A long overdue post, but I’ll have this up for those who are looking to go for a day trip to Kyoto 🙂
In 2016, during our short trip to Osaka, we managed to squeeze out a day to head over to Kyoto!
The train ride to Kyoto Station from Osaka Station takes about 30-40mins, and does not require any special passes (unless you have a JR Pass then yes, please utilize that!)
So since we were only there for a day, we decided that our priority was to see the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest~ Of course, this isn’t the only possibility of a day trip itinerary, but this was ours 🙂
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove / Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
The bamboo forest is near Saga-Arashiyama station (there’s also another station which I will mention later). The train ride from Kyoto station to Saga-Arashiyama station takes about 15 to 20mins and the bamboo forest can be found about a 10-15mins walk away from the station!
Yellow = The stretch where the bamboo groove lies
So as per the above map, to get to the bamboo forest:
Exit from the South Gate and turn right once you’re on the ground level. You’ll see the building for Torokko Saga station on your right:
Head straight a little and then turn right again to go around the building. Walk straight all the way along the path, and past a bicycle rental shop (it’ll be on the right):
Keep going straight… and you’ll pass by all these houses and cross under a bridge:
Eventually you’ll hit a main road with lots of shops/shophouses lined up along it. Cross the road, towards this area on your left where the bus stop and snack shop is (and where everyone is walking to lol):
And just head right in! There’ll be a handful of shops selling snacks or souvenirs along the way in and then you’ll be greeted with the bamboo forest!
Another way to get to the bamboo forest:
For a shorter walking route, you can take the Sagano Romantic Train (aka Sagano Scenic Railway) to from Torokko Saga to Torokko Arashiyama Station. It’s about a 4mins walk from there! However do note the ticket conditions for the Sagano Romantic Train/Scenic Railway:
So going by the Sagano Romantic Train/Scenic Railway will probably be more worth it if you’re on the way back from Torokko Kameoka Station towards Saga-Arashiyama/Torokko Arashiyama Station.
Here’s a few pictures of maps that were displayed around the area: Useful in showing what there is in the vicinity! 😀 I hope it’ll help your planning and navigation!
Kimono experience
So I also tried on a kimono in Kyoto! (I didn’t walk Arashiyama around in it, but yes, it’s possible to do so!) There are lots of kimono rental shops available, so you can search online for recommendations and price comparisons. For the one I went to, it’s a shop in Arashiyama called Akahime, conveniently located along the main road from the entrance of the bamboo grove, towards Arashiyama station. There are lots of shops and restaurants along this area, so it’s worth a stroll!
So as with most kimono rental shops, there are lots of kimono choices/designs available! It seems like there’s no need to worry about whether the kimono will suit your height (especially for someone like me at 154cm) as they have their ways of hiding the excess fabric length. You can get your hair done for free as well & there’s an abundance of choices for the hair ornaments and bags too!
Had some studio shots done, and also asked the photographer to help me take a few shots using my own camera, which they happily obliged to! It was just a pity that my kimono was pink, but so was the background (not sure why didn’t they change it though there were a few other backgrounds available).
This cost me 2160 yen and the whole process took about 45~60 mins. The package I took came with 2 studio photo printouts 🙂 If you’re interested, do check out their website for the latest pricing (I mean, I tried this in 2016) over here: https://en.akahime.com/
Of course, other than just the Saga-Arashiyama area, you could plan your day trip to be to another part of Kyoto instead! For example:
Sagano Romantic Train/Scenic Railway
<Went in 2018! Blog post found here: https://spreadyourwingsandflyy.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/sagano-romantic-train/ >
Fushimi Inari Shrine
<Went in 2018! Blog post coming soon ;)>
Kichi Kichi Omurice!!!
<Went in 2018! Blog post found here: https://spreadyourwingsandflyy.wordpress.com/2019/05/09/kichi-kichi-omurice/>
Kinkakuji
Kiyomizu Dera
* All information are accurate as of 2016.
spreadyourwingsandflyy 
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