Golden hour in Kyoto
Golden hour in Kyoto starts at 18:36 on 15 June and runs 37 minutes; on 15 December it is 39 minutes from 16:08. The calculator above is preset to Kyoto — pick a date and sunrise, sunset, golden and blue hour for that exact shoot day are right there, exportable as a calendar entry.
Golden hour calculator for Kyoto
Or enter coordinates
- Sunrise
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- Sunset
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- Golden hour (am)
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- Golden hour (pm)
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- Blue hour (pm)
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- Daylight
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- Sunset azimuth
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Golden and blue hour in Kyoto: all twelve months
The table shows mid-month (the 15th) — computed from the coordinates of Kyoto (35.0116, 135.7681) in the Asia/Tokyo timezone, DST included. Between December (39 minutes) and March (33 minutes) the evening window changes by a factor of 1.2.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden am (until) | Golden pm (from) | Blue hour (from) | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:05 | 17:08 | 07:43 | 16:30 | 17:25 | 10h 03min |
| February | 06:45 | 17:39 | 07:20 | 17:04 | 17:55 | 10h 55min |
| March | 06:09 | 18:04 | 06:43 | 17:31 | 18:20 | 11h 55min |
| April | 05:26 | 18:29 | 06:00 | 17:55 | 18:45 | 13h 03min |
| May | 04:55 | 18:54 | 05:31 | 18:18 | 19:11 | 13h 59min |
| June | 04:43 | 19:13 | 05:21 | 18:36 | 19:31 | 14h 30min |
| July | 04:54 | 19:12 | 05:31 | 18:36 | 19:30 | 14h 18min |
| August | 05:17 | 18:48 | 05:52 | 18:13 | 19:04 | 13h 30min |
| September | 05:40 | 18:06 | 06:14 | 17:33 | 18:22 | 12h 26min |
| October | 06:03 | 17:24 | 06:37 | 16:50 | 17:40 | 11h 21min |
| November | 06:32 | 16:53 | 07:08 | 16:16 | 17:10 | 10h 21min |
| December | 06:58 | 16:47 | 07:37 | 16:08 | 17:05 | 9h 49min |
Fitting the window into the shoot day
The evening window is the reliable half: the crew is warmed up, the setup exists, and golden hour is the last slot before wrap. The morning window right after sunrise (until 05:21 in June) instead requires camera and lighting to be standing before sunrise — with a call well before 04:43.
After sunset, Kyoto still offers the blue hour: from 19:31 to 19:43 in June (12 minutes). If you need both looks on one evening, everything from the start of golden hour to the end of blue hour is one continuous window — with no room for a re-rig inside it.
Frequently asked
When is golden hour in Kyoto today?
Pick today's date in the calculator above — it computes the times for Kyoto from the coordinates, DST included. As a bearing: in mid-June it starts at 18:36, in mid-December at 16:08.
How long does golden hour last in Kyoto?
Between 33 minutes (March) and 39 minutes (December) in the evening. The name misleads — it never actually reaches a full hour here.
How accurate are the times?
To about one minute (standard NOAA-style solar computation). Not included: horizon shading from buildings or hills to the west — which can genuinely shorten the window at your location.