Things to do in Arashiyama

If you're taking the Sagano Romantic Train and then the Hozugawa River Boat Ride, it's best to allow an hour and a half between them. For example, if your train arrives at 11:00 AM, book the 12:30 PM boat ride. After getting off the train, there will be signs directing you through a tunnel to the bus stop. The bus will make a brief stop and then go directly to the Hozugawa River Boat Ride building. There's a small shop where you can buy snacks and drinks; definitely buy something to drink, as the boat shop won't appear for about an hour and a half after you board. The boatman on our trip was very entertaining, likely a veteran, and interacted well with the passengers. When we encountered rapids, he would playfully warn passengers about a little splashing. You won't get completely soaked, as there are tarps for cover. Throughout the journey, the boatman spoke a mix of Japanese and short English phrases, and also used gestures to point out the local wildlife. The boat ride is spectacular and highly recommended.

We boarded the bus in Kyoto, and our tour group consisted of members from various countries. Our guide, Xiao Shen, switched into four-language mode, introducing everything in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. His humorous and engaging style made everyone feel very comfortable. Xiao Shen handled all ticket purchases, coordination, and provided information about the train, Arashiyama route, and meeting points via Line. This allowed us to explore freely and simply meet at the designated time. The driver was excellent, providing a smooth ride that prevented motion sickness, and the seats were clean and comfortable. During the Hozugawa River boat ride, the weather was perfect. Four boatmen guided us downstream, introducing the environment and rock formations with simple animal vocabulary, accompanied by physical interactions and occasional tricks from the boatmen. With a gentle breeze and beautiful scenery, the trip was truly enjoyable.

Lee is a magnificent tour guide, he is energetic and humourous and taught me, a foreigner, everything about Japan. My favourite part was with the hungry deers and at the shrine, I was even able to dress in a traditonal kimono and go out to different fascinating places like on the romantic train with beautiful view of the ocean. With Lee as our tour guide boring shrine places instantly become better, he make our tour much more fun than I expected. Also what do you call a deer without eyes? A no eye deer.

Actually a great experience with a multilingual guide (Naomi). Timing and guidance was well paced and genuine. The boating activity was excellent and very accessible (and entertaining). There was no end of the day pressuring or "revew begging" from the guides to leave high ratings which really highlighted their professionalism. Thanks for an amazing day.

Huahua was a fantastic guide and made our day trip to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Nara Park and Fushimi Inari so enjoyable. He looked after all of us throughout the day, making sure we knew where to go, what to see, and the history and significance of each place. He kept us all together and on time while making everything feel relaxed and easy. It was a beautiful day, made even better by having such a wonderful guide. We would highly recommend Huahua!

we were able to find this shop fairly easily with an A-frame sign at the entrance. The area is a shared space with a few other craft workshops as well. There’s a restroom you can use once you are up the stairs. Elvie was our instructor. She gave very good instructions and demonstrations as well as helped with some finishing touches to our chopsticks. They have several types of wood you can upgrade to ranging from 4000 to 8000 yen. There are 3 types that we got to choose from that were already included with the price. I chose the Taiwan Cypress and my brother chose Hinoki. We opted for the optional laser engraving for an additional 1000 yen and it was well worth it! Such a great experience! a lovely souvenir to take back home. I will for sure be using them!

our guide TIGER explains everything reagarding our tour and especially he make for our group consideration on our late booking for Sagano romantik ride and adjzsted his time waiting for us, thank you!

nice tour. felt like we booked a private tour because we rode a van. steve explained every stop. thank you for this tour!

our tour guide CC was superb! I was the only english speaking participant in our group, the rest were Chinese and she never made me feel left out. she would give a history and some quick guides to the group first and then would check with me after separately! it was rainy on that day but still managed to go through the itinerary. we had enough time to go around each place and the pickup and drop off place is very convenient especially if you are staying at the dotonbori area. would recommend especially for solo travellers to save time getting lost and to know a bit of history to the places as well :)