North Kyoto
North of Kyoto, Into the Hills
Up into the hills north of the city — a moss garden you walk onto, a thousand-year nunnery, a forest onsen, and the original shrine of the water god at the top of the valley.
4 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Arvined Winstud / CC BY-SA 3.0Kyoto north · Ōhara · From Kyoto Stn · ~60 min · Better early
Sanzen-in
A moss garden you walk onto, a thousand-year-old Amida hall standing in the middle of it, and stone children hidden at your feet.
What to look for
- Ōjō Gokuraku-in and the Amida triad — the small hall standing in the moss; inside, the National Treasure seated Amida with Kannon and Seishi kneeling forward, under a curved 'boat bottom' ceiling
- Yūseien moss garden — an unbroken sheet of moss running under cedar and maple — the garden you walk onto rather than look at
- The warabe jizo — small round-faced stone children set low in the moss, one lying on its side; easy to miss unless you are watching the ground
- Next stop · 1.3 km in a straight line
- 02
Suikotei / CC BY-SA 4.0Kyoto north · Ōhara · From Kyoto Stn · ~75 min · Better early
Jakkō-in
A thousand-year nunnery on Ōhara's quiet west side, off the main Kyoto route.
What to look for
- Farm lane and shiso fields — the approach from the bus stop through Ōhara's red-shiso growing country
- Stone stairway and gate — a flight of steps rising to a small maple-framed gate, striking when the leaves turn red in autumn
- Main hall (Hondo) — the rebuilt hall of the convent where Kenreimon-in lived in retirement
- Next stop · 4.1 km in a straight line
- 03
Yiannis Theologos Michellis / CC0Kyoto north · Kurama · From Kyoto Stn · ~50 min
Kurama Onsen
A real forest onsen 30 min from Kyoto, reachable by one scenic train — outdoor bath open to the mountains.
What to look for
- Kurama-dera temple — the mountain temple a short walk from the station, visited before the onsen
- Hilltop open-air bath — the rotenburo set apart from the main building, open to the surrounding forested mountains
- Indoor bath and sauna — the combined indoor-plus-outdoor plan that adds an indoor bath and sauna to the rotenburo
- Next stop · 1.5 km in a straight line
- 04
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert / CC BY 4.0North Kyoto · Kibune · From Demachiyanagi Stn · ~40 min · Better early
Kifune Shrine Okumiya
The water god's original shrine, a quiet 15-min walk past the crowds up the same valley.
What to look for
- The main shrine approach — the famous lantern-lined stone staircase at the foot of the valley
- The valley approach — a cedar-shaded walk up the river road, past the main shrine and the middle shrine
- Funagata-ishi (the boat stone) — a boat-shaped mound of stones tied to the legend of the goddess Tamayori-hime's yellow boat