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The Arashiyama and Sagano area in Kyoto City has numerous tourist attractions, enough to enjoy a full day of sightseeing just in this area alone.
This time, we’ll tour Arashiyama in just 2 hours. Have limited time but want to visit Arashiyama? Is it possible to enjoy Arashiyama in just 2 hours, including round-trip travel from Kyoto Station? I verified this itinerary myself!
🕐️ 3:40 pm
First, let’s move from Kyoto Station to Arashiyama.
From Kyoto Station, take the JR Sagano Line to Saga-Arashiyama Station. It takes 18 minutes to arrive.
At Kyoto Station, the JR Sagano Line is at platform 32, but since it’s a bit far to the platform, I recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get there.
Boarding the Sagano Line train.
🕐️ 4:00 pm
We’ve arrived at Saga-Arashiyama Station. This is the south exit.
Now, to head toward the Bamboo Grove, we’ll first aim for Nagatsujidori Street, the main street for Arashiyama tourism.
Turn right and walk along the road by the station. The atmosphere is more like a normal residential area than a tourist spot, but you can enjoy the flowers blooming here and there.
After walking straight for about 10 minutes, we’ve arrived at Nagatsujidori Street, the main street of Arashiyama.
Now, let’s head to the Bamboo Grove first.
🕐️ 4:10 pm
The Bamboo Grove is one of Kyoto’s most iconic tourist spots. The vibrant bamboo tunnel gives you a sense of traditional Japanese aesthetics.
The bright green bamboo sways gently, with sunlight filtering through. Although I visited in the evening, the soft light embraced the entire bamboo forest, creating a very warm atmosphere. Here, I found a nostalgic Japanese landscape.
It’s worth noting that the Bamboo Grove shows completely different expressions depending on the time of day. Morning is recommended for the best experience.
Read more about Bamboo Grove
🕐️ 4:30 pm
Next is Togetsukyo Bridge, an iconic tourist spot in Arashiyama.
The Togetsukyo Bridge illuminated by the setting sun is stunning. The overall atmosphere created by the surrounding mountains, the bridge, and the Katsura River is truly magnificent.
These wooden structures in front of the bridge are called wooden deflectors. They are installed in front of the bridge piers to prevent drifting timber, garbage, and large floating objects from directly hitting the piers.
This is a view you could admire endlessly.
The wooden texture of Togetsukyo Bridge gives you a sense of real history.
Read more about Togetsukyo Bridge
🕐️ 4:50 pm
Finally, let’s explore food stalls and souvenir shops! Nagatsujidori Street, the main street of Arashiyama, is lined with restaurants and souvenir shops. Trying street food or shopping here is also enjoyable.
A recommended souvenir shop is Shoryuen. It has beautiful interior decoration, and pinwheels welcome you.
This is Arashiyama Station of the Randen tram line, located in the center of Nagatsujidori Street.
This place is not just a station but also houses a commercial facility called Hannari Hokkori Square, where you can enjoy Kyoto’s “hannari” (elegant) atmosphere with attractions like Kimono Forest and foot baths.
🕐️ 5:20 pm
We’ve returned to Saga-Arashiyama Station. From here, let’s take the JR Sagano Line back to Kyoto Station.
Kyoto’s sunset is beautiful too.
🕐️ 5:40 pm
We’ve returned to Kyoto Station. The entire trip took exactly 2 hours.
We spent 40 minutes on the round trip from Kyoto Station to Arashiyama, so our actual sightseeing time was 1 hour and 20 minutes.
This time, we toured the main spots of Arashiyama: the Bamboo Grove, Togetsukyo Bridge, and Nagatsujidori Street.
Can you enjoy Arashiyama even if you don’t have much time? I tested this minimal 2-hour tour.
Arashiyama has many tourist attractions. While it’s recommended to allocate half a day to a full day for a visit, I found that it’s possible to enjoy the essence of Arashiyama even with limited time.
When visiting Arashiyama, the popular “Bamboo Grove,” “Togetsukyo Bridge,” and shopping on Nagatsujidori Street are must-visit spots. The entire journey takes 2 hours, including the round trip from Kyoto Station, so you can use this as a base for planning your visit and add more destinations if you have more time.
I hope my experience helps you plan your Arashiyama tour.
