How to change the time of day in Zelda Ocarina of Time

4 hours ago 11

Published Nov 5, 2026, 1:25 PM EST

How to learn the Sun's Song

Ocarina of Time remake screenshot showing Link looking at his ocarina

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, you need to change the time of day to complete certain missions. The people of Hyrule are living their lives while Link is trying to save the world. As a result, the availability of places and characters change depending on the time of the day. You might need to wait until nighttime to finish a quest or only find an NPC to talk to when the sun is shinning brightly.

Instead of waiting for the in-game time to pass naturally, we can make it happen with a few notes. Here's how to change the time of day in the Ocarina of Time remake.

How to change the time of day in Zelda Ocarina of Time

Although time in Ocarina of Time passes as you play the game, you can actively change from daytime to nighttime by using two methods: sleeping and playing the Sun's Song.

A Zelda Ocarina of Time screenshot showing Link playing the Sun's Song

How to change the time by sleeping

To sleep, you simply need to find beds that you can sleep on, such as the one inside the purple-doored house on the northwestern side of Hyrule Castle Town. Interact with the bed, and a menu will appear with the option to sleep. You will only be able to choose between sleeping until morning or until night after talking to Zelda in Hyrule Castle and completing the "Princess of Hyrule Castle" quest.

A Zelda Ocarina of Time montage showing a purple-door house in Hyrule where you can find a bed to sleep

Sleeping is always a solid option for changing time, since Link will also recover hearts for free. However, you won't always have a bed nearby, and backtracking to a city just to sleep is not the best idea in most situations. Because of that, you should use the Sun's Song.

Where to unlock the Sun's Song

To unlock the Sun's Song, complete the "A Song of the Royal Family" quest at Kakariko Village. As a prerequisite, you must have learned Zelda's Lullaby song during the "Princess of Hyrule Castle" quest.

A Zelda Ocarina of Time montage showing the entrance to Kakariko Village's graveyard

The entrance to Kakariko Village is on the northeastern corner of Hyrule Field. Enter the village, then head to the right side of the map to find the tunnel to the Graveyard. Once there, go to the right side of the area, where you will find three tombstones, two of which have harps on them.

Interact with the one on the left side to make Sharp the Elder appear. Fight him, then talk to the ghost to learn about the special song he and his brother created. He won't tell Link where to find the song until he proves his loyalty to the royal family. Play Zelda's Lullaby in front of the tombstone in the middle, and a short cutscene will play.

A Zelda Ocarina of Time montage showing where you must go to find Sharp, the elder and learn the Sun's Song

Talk to Sharp again and the spirit will tell you to follow the path that opened after the cutscene to find the song. Go down the stairs, kill all the Keese in the first room, and make your way through the second room, keeping a safe distance from the guarding creatures, as they are quite strong, and you don't need to kill them. At the end of it, you will find a tablet. Read it, and Link will learn the Sun's Song. Playing this song is the quickest way to switch between day to night (or vice versa), regardless of where you are.

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