arashiyama bamboo grove, kameyama park and katsura-gawa riverside

if you haven't read my last post, i suggested you read that one before this, as we were following a walking guide to explore arashiyama. it was started with tenryuji before moving on to the bamboo grove. when you heard about arashiyama, i bet you would automatically think about the bamboo grove and nothing else. but in fact, there were some other spots to visit and see when you were in arashiyama area. we've visited the tenryuji then we entered the bamboo grove in its second half. it is said to be less crowded, but when we exited the north gate, it was pretty crowded. you couldn't take decent picture without people photobombing you.

bamboo grove

see.. it's hard to take decent picture

the land of the bamboo grove was basically flat with some upslope and downslope, but no steps. it was sunny but the sunlight couldn't get through the thick bamboo. so it was pretty cool in the bamboo grove. but it was pretty dark even though it was almost 10 am. so i suggested you to use bugs repellent. if you wanted to explore the bamboo grove, you could do it so with kids and older people since you can adjust your speed walking, but if it was super crowded, it might not be pleasant for younger kids. you should be careful as people will walk with their phones or tablets or camera, taking video or picture, so made sure you walk mindfully. it was not that far to the from the tenryuji exit, and we would arrive at the T-junction.

if you go to the left, you can enter okochi sanso villa. actually, the walk was supposed to include okochi sanso since it was a nice villa with beautiful garden. it has opening hour, so made sure you arrived when it has already open. at the end of your trip you could enjoy some tea and sweets. but the ticket price was about 1000 yen for 1 adult, and my husband thought it wasn't worth it, so we skipped it. if you're looking at the guide, you could see the sign at the T-junction then you looked to your left and you could see the ticket booth from there.

okochi sanso sign

kameyama koen park

the cobblestone path
(look exactly like the one in the guide, right?)

but if you decided to skip the okochi sanso, you could walk to your left at the T-junction and then walked to kameyama park. the park was not that big, but it had a big flat field where your kids could run around and play. when we were there, it was raining before so it was a bit muddy. if it was very dry, then it might get dusty. there were some bench at the park, but not that many. the guide then suggested for you to take the cobblestone path uphill. it was quite inclined, but please endure the walk because it was totally worth it.

view at the top

you shouldn't do this.. don't sit at the border.. 

the cobblestone upward path was not that long, but the degree of inclination might be hard for little kids or older people with knee problem. but if you could walk, then you would be rewarded with the view at the top. at the top you could see the green mountain surrounding the river and then you could see the river stream at the bottom. it was a very breathtaking view. there was a bench at top, so you could sit and enjoy. we were lucky since the sky was clear when we reached the top so we could enjoy the scenery.

downward path to katsuragawa riverside

after then, you should take another walk downward. though the path was a stony steps, it was quite hard and rocky steps, so made sure you take your time walking down. if you had little kids, better try find another path. we had difficulty after reaching the bottom as there were no other sign to indicate which way to the river. at the bottom of the stairs, we couldn't see the restaurant's sign just yet. so when you reached the bottom, take the path on your right and walk further and then you could see the restaurant's sign on your right. from there, it was near the river and you could see the riverside from there. the restaurant was a tofu specialty and vegetarian restaurant, but somehow it was pretty popular. we read the sign that the restaurant was fully booked for lunch that day. so if you wanted to dine there, i bet you should make some reservation first.

then you could spend whatever time you want at the riverside. if you want to keep walking, you could go back to the main street of arashiyama and even walked across the famous togetsukyo bridge. you could see the sightseeing boats passing by. and even other boats. across the river was the monkey park iwatayama. but if you wanted to go there, some people suggested to start early. i think if you want to go to the park, you should do the bamboo grove the other day. but it was totally up to you. we didn't go to the monkey park as i've seen some video and i think my husband wouldn't like it. i think this route is better for sightseeing. anyway, we had no other plan initially, and it was about 11 am. i thought about getting lunch, but when husband found out that arashiyama was pretty close to kinkakuji, he decided to get a taxi and go to kinkakuji as this was the last day at kyoto. so better enjoy it to the max.

do you see the bridge?