Japan: is Arashiyama Bamboo Forest really worth it?

If you're planning a trip to Japan, you probably have seen lots of recommendations for the Bamboo Forest in Kyoto but... is it really worth it?

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When I saw all these pictures of the tall, green bamboo trees in the forest in Arashiyama, Japan, I imagined it long, vast, secluded away from the noise and people. I imagined it was far away of the city, next to the mountains, and that it was near the more traditional part of Japan. Although some of those things were in fact like that, the image I built in my head of the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (also known as the Bamboo Grove) was totally different of what I saw... but it was an experience I'll never forget.

We found a spot in the Groove that allowed us to pose with the trees without people. It became quite a hit after!

The experience

In Kyoto, we chose to stay in an Airbnb near the Gion neighborhood because it was closer to the temples and the most touristic zones in the former capital of Japan. But that meant we were literally in the opposite side of the Arashiyama hills. So we had quite a trip to get there.

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We took a bus of the Hankyu-Kyoto Line from the Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station to the Ōmiya Station, and then walked to the Shijō-Ōmiya Station where we took the Randen train line to Arashiyama Station. This train wasn't included in our JR Pass. From this station, the Bamboo Groove is only 9 minutes away by walk.

When we arrived there, the first thing that got my attention wasn't the bamboo trees (which were amazing, don't get me wrong). But there was sooooo much people, it was like an anthill. There wasn't almost places to rest and admire the view... it was more like a procession: you had to keep walking.

The people made it difficult to take good pictures.. we should've gone earlier!!

So that's what we did: we walked for some minutes, until we reached a railroad... and that was it: that was the end of the Forest! I must say I was a little disapointed: while planning the trip, I seriously dreamt with finally going to this place and also every video-vlog I watched showed it like it was inmense... I was a little sad to find out it wasn't like that.

But then we walked through it again, trying to admire the view, the colors, the few rays of sun that slipped through the branches, and when we found ourselves not surrounded by tons of people, we finally connected with the magic of the place. It was a really japanese kind of nature: pure, armonic and beautiful. It was in this moment that we got the best pictures and, even better, the best memories.

Price and hours?

The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest boasts no admission fee so it's FREE, what makes it a must to visit... and the reason why it's always crowded. The good thing is that it's open 24 hs, seven days a week so what I recommend is to go as early as possible to get the best experience, the best pictures and enjoy the sounds of the early morning in a forest (one of the most relaxing sounds in my opinion).

Although you can visit it at sunset or night, I don't recommend going that late because the bamboos are really tall and don't let much lightning get through.

Short shots are also ideal at the Bamboo Grove. But if you want to show more of the forest, the app Touch Retouch is simply the best thing that can happen to you!

How to get the perfect photos in the Bamboo Forest?

As I said before, the forest (but actually almost everywhere in Japan) is always full of people, specially tourists and everyone wants the best picture. That made looking for the perfect photo-composition a little difficult. But there's always some kind of magic we can do, and I found one before the trip that literally made my pictures the most incredible ones (*sorry not sorry, haha*).

Come on!!!! What is it?

It's an app called Touch Retouch and when I bought it for my iPhone it was like one or three dollars. I think on iPhone the price's still that one, but at the AppStore in my Mac I found it at $14.99. It's really easy to use and you can directly delete people or stuff you don't what to appear in the picture without anyone realizing it! And please, trust me. It's not an ad, but a review of this app that it's really worth pay for. Also, another app that helped me giving this pictures a very delicate aesthetic was Lightroom. I used a preset called Bright Natural Aesthetic from youtuber Nancy Hurtado (here's the link with all the deets of this preset). I loooove all her presets and she's so cool she shares them with everyone without asking for a penny! Go support her by subscribing to her channel.