Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Scenery Customized Private Tour

4.9 (120 reviews) 4 hours Free cancellation Private tour

out of 5

120 reviews

4.9

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Scenery Customized Private Tour — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Scenery Customized Private Tour, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Explore the cultural highlights and beautiful landscapes in two historically important districts in Kyoto on a walking tour of Arashiyama and Sagano. This 4-hour tour allows you to choose a few locations of your choice within the Arashiyama and Sagano areas. How about crossing the Togetsukyo bridge to enjoy the river view and visit a magnificent temple like Tenryu-ji or a serene temple like Jojakko-ji Temple, and stroll through a beautiful bamboo forest?

Arashiyama/Sagano is a picturesque place where aristocrats have had their villas since ancient times. Whether you are a history and culture lovers who wants to visit temples, a nature lover or a shopper, there is always something for everyone in these areas.

Please choose 2-3 places that you wish to visit.

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At a glance

Duration: 4 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: Japanese, English
Operated by: Japan Wonder Travel

Ages: Infants (0–2 years) · Adults (3–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Private customized walking tour. Public transportation or taxis maybe used.
Included: Licensed Local English Speaking Guide

Not included

Not included: Optional: Entrance Fees (for yourself and guide)
Not included: Private Van
Not included: Hotel Pick-up

Itinerary

Stop 1

1 min

Meet with your guide at JR Saga-Arashiyama Station (in front of a ticket gate).

Based on your preferences, you will visit select sites in Arashiyama/Sagano area. We have listed popular/suggested spots for your reference. Please choose the ones that interest you from the list:

On average, you can visit 2-3 spots in a half-day tour.

If you don't find the spots you want to visit, please feel free to discuss your preferences with the guide. The guide will then customize the itinerary for you.
Togetsukyo Bridge

1 min

Built over the Katsura River, this 155 meter long bridge is one of the iconic images of Arashiyama. It's a great spot to take in the surrounding scenery and Arashiyama mountains as the backdrop.
Tenryu-ji Temple

1 min Admission not included

This temple has a long history and is one of the most famous zen temples in all of Kyoto. Known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has a stunning garden where the plants and flowers make for a different feel every season.
Okochi Sanso Garden

1 min Admission not included

Denjiro Okochi, a famous actor of Samurai film, spent about 30 years building this vast villa garden, which covers an area of 19800 square meters. The garden is surrounded by cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in autumn, and offers beauty in every season. The view of the Hozu River flowing below and the city of Kyoto is also a highlight.
Jojakkoji Temple

1 min Admission not included

Located on the hillside of Mt Ogura, which has been famous for its autumn foliage since the late Heian period (794-1185), Jōjakkoji Temple has about 200 old maple trees, which turn red, orange and yellow and combine with the green of the moss.
Nisonin

1 min Admission not included

A quiet temple surrounded by beautiful landscapes that have survived the passage of 1200 years. The temple is famous for its autumn foliage. The temple is called 'Nison-in' because it enshrines the two principal Buddha images. The two principal images have faces and figures like twins, with their left and right hands raised and lowered symmetrically. The temple is located a short distance from central Arashiyama, so you can enjoy a moment of tranquillity.
Stop 7

1 min Admission not included

This temple is known as a ""temple of the tragic love"". It was the temple where a lady dancer who was favoured by the powers of the time lost his favour and spent time as a nun after a broken heart.The grounds of the temple are covered with beautiful green bamboo and green maples, with a moss-covered garden. The window in the antechamber of the hermitage is also worth seeing. It reflects a variety of colours depending on the way light enters the room.
Adashino Nembetsu-ji Temple

1 min Admission not included

This area has been a place of burial since ancient times, first with wind burial, but later with earth burial, where people dedicated a stone Buddha and mourned for the eternal separation of the dead. The approximately 8,000 stone Buddhas and stupas enshrined in the grounds are the graves of people buried in the area.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

1 min Admission not included

The origin of this temple can be traced back to 8th century but the temple became uninhabited during the WWII and was abandoned after a typhoon in 1950 caused extensive damage to the temple grounds, halls and Buddhist statues, but was rebuilt in 1955 when Buddhist sculptor Nishimura Kimitomo (1915-2003) was appointed abbot, and the reconstruction of the most run-down temple in Kyoto began.

The temple is known as a ""temple of healing"", where visitors can relax and feel at ease with the expressive line-up of 1,200 statues of arhats carved by ordinary worshippers.
Saga Toriimoto Traditional Buildings Preservation Area

1 min

Toriimoto is a conservation area located at the far end of Sagano which is about 600 metres along Atago Highway leading to Atago Shrine.The area has a mix of farmhouse-style buildings with thatched roofs and machiya-style buildings with two floors and tiled roofs, and has a well-preserved character of a Japanese rural historical landscape.
Monkey Park Iwatayama

1 min Admission not included

If you are animal lovers, why not visiting here? Around 120 Japanese macaques currently live in the wild in this monkey park.

The park is full of nature and the monkeys can be seen throughout the year.
Bamboo Forest Street

1 min

This is one of the biggest attarctions in all of Kyoto, with thousands of tall bamboo towering in the area making for a beautiful forest. It's an amazing spot that makes you feel like you're in a fairy tale.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

JR Saga-Arashiyama Station (in front of a ticket gate)

End point

JR Saga-Arashiyama Station (in front of a ticket gate)

Using your ticket

-If you have any food allergy or you couldn’t eat anything, please let us know when you make a booking.

-We will do our best, but there is a possibility as we could not accommodate your acceptable food if you have a severe allergy.

-This is a group tour

-This tour includes App. 3.5 km walking and steps.

-This tour does not accept Stroller or Wheelchair.

-We will leave at start time sharp, so please make sure to be there on time! (We could not wait!)

-During the tour, the guide will take a photo and we may upload it on our SNS. If you do not like it, tell us in advance.

-Please come with comfortable walking shoes as this tour is mainly a walking tour

-There could be a delay at when tour ends, if you have an appointment or plan right after this tour please let us know in advance

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On the day of your tour, our guide will be waiting at the meeting place with a board saying "Japan Wonder Travel".

Cancellation

Free cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

If you cancel	You get back
At least one day before	100%
Less than a day before	0%

Good to know

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
A moderate amount of walking is included. Please wear comfortable walking shoes
This is a walking tour. A private van is not included.
Public transportation or local taxis maybe used to transfer between spots.
The cost of transportation is not included in the price. Transportation fees will vary depending on the destinations you decide to visit.
The tour will take place rain or shine.