Trip 50

April 22,2025

One of the most scenic places to visit in Kyoto is one of their bamboo forests. And, although there appear to be quite a number, we chose to visit the Arashiyama bamboo forest.

We took a bus to Kyoto’s main train station , then bought tickets for the short trip on JR (Japan Rail) on Sagan line, to Saga-Arashiyama. “Arashiyama” technically refers just to the mountains south of the Oigawa river, but is commonly used to name the entire district. The train is incredibly cheap, costing $3.28 (480¥ one way ) for two (we spent more for a matcha ice cream cone that).

We arrived at the Saga-Arashiyama station about 12:20 and walking down the main thoroughfare, it was obvious how busy it was. Hopefully not all of these people are going to the same place we are.

Map of area: https://theterratraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/arashiyama-area-weetern-wrestenryl-y-temple-to-ele-sugses-aves.pdf

We wound our way through town to the point where the signs pointed to “bamboo forest”, about a 15 minute walk from the station and soon found the entrance to the trails that lead through the towering bamboo forests.

Note how they’ve used stripped off shoots from the bamboo stalks to form a “fence” along the path.

Some people hired rickshaws to carry them around. Drivers were constantly asking people to excuse them as they made their way down the trails.

We spent a couple of hours walking through different parts of the forest . Some sections were very dense and dark, with only a very few trees. These photos were taken about 2pm in the afternoon with a slight overcast, so you can see how dense, and sometimes dark, the bamboo forest can be.

At the head of one trail, there is a sign pointing to another part of the park that we did not visit, built over a 30 year period by a former Japanese’s movie star , Ohkouchi Denjirou. His mountain villa is open to visitors.

The trails wind around quite a bit, with the trail we were following leading down to the river, where we could see people boating.

We decided it was time to make our way back to the station, but there’s no direct trail, and a lot of steps.

It took us 30-45 minutes to end up circling back to where we started, and back in the direction of the train station.

Visiting the bamboo forest (short YouTube video) at Arashiyama was one of the most beautiful things we’ve done during our time in Kyoto. Though Sakura season is drawing to a close, the azaleas will soon be adding to the beauty of the city.