Is Arashiyama crowded right now?

Very busy across Arashiyama.

Calmer from 4:30 pm. Quietest right now: Saga-Toriimoto street.

All of Arashiyama, 6 am to 8 pm

Bamboo Grove

Very busy Calmer from 5 pm.

Today by the hour. Tap a time.1 pm: Very busy

Full Bamboo Grove forecast, cameras and quiet entrances

Get today's quiet routeFree, no sign-up. Takes 10 seconds.

Today in Arashiyama

Sunrise: 6:08 am
Sunset: 5:14 pm
Weather: Mostly clear, 18°C
Rain chance: 0%

Weather from Open-Meteo, updated 1 pm. Rain chance is the highest between now and 8 pm.

Today's quiet route

Each stop shows how busy it should be when you get there.

1:15 pm
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Quiet
Good time for this one.
2:15 pm
Okochi Sanso Garden Moderate
Good time for this one.
3:15 pm
Daikaku-ji Temple Quiet
Good time for this one.
4:15 pm
Tenryu-ji Temple Moderate
Good time for this one.

The rest of Arashiyama right now

Busiest first. If a spot is closed, it drops to the bottom.

Spot	Now	Quieter
Main shopping street	Very busy	From 5 pm
Togetsukyo Bridge	Very busy	From 5:30 pm
Tenryu-ji Temple	Very busy	From 4 pm
Sagano Romantic Train station	Very busy	From 4 pm
Nonomiya Shrine	Busy	From 3:30 pm
Iwatayama Monkey Park	Busy	From 2:30 pm
Daikaku-ji Temple	Moderate	Now
Okochi Sanso Garden	Moderate	Now
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji	Quiet	Now
Saga-Toriimoto street	Quiet	Now

Check it yourself

Official live cameras from the Kyoto City Tourism Association. They open in a new tab.

Bamboo Grove pathKyoto City Tourism Association
Togetsukyo Bridge, north endShows the road to Randen Arashiyama station. Streams 24 hours.
Daikaku-ji, Osawa PondKyoto City Tourism Association
Seiryo-ji temple groundsKyoto City Tourism Association
Saga-Toriimoto old streetUsually the quietest corner of Arashiyama

Grove too packed? Go here instead

Bamboo and old streets a 10 to 25 minute walk from the crowds.

Okochi Sanso Garden ModerateIts own bamboo, inside a paid garden. Tea is included. 5 min past the top of the grove.
Adashino Nenbutsu-ji QuietA short bamboo path behind thousands of stone statues. About 20 min north.
Saga-Toriimoto street QuietThatched houses on a preserved old street. About 25 min north.
Daikaku-ji Temple ModerateA large pond and covered corridors, rarely full. About 20 min, or a short bus ride.

Which station to get off at

Three stations are called Arashiyama or Saga-Arashiyama. Pick by where you start.

From	Take	Walk to the grove
Kyoto Station	JR Sagano Line to Saga-Arashiyama, about 15 min. Covered by the JR Pass.	About 10 min
Kawaramachi or Gion	Hankyu Line to Arashiyama, changing at Katsura. Not covered by the JR Pass.	About 20 min, across the bridge
Shijo-Omiya	Randen tram to Arashiyama, about 25 min.	About 5 min
Osaka	With a JR Pass: JR to Kyoto, then the Sagano Line. Without one: Hankyu from Osaka-umeda, changing at Katsura.	10 or 20 min

Journey times are approximate. Check the first train if you plan to reach the grove before 7 am. More on getting to Arashiyama

Book these before you go

Sagano Romantic TrainSeats often sell out on autumn weekends. Reserve online in advance.
Hozugawa River Boat RideAbout two hours down the gorge from Kameoka to Arashiyama. Pairs well with a one-way train ride.
Kimono rentalBook ahead in autumn and cherry blossom season. Return times are fixed.
Rickshaw rideNo booking needed. Some routes go through quieter bamboo you can't walk into.

Travelling with a suitcase?

The main street and the grove path are narrow and packed for most of the day, and wheeling a suitcase through them is hard going. If you fly home from Kansai Airport, you can send your bags ahead instead. Bag2Gate stores them in Osaka and sends them to the Yamato counter at KIX, where you collect them before check-in.

How Bag2Gate works

Arashiyama Today is run by Bag2Gate.

Crowd levels are estimates from typical daily patterns, weekends, holidays, seasons and the weather forecast. They are not live counts. How the estimates work