my dedicated guide here.

It’s very do-able to visit both Katsuo-ji and Minoh Falls independently, but if you’d prefer to book a tour and have someone take care of all the transportation for you, this full-day tour is a great option.

Final Thoughts

While it’s certainly no hidden gem, Katsuo-ji Temple is still off the radar of most foreign tourists and is well worth a visit on a day trip from Osaka. The temple grounds are insanely beautiful, the unique temple stamp adds a fun interactive element, and the scenery of the green hills of Mino Forest is simply spectacular.

If I had my time again, I would go a bit earlier to hopefully avoid the busy and crammed bus (especially if visiting in more popular times, such as during the autumn foliage season in November!), but hey, having gotten to our hotel at midnight after an international flight the night before, I felt like we did well all things considered!

Make sure to check out my other Osaka and Japan travel guides if you found this useful, and happy adventuring.

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