Hello! I’m planning a trip for my partner and me for Japan during November. We’ll be in staying in Kyoto a number of days. I’m a huge temple/shrine and architecture person (and my partner enjoys them as well, so it’s not like he’s being dragged along haha), so I’m trying to hit up as many of these historical buildings as possible (which also means that there isn’t room in the itinerary to make it to the Arashiyama area twice). Another note is that we are pretty fast-paced travelers, and will be renting a bike that day, so distance between sights won’t be an issue.
That being said, I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock when it comes to planning the Arashiyama day (November 17, if it matters). The main issue is that essentially, I cannot fit either/both Saiho-ji and Katsura Imperial Villa and have time for the Sagano Romantic Train and Hozugawa River Cruise. Assuming we even are granted entrance upon application, Saihoji is either at 10 AM or 1 PM, with no control over which entrance time we’re granted. Katsura has a number of entrance times, but the application period starts earlier; we can either go at 3, which would avoid any overlap with Saihoji, or go at 9:20 and hope for a 1 PM Saihoji. (How bad would it be to apply to both times and then cancel one after we get the Saihoji response?)
Then, the itinerary has to fit the main other Arashiyama sites – the bamboo grove, the monkey park, and Tenryu-ji. My partner is vegetarian so I’d like to go to Shigetsu for lunch. Ideally, these would all be done in the morning, and the two other sites in the afternoon. But a 3 PM Katsura means we wouldn’t make the last Sagano train at 4, and definitely not the last Hozugawa boat at 3.
So, I’d just like to hear input on what you all would recommend – hit up these two sites or do the train/boat ride? Personally, I’m leaning more toward the two sites, as we’ll see plenty of fall foliage in some other mountainous sites we’ll be visiting later in the week, and I am a little concerned about reviews that the train ride is very loud and crowded, and in light of the tragic river cruise accident. But I know that my partner is pretty enthusiastic about the train and boat ride, and they’re very popular among tourists. Thank you in advance for any insight 🙂
3 comments
You’re trying to do three days worth of things in one day. Pick one.
I had a ton of fun with the romantic train and boat rides, but if you are into temples/shrines/gardens, I think you should choose the latter over the former.
As for the excitement of your partner, you could do a little boating near Togetsukyo-bridge/ the monkey park. It’s nowhere near exciting as the river cruise, but at least you could do paddling for a while and enjoy a beautiful/calm moment on the river.
As long as I remember, it was operational by 17, so that’ll go smoothly with your itinerary as well.
If you are lucky, you’ll get to see a sunsets through a valley of Hozugawa too!
I will try to visit Saihoji and Katsura this October myself but if the timeslots would fuck up my itinerary I probably would decide not to visit or skip at least one of them.
As an alternative in the Arashiyama area I can absolutely recommend visiting Jojakkoji temple and Gijoji temple (also has a mossy garden) if you haven‘t been to those. Both possible without applications beforehead.