is a district on the western outskirts of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It also refers to the mountain across the

Ōi River The is a river in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Geography The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. These mountains, with ...

, which forms a backdrop to the district. Arashiyama is a nationally designated

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

and

Place of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

Notable tourist sites

* Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (a.k.a. the Sagano Bamboo Forest) *The Iwatayama Monkey Park on the slopes of Arashiyama. Over 170 monkeys live at the park. While the monkeys are wild, they have become accustomed to humans. The park is on a small mountain not far from the Saga-Arashiyama rail station. Visitors can approach and photograph the monkeys. At the summit is a fenced enclosure where visitors can feed the monkeys. *The "Moon Crossing Bridge" (渡月橋, Togetsukyō), notable for its views of

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

s and autumn colors on the slopes of Arashiyama. *The tombstone of the Heike courtesan Kogo of Sagano. *

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Bud ...

, the main temple of one of the 15 branches of the

Rinzai The Rinzai school (, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng), named after Linji Yixuan (Romaji: Rinzai Gigen, died 866 CE) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of ...

school, one of the two main sects of

Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...

in Japan. *The hamlet of Kiyotaki, a small scenic village at the base of Mt. Atago, the home to a notable Shinto shrine. *

Matsunoo-taisha , formerly , is a Shinto shrine located at the far western end of Shijō Street, approximately 1.3 kilometers south of the Arashiyama district of Kyoto. It is home to a spring at the base of the mountain, Arashiyama, that is believed to be bless ...

, a shrine half a mile south of the area, is home to a blessed spring. It is one of the oldest shrines in the Kyoto area, founded in 700. The alleged restorative properties of the spring bring many local ''

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

'' and ''

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

'' companies for prayers that their product will be blessed. *Kameyama koen has a stone commemorating

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

's visit to Arashiyama. He was moved by the cherry blossoms and mountain greenery. The four poems he wrote about his visit are engraved on a stone monument: "Arashiyama in the Rain." *

Ōkōchi Sansō is the former home and garden of the Japanese ''jidaigeki'' (period film) actor Denjirō Ōkōchi in Arashiyama, Kyoto. The villa is open to the public for an admission fee and is known for its gardens and views of the Kyoto area. Several of the ...

, the Japanese-style home and gardens of the film actor

Denjirō Ōkōchi was a Japanese film actor best known for starring roles in jidaigeki directed by leading Japanese filmmakers. Early life and family Ōkōchi was born Masuo Ōbe on February 5, 1898, in Ōkōchi, Iwaya (present-day Ōkōchi, Buzen), Fukuoka Pr ...

. *Cherry trees bloom in spring and leaves turn red in autumn.

Transport

Arashiyama is a walkable area accessible by the

Keifuku Electric Railroad is a railroad company based in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (but with offices in Fukui Prefecture) in operation since March 2, 1942. It is a parent company of Keifuku Bus and Kyoto Bus, and an affiliated company of Keihan Electric Railway, which ...

(via Arashiyama Station (Keifuku)) from central Kyoto or by the

Hankyū Arashiyama Line The is a railway line in Kyoto, Japan, operated by private railway operator Hankyu Railway. It connects Katsura and Arashiyama on the west side of the city, linking the area along the line to the Hankyu Kyoto Main Line that extends east to cen ...

(via

Arashiyama Station (Hankyu) is a railway station in Kyoto, Japan. It is the terminal station of the Hankyu Arashiyama Line. The station is a short walk from Nakanoshima Park and Togetsukyo Bridge. In spring, sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of tre ...

) from

Katsura Station is a railway station located about 15 kilometers from the center of Kyoto, near the Katsura River. The station provides transportation on the Hankyu Kyoto Line for the residents of Katsura, as well as a hub connecting to the communities along th ...

, with connections from

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and

. Additionally, the JR Saga-Arashiyama Station is located in the district's suburbs.

Togetsukyō

Togetsukyō (渡月橋) is a bridge across the river. It is the subject of one of the '' Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces''

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

prints. The Japanese used mostly concrete in 1934 to rebuild the Togetsukyo Bridge, unlike the original destroyed wooden version of the bridge from 836. The river has three different names that denote its upper, middle, and lower stretches. It is called the in the upper course (not to be confused with the homophonously named , further to the east in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

), the in the middle course, and the in the lower course.

References

External links

*
Pictures of Kyoto, Arashiyama
(including Sagano, Katsura river, Takebayashi Street) (Arashiyama Park)
(Togetsukyō)
(JR Station)
(Randen Station)
(Hankyū Station) {{commons category, Arashiyama Geography of Kyoto Places of Scenic Beauty Historic Sites of Japan Tourist attractions in Kyoto