Osaka: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Katsuo-ji Temple, Nara Park Tour
Osaka, Japan
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Check off three of Japan’s most popular sightseeing destinations in just one day, all thanks to this hassle-free, time-maximizing tour from Osaka. Following morning pickup in the city center, head to Katsuo-Ji Temple, known for its thousands of Daruma dolls. Next, admire towering bamboo at the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest near Kyoto. Finally, round out your trip with Nara Park, where you can meet the famous, free-roaming deer.
- This three-in-one day is great for first-time or time-pressed travelers
- Round-trip transfers from Osaka are included for your convenience
- Visit Nara, Katsuo-Ji Temple, and Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in one day
- Admission tickets are included to make sightseeing logistics simple
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Driver / guide tip
- Round-trip traffic
- Admission Fee - Nara Park
- Admission Fee - Katsuo-ji Temple
- Entrance fee - Toudai-ji
- Personal Consumption
- Meals & Beverages
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 2 Chome-2 Umeda, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0001, Japan
Hilton Plaza West Shopping Mall - Exit 4B 〒530-0001 大阪府大阪市北区梅田２丁目２ ウエスト
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.7:50 am
Itinerary
1
Katsuo-ji Temple
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Arashiyama
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Nara Park
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- A minimum of 8 people are required for this tour. If the minimum group size is not met, you will be notified by email 3 days before departure with a full refund. For specific departure date requirements, we recommend confirming group status with customer service in advance.
- Notice: Due to the rainy season and the characteristics of the mountain trails in the scenic area, Minoh Waterfall may be canceled if extreme weather poses a risk to visitor safety. We appreciate your understanding.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Our guide Nancy was amazing!
Good trip, we got loads of free time to explore by our selves
Really enjoyed it
The views are stunning
Reviews
3.9
based on 37 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
It's a full day of tour. Wish we had more time in each stop, but understand that in order to go to all the spots, it has to be done this way. Alex, our tour guide was awesome. Very attentive, helpful, friendly, and also humorous. Tour bus was big and roomy. If you do not like to hike steep roads, don't go to the waterfall, it was a 10 minute viewing allotment and it's ju alright in terms of bei spectacular. Overall I enjoyed the tour.
Was a great day out, the highlight is definitely Nara park and seeing all the amazing deer. Our tour guide Marco was fantastic, he was very informative and made everyone had a good time and was looked after
They basically just provided a transportation to several places. The “tour guide” did not describe the background of any of these places; she just told us where we are going and what time we should meet.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you for your feedback. We understand you felt the tour was primarily transportation.
We regret the guide didn't offer more background on the locations. We'll review our tour descriptions and guide training.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
The guide did not go with us. Nancy our tour guide just tell us a little bit about the place and sit in the car. I feel like we just pay for transit which is expensive. Not recommended
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your feedback, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. We have reviewed this issue and will strengthen staff training and improve our processes to prevent similar situations in the future.
We appreciate your input and look forward to the opportunity to provide you with a better experience next time.
Very nice day spent. Arashiyama bamboo forest, Yasaka jinja Shrine, Nara deers... Lovely experience. But we were blown away by the Todaji Buddha... A must for every Indian or any Buddhist. What an impressive place. So heavenly.
The trip hosts, the bus and the drivers were very helpful and understanding. If we come back here, will go to Todaji again
5 stars from us.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your review!
This is a great tour if you like to explore by yourself. You get dropped off at the sites advertised and are given between 1 - 2 hours to roam freely. It’s best to research the sites beforehand so you know exactly what to look for, otherwise you’ll waste time figuring out where to go or what to do. You could spend hours exploring at some of the sites, so having good time management is essential. If you’re looking for a guided tour, this is not the tour for you.
it s an average lef tour not too much information provided about the places visited. Can recommend only if general style is more to visit independently than with a guide.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Hello, may I ask which day of the itinerary you are participating in? We will convey it to the tour guide. Thank you.
Nancy and her friend were very helpful not only throughout the tour. They took time after the tour to help me get some medication because I was unwell. Thank you so much to Nancy and friend ( sorry.. I did not get your name) .
This is the best tour ive been so far. I like that you have freedom to roam and not follow a tour guide. They drop you off to the spots and give you time to roam around and come back after certain time. It was the best. Nancy was great. Thank you.
Kyoto is always a wonderful place, and this tour gave us the opportunity to explore different areas. Nara is beautiful, and the deer are very well respected and comfortable with tourists
The bamboo trees are incredible.
The excursion are very nice.
Nara it's especial and funy.
The bus is a litle small, but comfortable.
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you for your positive review.
It was a perfect way to see the sites around Osaka. We had ample time on each place to explore and even have a snack. Our guide gave us enough information about each place and even gave us some recommendations on where to eat.
This would have been a 5 Star review as the tour itself and the tour guide were amazing
HOWEVER
Be very careful when booking this tour as there appears to be a mandatory kimono experience if you pick the wrong option when booking… which is 5000 yen per person… I had no idea I had booked this option and was forced to pay 2000 per person cancellation not to do an experience that I had no idea I had booked in the first place!!!!
Very very misleading and almost did but didn’t spoil our day
Check and double check what you are booking!
Response from Host, Mar 2024
We are so sorry to hear this situation. We offer different option to the customers for meeting different needs, so we highly suggest customers to double check their chosen option before making payment. Thank you!
Firstly, the meeting spot was difficult to find. This tour was not a tour - just a shuttle bus service. The guide drops you off at the arrival point and tells you what time to meet back at the bus. Very disappointing as we expected a guide to tell us facts about the places visited and show us around when it was self guided. We would have been better off taking the trains and doing it ourselves. I do not recommend.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
We are sorry to hear that, we will follow this situation immediately. We always hope to offer the best service to our valued customers.
One of the best trips on our visit to Japan. Our tour guide Nancy was very knowledgeable and helpful, 5* for the whole trip, highly recommend.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you for joining our tour! Hope you enjoy your trip in Japan~ Looking forward to seeing you again!
Warning! Be very careful when booking this tour via Viator. There is no mention of an extra cost for a ‘kimono experience’, however according to the tour guide we had to pay 5000 yen each (in cash) for a pre booked kimono experience during the tour. When we said we knew nothing about it we were told the cost to cancel is 2000 yen. We booked for four people so we had to pay minimum 8000 yen in cash to the tour company on the day. This is clearly illegal but Viator told us it’s between us and the local tour company. They would not help us at all.
Response from Host, Jan 2024
It is a little bit pity to hear that. However, we have already notice our customers in advance or even written in the description! Maybe this make you feel confused, but sorry again! We hope you enjoy your trip in Japan! Thank you!
We loved our tour! Our guide Nancy was very kind and knowledgeable. We loved that there was a lot of freedom to do as you wanted, but still be part of a group and the ease of getting to each location. Thank you for a wonderful tour!!
Our guide Nancy was amazing!
Good trip, we got loads of free time to explore by our selves
Really enjoyed it
The views are stunning
There would have been no way to possibly visit and experience these many places without a tour like this one. Our guide was great and made the day more fun with her knowledge and spirit. Each location had plenty to offer and the schedule of the day was just right.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Gald to hear that you love our tour! Hope you enjoy you whole trip in Japan ~
We enjoyed it a lot ! Our guide Pohey was so kind explaining everything and switching English to Chinese language to accommodate everyone ! Highly recommended
The guide, Alice, provided great maps to show each tour stop details. No one got lost so the tours was well organized. Visiting times per stop were a reasonable duration.
Unfortunately we didn’t have the best tour/ day out. Our group was mixed languages so half our tour was in a different language. We found this was tricky as we didn’t get as much knowledge out of the tour that we may have had with one English tour guide. We also found that the ‘tour’ was more of a bus dropping us off at locations for independent exploring time rather than a guided tour. Our tour guide tried to take us around but didn’t have much knowledge and unfortunately we came away from the tour not learning anything about the history or culture. We loved being able to see different locations but found we were at the locations for too long and our time was spent waiting for our pick up times.
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Thank you for you opinion! We will keep trying our best to provide good service to our
customers!
Enjoyed the tour together with my son. Bus left a bit late but was still able to catch up with schedule. Tor guide spoke English and Chinese. She made sure to keep everyone comfortable. Highly recommended at best price!
Poey tried very hard to speak in 3 different languages in limited time allowed during the trip. Very attended to everyone.
It was a nice day and good experience. We had fun. The tour guide was nice, polite and able to speak 4 languages. We enjoy the day
Este tour está perfecto cuando no tienes tiempo y quieres abarcar varios lugares :). No lo recomiendo si quieres conocer en profundidad cada zona.
Je recommande cette excursion si votte temps au Japon est limité et que vous voulez voir un maximum de choses en peu de temps.
Member Pricing
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$65.55
per personWas $69.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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