Arashiyama: Bamboo Forest, Monkeys and Ancient Temples

Getting to Arashiyama

Arashiyama is located in the western part of Kyoto – getting there is very easy via several routes.

🚃 Hankyu train: from Kyoto-Kawaramachi or Umeda (Osaka) station to Arashiyama station (Hankyu Arashiyama line)

🚃 JR Sagano train: from Kyoto or Osaka station to Saga-Arashiyama station (JR Sagano/San-in line)

🚃 Randen tram: from Shijo-Omiya station to Arashiyama station (Keifuku Randen line)

⏳ Travel time from Kyoto: ~20–30 min

⏳ Travel time from Osaka: ~50–60 min

Tip: The most convenient station for most sights is Saga-Arashiyama (JR). From there it’s just a few minutes’ walk to the bamboo forest.

Places to visit in Arashiyama

1. Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is perhaps one of the most iconic sights in Japan. Towering green bamboo stalks rise on both sides of a narrow path, creating a fantastic tunnel. When the wind blows, the forest hums – and that sound has officially been recognised as one of the “100 Sounds of Japan Worth Hearing”.

⏳ Opening hours: open 24/7

💶 Entry: free

📍 Location: near Saga-Arashiyama station (JR) or Arashiyama station (Hankyu)

Please note: Come as early as possible – by 8–9 am it’s relatively calm, but after 10:00 the forest fills with tourists. The best light for photos is in the morning, when rays filter through the stalks.

Tourists walking along the narrow path of Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kyoto

View from below upward at the tops of bamboo stalks and blue sky, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

After the forest, it’s worth strolling along the Oi River embankment – especially beautiful in autumn when the maples turn vivid red and gold.

📍 Coordinates:

Man standing on the bank of the Oi River surrounded by vivid autumn foliage, Arashiyama, Kyoto

Stone dragon sculpture against a backdrop of a red autumn maple, Arashiyama

2. Iwatayama Monkey Park

Iwatayama Monkey Park is a small park on the summit of Arashiyama mountain, where over 120 Japanese macaques live in the wild. The climb takes about 20 minutes along a forest trail, but the view from the top over Kyoto and the Oi River is a complete reward.

Japanese macaque sitting on a wooden post against the backdrop of mountains and the Oi River, Iwatayama Monkey Park, Arashiyama

⏳ Opening hours: 9:00–16:00

💶 Entry: paid (~800¥)

🥜 Feeding: inside the hut you can buy nuts and apple slices and feed the monkeys through the wire mesh

Official Iwatayama Monkey Park website.

Please note: The monkeys roam freely all over the mountain, so you may encounter them right on the trail during the climb. Do not try to touch or feed the monkeys outside the hut – this is prohibited by park rules.

Young Japanese macaque sitting next to a keep out sign at Arashiyama Monkey Park

Young Japanese macaque clinging to a wooden post between ropes, Iwatayama Monkey Park

3. Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji is one of the most poetic and tranquil temples in Japan. Its grounds hold over 8,000 stone statues and grave markers of people whose bodies were once abandoned without burial in the Saga mountains. In the 9th century, the monk Kukai (Kobo Daishi) gathered all these remains and conducted memorial prayers – and so this temple came to be.

Stone pagoda of Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple surrounded by red autumn maple leaves and hundreds of stone figures, Arashiyama

⏳ Opening hours: 9:00–17:00 (December–February until 16:30)

💶 Entry: paid (~500¥)

📍 Location: Saga-Toriimoto district, in the north of Arashiyama, ~20 min walk from the bamboo forest

Official Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple website.

Please note: The temple is located in the quiet Saga-Toriimoto district – the walk there through an old street lined with traditional houses is itself part of the experience. Twice a year – in late August and in September – a “Toba” ceremony is held here, where the statues are illuminated with candles.

Couple photographing in front of the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto

Wooden steps descending through the bamboo forest, Arashiyama, Kyoto

Secret: The temple grounds have their own mini bamboo forest – far less known and significantly less crowded than Arashiyama’s main tourist attraction. If you want to experience the atmosphere of bamboo groves without the crowds – this is the place.

4. Hōkyō-in Temple

Hōkyō-in is a small Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple located between the bamboo forest and the Oi River. What draws visitors here is not the architecture but the garden – quiet, refined, Japanese in every detail. A moss garden with a stone lantern and a small pond gives a sense of complete calm even at the height of tourist season.

⏳ Opening hours: 9:00–16:00

💶 Entry: paid (~500¥)

📷 Restrictions: tripods and selfie sticks are not allowed

Girl sitting on tatami admiring the autumn garden through a shoji-style window, Hōkyō-in Temple, Arashiyama

Autumn Japanese garden with maples in orange and red hues, Hōkyō-in Temple, Arashiyama

Please note: Hōkyō-in is often skipped by tourists – and that’s a shame. This is exactly why it’s worth visiting: it’s quiet here. Especially beautiful in spring during the blossoms and in autumn when the maple leaves turn red.

Official Hōkyō-in Temple website.

5. Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is one of Japan’s most unusual and “smiling” temples. Its grounds are home to 1,200 unique stone figures of rakan (disciples of Buddha), each carved by ordinary people under the guidance of sculptor Kocho Nishimura in the 1980s. Each figure has its own facial expression – some look funny, others pensive, others childlike. The atmosphere here is not at all sombre, but joyful and warm.

Smiling stone rakan figure against a backdrop of a plant with red berries, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Arashiyama

⏳ Opening hours: 9:00–16:00

💶 Entry: paid (~500¥)

📍 Location: near Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, Saga-Toriimoto district

Please note: The temple sits at the very end of the Saga-Toriimoto street and is usually much less crowded than the centre of Arashiyama. After visiting Adashino Nenbutsu-ji it’s literally a few minutes’ walk – both temples are easy to combine in a single stroll.

Moss-covered stone rakan figures close up, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Arashiyama

Stone rakan figures and a pagoda among autumn foliage, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, Arashiyama

Official Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple website.

Cafes and restaurants

Pancakes – a cosy spot with Japanese pancakes, perfect for a snack during your walk.
Brunch cafe – a great place for a leisurely breakfast or brunch surrounded by the greenery of Arashiyama.