Hi!
My husband and I will be traveling around Japan in June/July. One of the intended stops is a day trip from Osaka to Arashiyama (we are staying in Osaka vs. Kyoto for hotel reasons). We are going to forgo the bamboo forest – we’ve seen one before and with how busy it is, the rest of the area looks stunning too. We are used to walking 10-15 miles daily on our trips, so this is not an issue. **We may forgo renting and walk the area instead – based on crowds (post edited):
* Arrive at Arashiyama station – walk across to bridge Arashiyama monkey park
* Tenryu-ji
* Okochi Sanso Garden
* Gioji Temple
* Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street
* Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple
* Otagi Nenbutu-ji Temple
1. Looking at Google maps, it shows that we cannot walk from Adashino to Otagi – but the map shows we can drive. I dropped in on the map and it does look narrow, is it safe to walk direct (rather than the walking loop that Google maps is suggesting – which is 11km instead of the direct 600m…)?
2. Should we swap any of these stops out, add any others instead?
3. We will want to get something to eat while there – I see plenty of good looking stops, any suggested favorites?
4. If we were to do bikes, I am looking at Ranbura Rental Cycle – has anyone used them?
2 comments
the main strip of arashiyama is usually packed with tourists so I don’t think a bike would be useful and after the hike up to the monkey park your legs are going to be very sore I would recommend seeing if there is a bus available
I did the temples by bike, followed by lunch, then monkey park, but the reverse order shouldn’t be an issue. This was some years ago, so many the crowds weren’t as bad back then, but they weren’t an issue for biking. Monkey park is only a 20 minute “hike” – it’s not going to wear you out if you’re used to that many miles a day.