How do you visit the Arashiyama Monkey Park and Bamboo Forest in Kyoto?

Arashiyama at a glance

The four sights sit close together on both banks of the Katsura River. Togetsukyo Bridge connects them: the monkey park is on the south bank, the bamboo grove and Tenryu-ji on the north.

Iwatayama Monkey Park: price, hours and the climb

Admission is ¥800 (≈ $5.0) for adults (16 and over) and ¥400 (≈ $2.5) for children aged 4 to 15; children 3 and under are free. The park takes Japanese yen in cash only, with no cards or IC payment, so bring notes. It opens at 9am and closes at 4pm, with the summit open until 4:30pm, and it closes early if the monkeys head back up the mountain. It also shuts on 1 January, on irregular days and in heavy rain, snow or typhoons.

The entrance is about 20 meters upstream from the south end of Togetsukyo Bridge, inside the grounds of Ichitani Munakata Shrine on the left. From there it is about a 20-minute climb: the first stretch is 120 steps, then a gentler graded path through the forest. Small children manage it, but wear proper shoes, and in summer bring water. Toilets are only at the entrance and at the top.

At the summit, at 160 meters, there is an open area where the monkeys roam and a rest house with a view across Kyoto; on a clear day you can pick out Kyoto Tower. Bags of food cost ¥100 (≈ $0.63), and you may feed the monkeys only from inside the rest house, by putting the food on the ledge rather than in their hands. The monkeys are outside; the people are the ones behind the mesh.

Monkey park rules worth knowing before you go

The roughly 120 Japanese macaques are wild, not pets, and the park's rules are about keeping them calm:

• Don't touch them or try to pick them up.

• Don't stare into their eyes; to a monkey a fixed stare is a threat. If one opens its mouth at you, look away and move off.

• Keep about 2 meters away, and don't crouch in front of one or push a camera, phone or selfie stick close to it.

• No outside food for the monkeys, and no feeding anywhere except inside the rest house.

• No pets (not even in a bag or carrier), no drones and no smoking anywhere in the park.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest: when to go to avoid the crowds

The bamboo grove is a free public path through the Sagano district, running between the Okochi Sanso villa area and Nonomiya Shrine, with no gate and no ticket. It is about a 10-minute walk from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, and Tenryu-ji's north exit opens straight onto it.

Because it is free and on every Kyoto itinerary, the path is packed shoulder to shoulder from mid-morning until late afternoon, and the famous shot of an empty grove is only possible early. Arrive before about 8am, when tour groups have not yet come and the light is filtering down through the stalks. In autumn, Tenryu-ji opens its Sogen Pond Garden at 7:30am from 14 to 30 November 2026, which makes a good second stop after an early walk through the grove.

The path is narrow, so keep moving rather than stopping in the middle for photos, and don't touch or carve into the bamboo. The grove is a short walk, 20 to 30 minutes at an unhurried pace; combine it with the temples of Sagano beyond Nonomiya if you want a longer morning.

Tenryu-ji and Togetsukyo Bridge

Tenryu-ji is the head temple of the Tenryu-ji school of Rinzai Zen and part of Kyoto's UNESCO World Heritage listing. Its pond garden is the main reason to pay. Entry to the garden is ¥500 (≈ $3.1) for high school age and older and ¥300 (≈ $1.9) for elementary and middle school students; add ¥300 (≈ $1.9) to go inside the main buildings. The Cloud Dragon painting in the Dharma Hall is a separate ¥500 (≈ $3.1) and opens only on weekends, holidays and designated spring and autumn periods (in autumn 2026, 19 September to 6 December). Hours are 8:30am to 5pm with last entry at 4:50pm, and the buildings can close at short notice for ceremonies.

The temple serves shojin ryori, the vegetarian Buddhist meal, at its restaurant Shigetsu (reservations required); our what to eat in Kyoto guide explains it alongside Arashiyama's other specialty, yudofu.

Togetsukyo Bridge is the long wooden-railed bridge over the river at the center of Arashiyama, free to cross and best seen from the riverbank either side, with the forested Arashiyama hills behind. It is the link between the monkey park on the south bank and everything else on the north.

How to get to Arashiyama: JR, Randen or Hankyu

Three railways reach Arashiyama, and the right one depends on where you are staying in Kyoto and which end of the walk you want to start at.

• JR Sagano Line to Saga-Arashiyama from Kyoto Station. About 10 minutes' walk to the bamboo grove and 13 to Tenryu-ji, 15 to the monkey park. The best choice from Kyoto Station, and covered by the JR Pass.

• Randen (Keifuku Arashiyama Line) to Arashiyama. The station is on the main street, 5 minutes from Tenryu-ji and about 10 from the monkey park. Useful from Shijo-Omiya, where the line starts.

• Hankyu Arashiyama Line to Arashiyama. The station is south of the river, only about 7 minutes from the monkey park entrance, 15 from Tenryu-ji. The best choice from downtown Kawaramachi (change at Katsura) and from Osaka.

City and Kyoto Bus routes also stop at Arashiyama-koen (5 minutes from the monkey park) and Arashiyama Tenryu-ji-mae, but the road into Arashiyama is slow on busy days and buses fill up; our Kyoto city bus fare guide explains why rail is often the better option. A practical one-way route: JR to Saga-Arashiyama early, the bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji, across Togetsukyo to the monkey park, then Hankyu back toward downtown.

Planning a half day in Arashiyama

Arashiyama fills a morning comfortably and a full day if you add the Sagano temples, a river walk or a long lunch. It is one of the three districts in our how many days in Kyoto guide, with Higashiyama and Fushimi Inari each taking another day.

Staying in Arashiyama itself puts the bamboo grove on your doorstep before 8am, but it is 30 to 40 minutes from central Kyoto; our where to stay in Kyoto guide suggests it as a one-night stay rather than a base. November is the peak of the autumn color here, and the busiest month; our Kyoto autumn leaves guide covers timing.

Frequently asked questions