Ultimate Kyoto Arashiyama Tour: Bamboo, Monkeys & Hidden Gardens
Recommended by 100% of travelers
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Kyoto, Japan
- 5 to 6 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Kyoto’s Arashiyama district is famous for its Bamboo Grove, but it’s more than just a place to take a great photo. Learn about Arashiyama’s history, temples, and culture from your guide on this small-group walking tour. Visit hidden and less-crowded gems such Tenryuji Temple, Okochi Sanso Garden, and the Monkey Forest. A combined Fushimi Inari option is also available for a fuller experience.
- Includes admission to all itinerary sites
- Visit Okochi Sanso Garden with matcha tea included
- Explore hidden paths and quiet spots away from crowds
- Enjoy a more personal experience in a small group
What's Included
- Bamboo Forest
- Monkey Park (20-25 min hike) admission paid
- Tenryuji Temple (admission paid)
- Togetsukyo Bridge
- Knowledgeable & Bilingual Tour Guide
- Okochi Sanso (Arashiyama Tour only)
- Fushimi Inari (Combo Tour only)
- Tips (accepted & welcomed)
- Lunch & Dinner
- Pick up not available
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
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End point
- Arashiyama Monkey Park IwatayamaJapan, 616-0004 Kyoto, Nishikyo Ward, Arashiyama Nakaoshitachō, ６１−６１
We will end your journey with a visit to the enchanting Monkey Park, a must-see for animal lovers. Afterward, you can indulge in some unique shopping opportunities in the area to find one-of-a-kind souvenirs to remember your trip or head back to the station.
Itinerary
1
Arashiyama
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Nonomiya Shrine
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Okochi Sanso Garden
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
The Bamboo Forest Trail
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
5
Tenryu-ji Temple Sogenchi Teien
35 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Arashiyama
35 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
7
Togetsukyo Bridge
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
8
Monkey Park Iwatayama
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Tours are in English only. Want a different language like German or Italian? Please ask us before booking.
- There is a 20-25 minutes hike to the monkey park hilltop and the path is a bit steep.
- Solo travelers can book this tour, but please note there is a “2 guests minimum” requirement for the tour to proceed. If only one guest is booked, the tour may be canceled. In such cases, you will be notified promptly, with options for rescheduling or a full refund.
- For the privacy and comfort of all guests, smart glasses with recording capabilities (such as Ray-Ban Meta glasses) are not allowed during the tour.
- Be able to hike up to the hilltop of the monkey park (20-25 minutes)
- Recording & live streaming are NOT allowed during the whole tour!
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 1,759 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Noel_B, Aug 2026
Teri was great! Very knowledgable and friendly and patient. I loved learning about the shrine and the temple and the dark history of the bamboo forest.
Aimee_O, Jul 2026
Teri was our guide and did a perfect balance of walking and resting (it was 95 degrees F). She was informative but not boring and took us to beautiful places and let us wander around on our own at our own pace. It was nice to sometimes be with the group and yet have freedom to explore. Overall, we saw many more things than we would’ve by ourselves and got to understand what each site was.
Caitlin_C, Jul 2026
This is fun tour going from the busy bamboo forest to the peaceful tea house with free tea! It's also a good mix of group time with the tour guide and time on your own to explore. Our tour guide Marie was warm, friendly, and knowledgeable. She offered lots of tips for adventures after the tour as well.
Renee_S, Jul 2026
It was hot as all get out, but Teri paced us so we had breaks and we're not over whelmed. She was very knowledgeable about the places that we visited. She took some awesome pics of the family. What a fabulous experience, in spite of the heat.
Tara_W, Jul 2026
Teri was our tour guide and she is just fabulous. So personable and fun, great knowledge, clearly loves what she does. Temples, gardens and bamboo forest are stunners, kids reported back that the monkey were a “10/10 vibe” and “would totally do again” (we departed early due to other commitments). If you’re not sure to choose what tour to do, I’m not sure you could go wrong with this one. Break at the tea house was perfect timing- lunch atop a super cute area with lots of choices but right off the Main Street so there’s more if you like. Bamboo forests are busy, nothing to do about it. Doesn’t ruin the trip but you will be around crowds. We went in late June- it’s hot, possibly rainy and very humid. Don’t let this deter you. Wear shorts, bring a backpack with water and whatever else you like to have a nice day trip outside. We’re from Florida so used to warmer temps and humid weather so it wasn’t a deal-breaker for us.
Joshua_H, Jun 2026
Terry was a very friendly and knowledgeable guide. The tour hit the highlights of the area and would highly recommend this tour. The final hike is optional and you are warned ahead of time of time but is strenuous.
Julia_D, Jun 2026
“Bob” 😂 was very knowledgeable and kind. She was really fun to talk to, engaging, and very funny. She also took amazing pictures that I don’t think anyone else could get.
Cynthia_F, Jun 2026
Janelle was our wonderful guide. She was so patient with us and immersed us with so much knowledge throughout our tour. Excellent experience! I completely recommend this tour.
Irina_N, Jun 2026
We really enjoyed it ! Janiel , our tour guide , was professional, knowledgeable with a great sense of humor! 5 hours pass by quickly. We got to see a lot and learned a lot about places we got to see and culture in general! Be prepared to walk up the hill for the monkeys, but at the end it’s all worth it
Kenneth_A, Jun 2026
Teri, our guide, did a fantastic job walking us through the bamboo forest and local area around Arashiyama. She provided a lot of great detail. High energy and always smiling. One of our best your guides in Japan.
kerin_B, May 2026
The guided bamboo forest experience was well worth it and a wonderful day. Teri, our guide, was outstanding. Flexible, knowledgeable and helpful. While you can enter the forest on your own, having a guide really improved the experience.
Elizabeth_Y, May 2026
Excellent tour with Janelle. She was friendly and informative. Tour is very worthwhile as you get to see the various locations in an efficient manner,
Alexandra_R, May 2026
Our tour guide Janelle was amazing. She was almost as interesting as the tour itself. The tour was great and the weather was really nice. It was nice that we didn’t need to take a bus or a car. It was all walking. Getting to the monkeys was physically tiring but do-able. It was great to get out of downtown Kyoto and into more of nature. Very glad we did the tour.
Jessica_B, Apr 2026
Tour was great! Our guide Janiel was amazing, flexible, knowledgeable, and personable. Each stop was great. Fair warning: the hike up to the monkey peak was strenuous. Views at the top were great and feeding the monkeys was fun.
Stephanie_G, Apr 2026
We had such a lovely time! Terri was an amazing guide, thanks for a great day :)
If you’re thinking of doing a tour this is a great choice
Carlene_T, Apr 2026
Our guide, Janelle, helped make this the best tour of our entire trip. She shared lots of interesting information and worked HARD to make our day great. As we drew nearer to ticket booths along the way, she would run ahead to grab our tickets so they were ready for us when we arrived shortly behind her. English is her first language so she was easy to understand. Definitely do this experience and if you can, ask for Janelle :)
Andrea_G, Apr 2026
Marie was lovely and made the tour very enjoyable. She had a great sense of humour and was energetic and kept the tour interesting.
Lynn_S, Apr 2026
Teri was an amazing guide. She was personable, knowledgeable, humorous, and made the whole experience fun!
Kelly_C, Apr 2026
The sites were definitely worth the tour and there is a lot of walking. I know I wouldn't have had as much fun or been as informed if I had tried to visit the sites on my own. Janelle (sp?) was upbeat and knowledgeable-it was a lot of fun!
Peter_M, Apr 2026
Marie spoke good English and kept us together well in very crowded visits. She organised a good place for lunch
Pamela_O, Apr 2026
We had a wonderful time on this tour thanks to our guide Janiel. She was great about taking us to the best spots to see the bamboo, monkeys, and taught us a lot about Japanese culture and the sights along the way. Janiel was also the best photographer and we walked away with memorable photos from our tour. We highly recommend the experience!
Shelley_A, Apr 2026
This was a good experience once we reached the meeting place. We were told Kyoto was ~30 minutes away from Osaka. It took 4 trains & 1.5 hours to get there. The bamboo forest was worth the trip, along with a saki tasting, a walk around the oldest temple & gardens in Japan. It would have been nice to walk through the temple. We stopped for lunch at a sidestreet hole-in-the-wall for lunch which was tasty. To conclude the tour, we walked through & mostly up through the monkey forest. For anyone with any limitations, this is a tough climb to the top. It was really important to wear great walking footwear for this tour.
Our guide, Teri, was very knowledgeable, friendly & flexible. She had a great sense of humour & offered suggestions & help readily.
Deliris_L, Apr 2026
Our tour was an absolute highlight of our trip, and our guide Teri was beyond amazing! Every moment felt special and thoughtfully curated. Teri brought the entire experience to life with her deep knowledge, engaging storytelling, and warm, personable energy. She truly went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt included and had a memorable time. She also shared hidden gems and local insights we never would have discovered on our own. If you’re considering this tour, do yourself a favor and request Teri. You won’t regret it!
Stacy_H, Apr 2026
Marie was wonderful- knowledgeable and funny. It was a great itinerary and we enjoyed each part. Logistically smooth and easy!
Nicholas_M, Apr 2026
This was the perfect tour for us. We walked the back streets to avoid the crowds, we saw all of the popular spots, and we stopped for sake tasting, chocolate pecan tasting, and for lunch. Aaron was fantastic -- he gave us the history of each location we went to, but didn't bore us at all. He's also a great photographer. The whole tour was so easy going. I would highly recommend a tour with Aaron and anyone at Japanify Tours. We opted to book a private tour so that we could go at our own pace, but we saw some of the other groups with Japanify Tours and everyone in the shared group tours was also having a good time. You can't go wrong booking with this company!
(Context: we are two 30 year old friends from NYC and don't mind crowds at all, didn't want to be too exhausted, and this was one of only two tours we did in Japan over the course of nine days total. We like tours to break up some of our independent sightseeing/shopping/eating; we don't go on them to learn in-depth knowledge about where we are. We like high-level overviews and interesting stories.)
Robin_S, Apr 2026
Excellent tour and they would definitely recommend it to everybody! Our guide Oisin what’s fantastic and very knowledgeable!
Kristi_B, Apr 2026
This was the best tour we had in Japan. Teri was a great guide and very knowledgeable about the history of Japan. You definitely get your money’s worth.
Kristina_Z, Apr 2026
Perfect day, lots of beautiful sites. Oisin kept us on pace and made the day fun. Highly recommend!!
J_K, Apr 2026
Our guide, Oisin, was excellent - he was knowledgeable, engaging and funny. Every site was fun to see and learn about. The walk to the monkeys was kind of steep at the beginning but worth it. The bamboo grove was really pretty although busy when we went, due to it being cherry blossom season. We stopped for lunch at a casual place with a bunch of options - something for everyone. I would recommend this tour.
Stephanie_S, Mar 2026
We had an amazing time on this tour exploring all the beautiful parts of Arashiyama. Our tour guide, Teri, went above and beyond to make this experience one of the most memorable of our trip to Japan! I cannot recommend this tour enough to those visiting Kyoto!
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