Togetsukyo Bridge
Arashiyama, Kyoto
Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.
The 155 m bridge over the Oi River, with wooded hills rising right behind it, is the picture most people carry of Arashiyama. A monk named Dosho first bridged the river near here in the 830s or 840s, and the bridge you walk across today was finished in 1934. Its name, the moon-crossing bridge, comes from the retired Emperor Kameyama, who watched the moon move over it.
Insider tip
It's busiest in spring and autumn. The island in the river by the bridge, Arashiyama Park's Nakanoshima section, is planted with pines and cherry trees and fills up in hanami season.
What the guides say about Togetsukyo Bridge
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.
What's on at Togetsukyo Bridge
Upcoming events at Togetsukyo Bridge and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Arashiyama Momiji Matsuri
嵐山もみじ祭り
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.
Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0 Mifune Matsuri Boat Festival
三船祭（車折神社）
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.
Antonio Campoy, CC BY 2.0 Cormorant Fishing at Arashiyama
嵐山の鵜飼
Time 19:00 and 20:00 to 15 Aug, 18:30 and 19:30 from 17 Aug Station Saga-Arashiyama (JR Sagano Line)
Fishermen work trained cormorants on the Oi River after dark, and you watch from roofed boats alongside. Shared boats were ¥3,000 for about an hour in 2026, cash only and sold at the pier that evening, with none on 16 August, while meal and private boats are booked online.
Arashiyama Autumn Fireworks
京都 嵐山秋花火2026
Time Fireworks from 20:30, about 5 minutes Station Arashiyama (Randen), 1 min walk
A short fireworks show over the river by Togetsukyo Bridge, about five minutes from 20:30 on both nights. The organisers say Nakanoshima Park gives the best view, and there's no parking, so come by train.
Arashiyama Lantern Floating
嵐山灯籠流し
Time 19:00 to 21:00 Station Arashiyama (Hankyu), 5 min walk
Lanterns for the dead are floated on the Oi River from Nakanoshima Park on the night of the Okuribi, and the Toriigata bonfire can be seen from round Togetsukyo from 20:20. A lantern with a memorial tablet is ¥1,500, staff set it on the water for you, and high or low water can stop the floating.
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 Togetsukyo Bridge?
- Saga-Nakanoshima-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市右京区嵯峨中ノ島町).
- How do I get to Togetsukyo Bridge?
- The nearest station is Arashiyama (Randen). Togetsukyo Bridge is in Arashiyama, Kyoto.
- How much does Togetsukyo Bridge cost?
- Nothing. Togetsukyo Bridge is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Togetsukyo Bridge?
- Plan for 20 min.
- When is the best time to visit Togetsukyo Bridge?
- Weekday mornings.
Stay near Togetsukyo Bridge
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See hotels near Togetsukyo Bridge 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.