Kyoto: don’t miss these fun temples near Arashiyama bamboo forest

4.8K

The Arashiyama bamboo forest in Kyoto is such a dreamy place, like a fairy-tale really. Especially early in the morning. Pretty much everybody knows about this forest, but not many know about the nearby fun and pretty temples. In this article I will share with you my tips including the temples that I would highly recommend you to visit.

Every once and awhile, in the middle of our ordinary existence, life gives us a fairytale. Keep on believing, it does exist!

Fairytales exist!

Fortunately still many people arrive relatively late (after 8:30 am) and ignore the temples around the Arashiyama bamboo forest. Good – that means more serenity for you. The following nearby temples will make you smile and feel privileged you were able to visit them. Promise!

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

The Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple is THE must see in Kyoto. Located most far out of the bamboo forest, meaning barely any tourists. But on walking distance! See below map for location details.

The figures at the Otagi Nenbutsu-ji temple made me laugh so much!! I felt so lucky I found this hidden gem.

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is really the funniest temple I have ever been to! I can only recommend to visit this place when in Kyoto.

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji

No funny statues’ faces here, yet impressive. This temple has 8000 Buddhist statues to remember the souls who died without relatives.

The Adashino Nenbutsu-ji temple includes another, small bamboo forest not many tourists know about. It was renovated a few years ago so in a better shape now.

Gio-jo moss temple

The lush green moss is what makes Gio-jo attractive. The tiny temple itself is nothing special really, only the surrounding garden is nice to see (not a must). Can be a bit busy as it’s rather close to the Arashiyama bamboo forest, which you can see on the background.

These little wooden plaques are called Ema. Shinto and Buddhist worshipers write their wishes or prayers on them and hang them up around the temple.

Saga-Toriimito Preserved Street

Walking from the forest to these temples, you will pass the Saga-Toriimito preserved street with beautiful authentic houses.

When you walk back to the station via the Daikaku-ji temple (northeast), you will also see some of Kyoto’s country side.

Map Arashiyama bamboo forest & surroundings

This map includes places and spots mentioned in this article (and more). This one is ‘smartphone friendly’; you can easily use it via the Google Maps app. Click the icon at the top left to open the menu and see the categories. To adapt the map to your own preferences and interests, (de)select a category. Via Google Drive you can copy the map to your own My Google Maps account.

Nice to meet you

So I met Sabrina and Chiraz, two nice Dutch sisters, at the Arashiyama bamboo forest and spent most of the day with them. Great company!

Be early!

More than 50 million tourists visit Kyoto every year. The Arashiyama bamboo forest is definitely a highlight. To stay ahead of the crowd, make sure you arrive at the forest early in the morning (7 am at latest).

In the middle of the day it becomes madhouse with bus loads full of people. Better avoid the weekends and Golden Week in May too.

Good-to-knows

• The Arashiyama bamboo forest can easily be reached by a 10 minutes’ walk from the Saga-Arashiyama Station, which is 16 minutes west of Kyoto Station by train (San-In Line in the direction of Sonobe). This train ride is covered under the JR Pass.
• The Arashiyama bamboo forest has no opening hours and no entrance fee.
• Most temples ask around ¥500 entrance fee (cash only).
• Before you start the walk, get yourself some water and lunch.
• There is a bike rental shop near the train station, but it only opens around 9 am.
• The Arashiyama bamboo forest is only a few hundred meters long.
• If you have the time, consider the Saga Scenic Railway alongside the Hozu River.

Tour

Should you not want to travel alone to the Arashiyama bamboo forest and prefer group travel, consider booking a guided tour. It is very convenient because they will take you all around the city and you do not have to think about where to go. Possibly you will be able to see more in one day than you would on your own. Downside is that these tours usually arrive when everybody gets there too, so you may expect some crowds then.

• Viator
• GetYourGuide

Planning to visit Japan soon? Tip: via Japan Experience you can arrange all sorts of things in advance, such as Sim card or Pocket-Wifi, Pasmo or Suica cards and/or JR Pass.

Golden Temple

Another temple worth visiting in Kyoto is the well-known Kinkaku-ji temple, also known as the Golden Temple. It’s in the northwest part of the city.

The Golden Temple can only be reached by bus or combination metro plus bus or by foot. The bus ride (¥230), from a main street somewhere between Nishiki Market and Pontocho Alley, took me more than one hour due to busy traffic.

The Kinkaku-ji temple closes at 17:00h, I got in as last at 16:50h! So a bit of a rush but fortunately the crowds were already gone.

There are hundreds of temples in Kyoto, some more special than the others. If you have only a few days in this wonderful city, like me, set priorities. Personally I would recommend to limit yourself to the above, at least for one day – to avoid a temple overkill. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful for your trip to Japan. Otagi Nenbutsu-ji was really my favorite out of these temples in Kyoto. So if you have to choose because of lack of time, then visit at least that temple! Should you have any further questions or additional tips, please feel free to leave a reaction at the bottom of this page.

Read more about Japan

Would like to read more about Japan? On this website you will find lots of other articles:

1. Sumo wrestling in Japan: complete guide to an impressive cultural experience
2. Special experience: meeting a geisha or maiko in Japan
3. Onsen in Japan: relax in a traditional hot spring ryokan
4. Cherry blossom hunting in Japan: Matsumoto Castle and Joya Park
5. Robot hotel in Japan, the coolest and weirdest hotel experience ever!
6. Walk the amazing Nakasendo Trail from Magome to Tsumago
7. Japan: what you need to know about the JR Train Pass
8. Kyoto: don’t miss these fun temples near Arashiyama bamboo forest
9. Japan: fantastic places beyond the Golden Triangle Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka
10. Japan: Miyajima Island & Hiroshima, a recommended and wonderful combo
11. Riding my bicycle around Mount Fuji, Chureito Pagoda and Lake Kawaguchiko
12. Tokyo: 25 fun things to do in a mind-blowing metropolitan
13. Tokyo’s Fun Food Fairytales at themed restaurants and cafes
14. Visiting the unique Jigokudani Yaen-koen Snow Monkey Park in Japan

---

This article contains affiliate links to support this website. It does not cost you anything extra if you buy something after clicking on one of those links. Partner websites that I am affiliated with, reward me with a small commission for making useful connections between buyers and their service or product. This helps to cover the costs for this website. Consider it as a compliment for my work. For more information click here.

Last Updated on 10/21/2024 by Elisa Flitter Fever