Private Arashiyama Rickshaw Tour through the Bamboo Forest Kyoto

Togetsukyo Bridge: the start of your Arashiyama tour

Your rickshaw tour begins at Togetsukyo, the Moon Crossing Bridge, a nationally designated site of scenic beauty on Kyoto's western edge. A bridge has stood here since the 9th century; today's version from 1934 keeps the low wooden railings that give it its classic look. It spans the wide Katsura River with the forested slopes of Mount Arashi behind, pink with cherry blossom in spring and red with maples in autumn.

Your guide waits on the riverside pavement just west of the bridge's north end. Before you set off, they explain how rickshaws, or jinrikisha, became a symbol of old Kyoto and help you settle comfortably under a lap blanket. If you are wondering how to get to Arashiyama, the bridge is a short walk from Arashiyama stations on the Randen tram, Hankyu line and JR Saga-Arashiyama.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest by rickshaw

The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, also called the Sagano Bamboo Grove, is one of the most photographed places in Japan: a corridor of giant bamboo stalks rising high on both sides, filtering the light into soft green shades and creaking gently in the wind. Walking it at midday can mean shuffling through crowds, which is why the rickshaw is such a special way to see it.

Rickshaws use their own path through part of the grove, separated from the pedestrian walkway, so you glide past the crowds with space for clear photos. Your guide knows the best angles and stops where the bamboo is densest. On some options you also walk a section on foot to cover all three parts of the forest. Is the Arashiyama bamboo forest worth visiting? From a rickshaw in the morning, absolutely.

Nonomiya Shrine

Hidden inside the bamboo grove, Nonomiya Shrine is small but full of history. In ancient times it was where imperial princesses chosen to serve at Ise Shrine purified themselves for a year or more before their journey. Its entrance is marked by a kuroki torii, a gate made of unbarked oak logs, one of the oldest torii styles in Japan and rarely seen elsewhere.

Inside you find a soft moss garden and small shrines where visitors pray for good matches, happy marriages and safe childbirth. Your guide explains the rituals and points out the details that most visitors walking past miss. It is a calm, atmospheric stop and one of the favourite photo spots on every rickshaw route, whichever option you choose.

Sagano lanes and the Rakushisha cottage

Beyond the bamboo, Arashiyama turns into Sagano, a quieter district of farm fields, persimmon trees, old wooden houses and small temples. Rickshaws can take back lanes rarely seen by visitors on foot, and your guide shares stories of local life and of how the area became a retreat for Kyoto's aristocrats a thousand years ago.

Depending on your route you stop at Rakushisha, a rustic thatched-roof cottage that belonged to a 17th-century haiku poet. Its name means the Hut of Fallen Persimmons, after a storm that stripped the fruit from the trees one night. A straw raincoat and hat traditionally hang by the door. On the longest option you also ride along the preserved old pilgrim street of Saga-Toriimoto, lined with traditional townhouses.

Tenryu-ji Temple and Mount Arashi (longer options)

The 130-minute and 190-minute Tenryu-ji options add a visit on foot to Tenryu-ji, founded in 1339, the most important Zen temple in Arashiyama and part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO World Heritage Site. The entrance ticket is included on these options.

Its 14th-century pond garden is one of the oldest in Kyoto and a masterpiece of borrowed scenery, using the slopes of Mount Arashi as a living backdrop that changes with the seasons. The temple's north gate opens directly onto the bamboo grove, so these routes combine rickshaw and walking naturally. Tenryu-ji opening hours are generally from 08:30, which matches the morning start of these tours perfectly.