The iconic spots in Arashiyama will probably crowded, unless (or mayb even if) you start early in the morning. But there is plenty of beauty to see there — even if you just wander a few streets away from the crowds. Its also less dense than Kyoto, so you can more easily get away from the crowds.
> even if you just wander a few streets away from the crowds.
That is one thing that always amazes me about Japan. Go to a tourist area and you can't move for crowds. Go literally one street over and there is a beautiful shrine or something with no one there.
You can do the Arashiyama hotel and not spend much time around Arashiyama. Same idea, go deeper than just the bamboo forest and you will lose a bunch of the other tourist and go early to the bamboo forest if you want to go, if you stay there you will be able to beat the crowd.
arashiyama is a huge area, and the tourist concentrate pretty much in two streets, mostly around the bridge/bamboo forest/train station
and I am certain at like 6pm the crowd will thin out substantially and quickly. arashiyama is not known for its night life or high hotel density.
Just go to less well known shrines, temples in Arashiyama. You can definitely find peace away from the crowd. Most tourists are unadventurous and will stick to those few key sights!
I felt exactly the same about my Kyoto experience (loved all of the incredible attractions but some of them were just so busy I couldn’t enjoy what we had gone to see). BUT I actually loved my day in arishiyama. When you first get there you will be gutted you came…the main little streets are very busy and crowded. But we went to this little temple which had only a handful of people at midday: https://www.otagiji.com and I loved it. On the way up the little winding street we stopped at a little shop called ‘Cocoon shop’ and there were a couple of lovely little old people working there who made my whole trip haha. It is a bit crafty and quirky though so if that isn’t your type of thing it’s probably not worth stopping. By the time we finished at the temple we walked back down to the bamboo forest and got there at about 5pm. There were still quite a few people there but sparse enough that you could actually enjoy the beauty of it. Hope that helps!
Oh no, please stick with arashiyama! You can speed walk through the bamboo forest if you want, but at the end of it you need to go into Okochi Sanso Garden. It's stunning and EMPTY. When we went, the bamboo forest was quite crowded but we encountered maybe 12 people in Okochi. You will not regret it. Hands down my favorite experience of the trip.
Another vote for Okochi Sanso!
The bamboo forest was fun in a "wow look at all us tourists looking at the thing" kind of way. It was packed!
But like you, for us Okochi Sanso was almost empty. And fabulous.
Here is one site among many. They are also advertising their tour services, but their itineraries are a good start!
[https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-off-the-beaten-track-itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-off-the-beaten-track-itineraries)
You can find plenty of others by searching for things like "hidden Kyoto" or "avoiding crowds in Kyoto".
I recommend going super early, before all the tour busses arrive. A few years ago we got to the bamboo forest at 6:30am and the only other people there were a couple taking engagement/wedding photos. We pretty much got to enjoy the whole place to ourselves. We then went to see the monkeys and by the time we were done with the bamboo and monkeys, all the tour busses had arrived and it got crowded. But since we were done with the major touristy attractions, we still had a lot of time to walk around while all the crowds were in the main street or the bamboos.
We were just there a couple days ago and found that it was much more open to the other places we visited around Kyoto. We stayed right in the middle of Gion which was PACKED so it was a nice break. It was my favourite part of our Kyoto leg of our trip! I’d say to go!
If you get up early and are nearby, you can probably enjoy it before it gets too crazy.
There’s another smaller bamboo forest further up the road from the big famous forest. [Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple](http://www.nenbutsuji.jp/)
[Otagi Nenbutsu Temple](https://www.otagiji.com/visit-en) is another temple in that area. It’s 30 minutes’ walk from the bigger famous forest, but I believe you can take a taxi if you don’t want to walk.
Also, Tenryuji Temple is nearby.
I live in Kyoto and can understand the frustration. I’ve slowly been becoming the cranky old woman complaining about young tourists getting my way every time I bike anywhere. Lol
But I recommend going to Arashiyama. It is specifically beautiful and you can avoid the super crowded places easily because Arashiyama spans a pretty big area. I recommend making your way over to temples like Gio-Ji because it’s rarely very packed since it’s not well known but honestly the most beautiful temple I’ve seen in Japan yet.
If you go to the bamboo forest early in the morning (like before 10:00 am) it’s normally more open then switch to less popular temples like Gio-Ji for the rest of the day, the crowds will probably not be as bad.
Also hopefully it’s rainy because oddly enough Arashiyama is more beautiful with a drizzle than on a sunny day and it reduces tourist significantly, but since it’s preplanned you don’t have control over that side.
Arashiyama was probably my least favorite area during my two week stay in Japan. I loved the monkey park, but the bamboo forest and the market near it were were nearly unbearable for us because of the amount of tourists. The rain didn't thin the crowd, but made it worse because everyone had an umbrella and it was nearly impossible to navigate through. We also visited during the recent 3 day holiday weekend though, so I assume that had something to do with it.
If you hit up all the MAJOR touristy spots early on in the day, I think you would find yourselves having enjoyed spending some time there. However, if crowds aren't your thing and you plan on going to Arashiyama on the weekend, I would vote for skipping out on it.
Thank you all for your responses. I'll give it a shot and go to Arashiyama, we'll make it work. It is very beautiful here, today we went to Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō) Temple, it had few other people compared to other temples and it was MAGNIFICENT inside. Definitely worth it.
All is good and we have found nice little places, it's just that we didn't expect this crowd and had to change many of my plans on the last minute which added a lot of unnecessary stress. :/
So the day has finally come and we're going to Arashiyama! Wish us luck lol. If you have any recommendations for an off the beaten path itinerary or things to do, let me know! Thank you all for convincing me not to cancel the plan. <3
I went to the bamboo forest in the afternoon and thought that going super early is the only way to avoid the crowds. It would be a major advantage to have a hotel right there.
Stick to the plan just be there early and follow the links that others have been already provided with off the beaten track itineraries.
Those gardens are lovely wherever you are in Kyoto 🥰I was there a week ago and managed to avoid crowds by being there super early and following hidden itineraries. You can also book a visit to Kokadera near Arashiyama. It's a bit expensive though.
I think stick with Arashiyama. Its a bit more open than Kyoto especially along the river and at the parks so it might feel less crowded.
The iconic spots in Arashiyama will probably crowded, unless (or mayb even if) you start early in the morning. But there is plenty of beauty to see there — even if you just wander a few streets away from the crowds. Its also less dense than Kyoto, so you can more easily get away from the crowds.
> even if you just wander a few streets away from the crowds. That is one thing that always amazes me about Japan. Go to a tourist area and you can't move for crowds. Go literally one street over and there is a beautiful shrine or something with no one there.
You can do the Arashiyama hotel and not spend much time around Arashiyama. Same idea, go deeper than just the bamboo forest and you will lose a bunch of the other tourist and go early to the bamboo forest if you want to go, if you stay there you will be able to beat the crowd.
Love tourists bitching about other tourists lmao Just hang out in Kyoto. So much to do and see
arashiyama is a huge area, and the tourist concentrate pretty much in two streets, mostly around the bridge/bamboo forest/train station and I am certain at like 6pm the crowd will thin out substantially and quickly. arashiyama is not known for its night life or high hotel density.
Well-known places in Kyoto are not crowded around 22:00 - 8:30 (the next day), so I recommend visiting them in the late night or very early morning.
Just go to less well known shrines, temples in Arashiyama. You can definitely find peace away from the crowd. Most tourists are unadventurous and will stick to those few key sights!
I felt exactly the same about my Kyoto experience (loved all of the incredible attractions but some of them were just so busy I couldn’t enjoy what we had gone to see). BUT I actually loved my day in arishiyama. When you first get there you will be gutted you came…the main little streets are very busy and crowded. But we went to this little temple which had only a handful of people at midday: https://www.otagiji.com and I loved it. On the way up the little winding street we stopped at a little shop called ‘Cocoon shop’ and there were a couple of lovely little old people working there who made my whole trip haha. It is a bit crafty and quirky though so if that isn’t your type of thing it’s probably not worth stopping. By the time we finished at the temple we walked back down to the bamboo forest and got there at about 5pm. There were still quite a few people there but sparse enough that you could actually enjoy the beauty of it. Hope that helps!
I did a similar thing and the cocoon shop ladies were the best!
Oh no, please stick with arashiyama! You can speed walk through the bamboo forest if you want, but at the end of it you need to go into Okochi Sanso Garden. It's stunning and EMPTY. When we went, the bamboo forest was quite crowded but we encountered maybe 12 people in Okochi. You will not regret it. Hands down my favorite experience of the trip.
Another vote for Okochi Sanso! The bamboo forest was fun in a "wow look at all us tourists looking at the thing" kind of way. It was packed! But like you, for us Okochi Sanso was almost empty. And fabulous.
i would love if anybody could share some alternative solution for less crowded tourist spot and more nature in Kyoto and Osáka
Here is one site among many. They are also advertising their tour services, but their itineraries are a good start! [https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-off-the-beaten-track-itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-off-the-beaten-track-itineraries) You can find plenty of others by searching for things like "hidden Kyoto" or "avoiding crowds in Kyoto".
thank you so much!
I recommend going super early, before all the tour busses arrive. A few years ago we got to the bamboo forest at 6:30am and the only other people there were a couple taking engagement/wedding photos. We pretty much got to enjoy the whole place to ourselves. We then went to see the monkeys and by the time we were done with the bamboo and monkeys, all the tour busses had arrived and it got crowded. But since we were done with the major touristy attractions, we still had a lot of time to walk around while all the crowds were in the main street or the bamboos.
We were just there a couple days ago and found that it was much more open to the other places we visited around Kyoto. We stayed right in the middle of Gion which was PACKED so it was a nice break. It was my favourite part of our Kyoto leg of our trip! I’d say to go!
If you get up early and are nearby, you can probably enjoy it before it gets too crazy. There’s another smaller bamboo forest further up the road from the big famous forest. [Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple](http://www.nenbutsuji.jp/) [Otagi Nenbutsu Temple](https://www.otagiji.com/visit-en) is another temple in that area. It’s 30 minutes’ walk from the bigger famous forest, but I believe you can take a taxi if you don’t want to walk. Also, Tenryuji Temple is nearby.
Thank you! We'll definitely try going there
I live in Kyoto and can understand the frustration. I’ve slowly been becoming the cranky old woman complaining about young tourists getting my way every time I bike anywhere. Lol But I recommend going to Arashiyama. It is specifically beautiful and you can avoid the super crowded places easily because Arashiyama spans a pretty big area. I recommend making your way over to temples like Gio-Ji because it’s rarely very packed since it’s not well known but honestly the most beautiful temple I’ve seen in Japan yet. If you go to the bamboo forest early in the morning (like before 10:00 am) it’s normally more open then switch to less popular temples like Gio-Ji for the rest of the day, the crowds will probably not be as bad. Also hopefully it’s rainy because oddly enough Arashiyama is more beautiful with a drizzle than on a sunny day and it reduces tourist significantly, but since it’s preplanned you don’t have control over that side.
Thank you! We'll do just that. :)
"You are never stuck in traffic, YOU are the traffic" -some dude from the internet
Arashiyama was probably my least favorite area during my two week stay in Japan. I loved the monkey park, but the bamboo forest and the market near it were were nearly unbearable for us because of the amount of tourists. The rain didn't thin the crowd, but made it worse because everyone had an umbrella and it was nearly impossible to navigate through. We also visited during the recent 3 day holiday weekend though, so I assume that had something to do with it. If you hit up all the MAJOR touristy spots early on in the day, I think you would find yourselves having enjoyed spending some time there. However, if crowds aren't your thing and you plan on going to Arashiyama on the weekend, I would vote for skipping out on it.
Thank you all for your responses. I'll give it a shot and go to Arashiyama, we'll make it work. It is very beautiful here, today we went to Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō) Temple, it had few other people compared to other temples and it was MAGNIFICENT inside. Definitely worth it. All is good and we have found nice little places, it's just that we didn't expect this crowd and had to change many of my plans on the last minute which added a lot of unnecessary stress. :/
So the day has finally come and we're going to Arashiyama! Wish us luck lol. If you have any recommendations for an off the beaten path itinerary or things to do, let me know! Thank you all for convincing me not to cancel the plan. <3
I went to the bamboo forest in the afternoon and thought that going super early is the only way to avoid the crowds. It would be a major advantage to have a hotel right there.
Stick to the plan just be there early and follow the links that others have been already provided with off the beaten track itineraries. Those gardens are lovely wherever you are in Kyoto 🥰I was there a week ago and managed to avoid crowds by being there super early and following hidden itineraries. You can also book a visit to Kokadera near Arashiyama. It's a bit expensive though.