Bamboo Forest & Canal Strolls : Arashiyama + Philosopher’s Path Guide

Bamboo Forest & Canal Strolls : Arashiyama + Philosopher’s Path Guide

[Music] [Music] [Music] Hi guys. Just um Getting into the
entrance of the Arishiyama Bamboo Forest.
Thankfully, the weather has cooled down
a little bit more. I know it’s um getting into the evening.
Heat. Heat. [Music]
[Music] [Music] This is just picturesque.
We’re getting through the train tracks. A bit surreal crossing the tracks
[Music] that leads into the bamboo forest.
[Music] can you believe
that to get into the into the bamboo forest
you got to across a rail line. Hi guys,
welcome. as we’re getting into the entrance of the bamboo forest
um you could hear the cricket chipping away. Uh this is um evening time dusk.
Uh it’s been quite hot in Kyoto today and probably after the um earlier
temple hops had to take a break to come in and soak up the atmosphere here. Uh so
come with me. [Music]
part of that spiritual journey going around
having that bit of tranquility um or mental reset. This is the bamboo
forest. It’s absolutely quiet.
Um You could hear the crickets chipping
away. The bamboos everywhere. It’s just surreal, I suppose, coming in in the
evening. But um let’s take a walk. I think it’s just one of those you walk
around, you soak up the atmosphere, you look at how tall these bamboos are,
and you could just imagine Check this out. This is the height on
average. I suppose this rough guess 40 m high.
[Music] It just feels like you’re in some sort
of an enclave. Taking a stroll in the bamboo forest in
the evening is a definite must because
you’ve got here more or less to yourself.
Um the multitude of tourists that come to this area would have uh gone by this
time of the evening. Uh typically this gets busy as early as uh 7:00 in the
morning. So preferably would be to come here first thing in the morning or in
the evening just like I’m doing at the moment.
Uh, the best friends I’ve got at the moment are the crickets chipping away.
I’m trying to maximize the light before it goes
finally, but this is just
tranquil and breathtaking. I wonder how many
people that have gone through here, walked through this
part. Not withstanding,
it’s one of those places that I think would
take your breath away whenever you come, however long, however often you do this.
[Music] The foliage it creates just protecting
one from the sun. [Music] [Music]
I hope you can hear the sounds of the crickets.
my new best friends in this neighborhood.
It’s just intense but also calming.
[Music] This is another one of the many shrines
you come across in Kyoto. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hi y’all. This is the famous
[Music] Tetsugaku-no-michi. The philosophers
part or the philosophers walk. [Music]
[Music] This is another famous part. Usually
during the April season, the spring season, you’ve got lots of cherry
blossom. I’m sure that you’ve seen this in a lot of pictures about Japan. This
is the one place you get a whole stack of cherry blossoms
during that time. And then during the autumn season
this uh the color of the leaves changes as well. So it gives a different
peculiar type of uh color. All right, let’s check it out.
[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Walk Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Nonomiya Jinja, cross the Randen rails, then drift the Philosopher’s Path past Hōnen-in, Otoyo Jinja, Eikan-dō, Nanzen-ji, and the Suirokaku aqueduct—Kyoto’s calm route, filmed in late July with practical heat tips and respectful etiquette.

We start under the bamboo canopy (how to film it, why the takegaki fences matter), pause at Nonomiya’s rustic kuroki torii, and hop the Randen streetcar crossing. Across town, we follow the willow-lined canal: detour to Hōnen-in’s moss gate, bow at Otoyo’s mouse guardians, and step into Eikan-dō and Nanzen-ji for shade and history (don’t miss Suirokaku and the Keage Incline). Along the way you’ll get first-timer etiquette, best light, hydration tips for summer, and a simple map-friendly flow you can copy.

You’ll see / learn:
• Arashiyama: Bamboo canopy shots, Nonomiya Jinja (Genji link), Randen rails
• Philosopher’s Path: canal story, Hōnen-in (sand mounds), Otoyo (health/study ema)
• Eikan-dō (Looking-Back Amida), Nanzen-ji Sanmon & Suirokaku arches, Keage Incline
• Etiquette: quiet lanes, stay on stones/paths, no drones, ask before filming inside
• Summer tips: early/late start, electrolytes, shade pacing, cash for cafés/vending

If it’s your first time in Kyoto and you want calm, filmable moments instead of crowds, this is your route—bamboo tunnels to canal stones.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:15 Arashiyama Arrival (Bamboo Canopy)
2:46 Randen Streetcar Crossing
3:02 Philosopher’s Path Start (Ginkaku-ji Area)
7:28 Ojizo-sama (Monk-like Guardians)
8:05 Bamboo canopy
9:48 Randen Streetcar Crossing
10:30 Nonomiya Shrine
11:50 Cooling Off by the Vending Machine
13:25 Morning at NOHGA
13:55 Tetsugaku-no-michi (Philosopher’s Path)
14:25 Canal Textures & Summer Pace
15:50 Kyoto Kokeshi House
18:14 Do’s & Don’ts
20:50 Heat Tips & Etiquette
20: 52 Wrap up

#Kyoto #Arashiyama #PhilosophersPath #Nanzenji #JapanTravel #KyotoGuide