Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Arashiyama, Kyoto
Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.
This bamboo path is one of the sights Kyoto is best known for. It runs about 400 m from Nonomiya Shrine past Tenryu-ji's north gate to Okochi Sanso, with tended bamboo on both sides, and on a cloudy day it's dim even at noon.
More photos of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Insider tip
Go as early as you can. Kyoto City streams a live camera of the path, so you can check the crowds before you set off. In 2026 the Arashiyama Tsukitouro light-up fills it with bamboo lanterns from 30 September to 8 November, 18:00 to 21:00 (¥1,500 on the day, free for 12 and under).
What the guides say about Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Stay in Arashiyama if you want the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove at first light. There's no charge and no opening hours on the path, and Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30. Places to stay cluster round Togetsukyo Bridge. Kyoto City's register of licensed places to stay (end of July 2026) lists 39 within a kilometre of it, and 15 of its 16 ryokan and hotels are within 500 m, on both banks. The other 23 hold the simple-lodging licence that guesthouses, hostels and rented houses use. Hanaikada, a hot-spring ryokan, is a minute's walk from the bridge.
4. Arashiyama, as early as you can manage. The bamboo path runs about 400 m past Tenryu-ji's north gate, and it's free. Kyoto City streams a live camera of it, so you can check the crowds before you leave. Tenryu-ji opens at 8:30, and Muso Soseki's pond garden borrows the Arashiyama hills as its backdrop (¥500). Leave by the north gate and you're on the bamboo path. JR Sagano Line rapids reach Saga-Arashiyama in about 11 minutes.
What's on at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Upcoming events at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Arashiyama Tsukitouro Bamboo Light-up
嵐山月灯路 Arashiyama Bamboo Light-up
Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
Bamboo lanterns, some made by local residents in workshops, line the Bamboo Grove path and about 1 km of lit walkways. At the gate it's ¥1,500 in cash, online tickets with guaranteed entry cost ¥2,000, and children 12 and under go free.
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 Arashiyama Tsukitouro Bamboo Light-up
嵐山月灯路
Time 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:40) Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
The bamboo grove path is lit every evening, with a 30-metre bamboo corridor hung with 1,500 woven bamboo balls and mist drifting through the grove. In 2026 it was ¥1,500 cash at the ticket booth in the grove or ¥2,000 online, and free for 12 and under.
dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0 Saigu Procession
斎宮行列
Time Procession from 12:00 Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line), 10 min walk
A Heian-style procession re-creates an imperial princess setting out to serve at Ise Shrine, walking from Nonomiya Shrine to Togetsukyo Bridge from noon after a rite at the shrine. A purification rite at the river's north boat landing is planned for about 14:00.
Seven010, CC BY-SA 3.0 Hogon-in Autumn Opening and Night Viewing
宝厳院 秋の特別拝観・夜間特別拝観
Time 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:45), night viewing from 13 Nov 17:30 to 20:30 (last entry 20:00) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 3 min walk
This Tenryu-ji sub-temple opens its Shishiku garden, which borrows Arashiyama as a backdrop, round a lion-shaped rock under heavy maples, and for an extra ¥500 you can see Tamura Noriko's paintings in the main hall. From 13 Nov the garden is also lit at night (17:30 to 20:30, ¥1,000).
663highland, CC BY 2.5 Shapes of Love: The Lost Shunga Scroll Chigo no Soshi
「愛のカタチ－幻の春画《稚児草紙》公開－」
Time 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Station Arashiyama (Randen), 4 min walk
The museum shows the early 14th-century Chigo no Soshi scroll in public for the first time, with painted shunga by Tsukioka Settei and others, Hokusai's Nami Chidori, made in his 70s, and paintings about love by Uemura Shoen and Kaburaki Kiyokata. Nobody under 18 is admitted, and you may be asked for photo ID.
運動会プロテインパワー, CC BY-SA 4.0 Nearby
Around Arashiyama
Bamboo at first light, then the maple temples under Mount Ogura
Arashiyama is on Kyoto's north-western edge, where Togetsukyo Bridge crosses the Oi River with wooded hills right behind it. You'll want the bridge, Tenryu-ji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and so will everyone else. Go early. Then walk north into Sagano. Its temples line the foot of Mount Ogura, and it's quieter at the far end, which Kyoto's official tourism site calls Okusaga.
Arashiyama has 30 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 14 shrines and temples, 4 landmarks, 3 parks and gardens, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 cafe, 1 museum, 1 viewpoint, 1 shop and 1 neighbourhood. Read the Arashiyama guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove?
- Saga-Tenryuji Susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺芒ノ馬場町).
- How do I get to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove?
- The nearest station is Arashiyama (Randen). Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Arashiyama Bamboo Grove cost?
- Nothing. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove?
- Plan for 30 min.
- When is the best time to visit Arashiyama Bamboo Grove?
- Early morning.
Stay near Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
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