We squeezed onto a train with hundreds of other people looking for the magnificent bamboo grove. When we found it it was underwhelming. 100m of nice grove. The rest is just the lead up. Good for a pic or two. The crowds are incredibly dense. Would not bother unless you have a few hours to kill and it’s nice weather. If you have any claustrophobia avoid the trains.

Try to go early if you want to take nice picture without the crowd. Do consider the rickshaw experience. I did the 45 mins route and the guide brought is round the neighbour and provided good introduction to the place. Worth the price.

We stayed one night in Arashiyama, and it was short walk from our hotel. It does not take long to complete the walk and was easy to incorporate into the schedule. In fact, we went twice. We walk through upon arrival around 2 pm and understandably, it was crowded. However, it was fairly easy to take people out of the pictures as most of the tourists were considerate and abundance of the bamboos helped. Also, we tried to take in and enjoy the scenery rather than focusing on the perfect pictures. Since jet-lugged, we went back early in the morning next day. With just handful of folks, it was definitely more relaxing.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove Sunlight filtering through the tall bamboo It's a little bit dark even sunny day. It's crowded, I recommend to ride in a rickshaw for special bamboo path! 背の高い竹がまっすぐ天に向かって伸びています。お天気でも薄暗く、木漏れ日が心地よいです。人が多かったけど、人力車専用竹林の道があるので、人力車お勧めです！

Stepping into the bamboo forest of Kyoto in the morning feels like entering a mystical realm straight out of a fairytale. The sheer height of the bamboo stalks, illuminated by the morning light, creates a mesmerizing atmosphere. If you’re journeying from Tokyo, the optimal route involves taking the metro from Shinjuku Station to Tokyo Station (4 stops), followed by a swift Shinkansen ride to Kyoto (2 hours and 8 minutes). Once in Kyoto, a quick 18-minute train ride to Saga-Arashiyama gets you closer to the forest. From there, the final kilometer can be traversed by a jinrikisha, a traditional Japanese rickshaw, offering a charming and picturesque journey to the bamboo forest. This experience evokes a sense of tranquility and wonder, making the morning the best time to visit this captivating attraction in Kyoto.

Famous bamboo forest of Arashiyama hardly had any visitors on the rainy morning of our visit. Perhaps a dozen of so visitors were there that morning. Otherwise we been told the place would be packed. The walking trail through the grove was closed due to heavy rain and mud that day. Most visitors probably can walk through the entire area in approximately one hour and it’s free. We’ve been to another bamboo forest in Japan so this wasn’t a big deal.

We visited very early one morning to avoid the crowds around 8am and it soon got busy... by 9am it was crowded. It was a bit underwhelming as the actual forest is not that large, and we were surprised at this as we expected a lot more.. Bit of a tourist trap with the streets adjacent to the forest full of junk gift shops and expensive cafes..

Extremely crowded if you go after 8am. You will keep bumping into people every step of the way. Forget about taking pictures with no one in the background. The place itself is amazing with tall bamboo trees, but the crowd ruins the place. People were shouting and making so much noise that it takes away the serenity of the area. Don't go unless you make it before 8am or after 5pm.

Get there early, we arrived before seven and it was already crowded. It is a short trail through a Bamboo garden with a small temple half way. We walked off the trail just to get away from the crowd. I much preferred Paying to enter the Tenryuji Temple Garden.

Pretty busy but it’s to be expected, the walk itself is pretty short. All the temples in the area require an entrance fee, not a problem however I didn’t have enough cash that day. There’s a mountain trail worth seeing. Probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see the bamboo forest but I might’ve had a different opinion if I saw the shrines.