Landmark

Sagano Romantic Train

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Address
Saga-Tenryuji Kurumamichi-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto 〒616-8373 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺車道町

Source: sagano-kanko.co.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.

The Torokko Saga station building of the Sagano Scenic Railway beside JR Saga-Arashiyama
Photo: くろふね / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

This slow, old-style train covers about 7 km of the Hozu River gorge in 25 minutes, from Torokko Saga next to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station to Torokko Kameoka. It runs on track left over when the JR line was double-tracked, and it's been carrying sightseers since 1991. Car 5, the Rich, has no window glass, so you get the wind and the river noise.

Nearest station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line)
Cost ¥
Time needed 1-2 hours
Best time Mid-November to early December
Cherry blossomsAutumn colour

Insider tip

Every seat is reserved, and online tickets go on sale at midnight one month before the day. The fare is ¥880 one way (children ¥440), whatever stretch you ride. If the train's sold out, the stations sell standing tickets on the day. 2026 is the last year for the current carriages, and new trains start in spring 2027.

What the guides say about Sagano Romantic Train

17. Some places sell timed tickets. Murin-an lets in 15 people at a time, on hourly slots you book online up to 30 days ahead. Nijo Castle's Honmaru Palace costs ¥1,000 extra on a timed web ticket that goes on sale 30 days ahead, and seats on the Sagano Romantic Train go on sale online at midnight a month before. Eikan-do doesn't sell tickets ahead, so you just turn up early.

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What's on near Sagano Romantic Train

Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Sagano Romantic Train, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.

Illumination Starts in 12 days ¥880

Sagano Romantic Train Autumn Light-up

嵯峨野トロッコ列車秋のライトアップ「光の幻想列車」

24 Oct to 29 Dec Sagano Scenic Railway, Arashiyama

Time From 16:30 to the last train Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line)

From late afternoon the trains run past lit maples and illuminations in the Hozu gorge between Torokko Arashiyama and Torokko Kameoka. The railway says it's the last autumn light-up you'll see from the current carriages, and there's no service on 16 Dec.

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Festival Starts in 6 days Free

Saigu Procession

斎宮行列

18 Oct Nonomiya Shrine to Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

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.

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The black wooden torii of Nonomiya Shrine above stone steps, hung with a grass ring Seven010, CC BY-SA 3.0
Garden On now ¥700

Hogon-in Autumn Opening and Night Viewing

宝厳院 秋の特別拝観・夜間特別拝観

3 Oct to 6 Dec Hogon-in, Arashiyama

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).

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The great mossy lion rock in the Shishiku garden of Hogon-in, with a bamboo railed path in front 663highland, CC BY 2.5
Festival Free

Arashiyama Momiji Matsuri

嵐山もみじ祭り

7 to 8 Nov Oi River above Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Time 11:30 to 17:00 Station Arashiyama (Randen), 2 min walk

Boats on the river above Togetsukyo Bridge re-create the boating parties of Heian nobles, with imayo songs, court music and dance on the water and the banks. It's called off if it rains.

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The wooden Togetsukyo bridge across the river with the Arashiyama hills behind Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0
Festival Free

Mifune Matsuri Boat Festival

三船祭（車折神社）

16 May (dates to be confirmed) Oi River above Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Time About 13:00 to 14:15 Station Arashiyama-koen bus stop (City Bus 28)

Kurumazaki Shrine recreates a Heian boating party on the river just above Togetsukyo, with a dragon-headed boat, fans floated on the water and bugaku dance from the decks.

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The wooden Togetsukyo bridge across the river with the Arashiyama hills behind Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0

See every upcoming event in Kyoto

Nearby

Kimono Forest Landmark · 5 min walk About 600 pillars wrapped in fabric dyed in the Kyo-yuzen kimono style stand in rows around Randen's Arashiyama terminus. Nonomiya Shrine Shrine · 8 min walk Nonomiya is a small shrine on the bamboo path, on the site where imperial princesses once stayed before going to serve at the Grand Shrine of Ise,... Arashiyama Yoshimura Food · 8 min walk Yoshimura makes its own soba in the former home of the painter Kawamura Manshu, two doors west of the north end of Togetsukyo, with the bridge and... Fukuda Art Museum Museum · 8 min walk This museum by Togetsukyo shows Japanese painting, mostly from the Edo period to the modern era, in seasonal exhibitions. Saga Tofu Morika Shopping · 9 min walk Morika has been making tofu in Saga since around the Ansei era of the 1850s. Togetsukyo Bridge Landmark · 9 min walk The 155 m bridge over the Oi River, with wooded hills rising right behind it, is the picture most people carry of Arashiyama.

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 Sagano Romantic Train?
Saga-Tenryuji Kurumamichi-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨天龍寺車道町).
How do I get to Sagano Romantic Train?
The nearest station is Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line). Sagano Romantic Train is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
How much does Sagano Romantic Train cost?
Sagano Romantic Train is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
How long do you need at Sagano Romantic Train?
Plan for 1-2 hours.
When is the best time to visit Sagano Romantic Train?
Mid-November to early December.

Stay near Sagano Romantic Train

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See hotels near Sagano Romantic Train on Booking.comPrices are for the night of Saturday 17 October. You can change the dates on Booking.com. If you book, Roam Kyoto earns a small commission from Stay22 at no extra cost to you.