A climb of 276m Mt. Matsuo-san in western Kyoto is an excellent way to enjoy some bamboo groves without crowds, views over the city, and a few hours of easy hiking. It’s a great add-on for a visit to Koke-dera (Moss Temple) or Arashiyama.
Bamboo grove near trailhead
Hike Data
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Distance: about 4km
Vertical gain: about 400m
Difficulty: easy
Start point: Koke-dera Temple bus stop
Finish point: Arashiyama Hankyu Station
Transport Information
Bus stop
This hike starts at Koke-dera Temple bus stop in western Kyoto, a few kilometers south of the heart of the Arashiyama tourist district. Kyoto Bus #63 runs to this stop from Shijo-Kawaramachi and Sanjo-Keihan Station (ie, downtown Kyoto). Kyoto Bus #73 runs from Kyoto Station. A taxi from Arashiyama will cost around Y900. You can also walk here from Kami-Katsura Station on the Hankyu Arashiyama Line, but it will take about half an hour. The hike ends at Hankyu Arashiyama Station, where you can catch a train to downtown, with a change at Katsura Station.
First: A Detour to Jizo-in Temple
Whether you take a bus, taxi or walk, you’ll find yourself at the Koke-dera Temple bus stop. Just before the stop, you’ll see a small sign in English pointing up the steps to Jizo-in Temple (next to a much larger sign in Japanese). Since Jizo-in is home to a beautiful bamboo grove and small moss garden, it’s well worth the 20-minute detour. So climb the steps.
Steps to Jizo-in
At the top of the steps, walk straight on for a few minutes to reach the entrance to Jizo-in Temple.
Jizo-in entrance
The entrance is beautifully framed by a lovely bamboo grove.
Jizo-in entrance 2
It costs ¥500 to enter the temple. The entrance path is lined with bamboo and you’ll quickly understood why this temple is commonly called “Bamboo Temple” (“Take-no-tera” in Japanese).
Bamboo grove at Jizo-in
The temple is a Rinzai Zen temple and it enshrines an image of Jizo Boddhisattva, the protector of children and travelers.
Moss garden at Jizo-in
Be sure to enter the hall to the right of the main hall, where you’ll be able to gaze over a small but attractive moss garden (an echo of the famous moss garden at nearby Koke-dera). After visiting Jizo-in, return the way you came to the bus stop.
Route Description
The hike described here starts at the Koko-dera bus stop. Starting here, walk west, slightly up hill, toward the mountains and away from the city.
Road to Koke-dera
If you need some refreshment before your hike, there are simple teahouses that sell tea, sweets and soba noodles. Note that they only take cash.
Restaurant near bus stop
You’ll soon pass the entrance to Koke-dera, which is formally known as Saiho-ji, or to most foreigners as Moss Temple. As you can guess, it’s famous for its superb moss garden. However, you cannot visit without applying in advance and you must sit and copy a sutra before entering the garden. Application details can be found here.
Entrance to Koke-dera
Continue past the entrance of Koke-dera and toward the mountains. You’ll soon come to a bridge over the river you’ve been following.
Bridge after Koke-dera
Note the sign on the bridge warning of bears in the forest near here. I’ve never seen bears this far south in the mountains around Kyoto. You’re more likely to see or hear wild boars (inoshishi) or monkeys (Japanese macaques). In fact, when I did this walk recently, I saw a monkey shortly after entering the forest. Note that bears and boars can be dangerous, so keep your eyes peeled and be ready for a careful retreat if necessary. Monkeys, particularly large males, can also be dangerous: don’t meet their eyes and slowly back away if confronted.
Bear sign at bridge
Once you cross the bridge, you’ll be surrounded on both sides by thick bamboo forest. If you’ve seen the crowds at the more famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, you’ll appreciate being able to enjoy this bamboo grove without having to fight hordes of people and rickshaws.
Bamboo grove past bridge
A minute or so after crossing the bridge, you’ll arrive at the trailhead, which will be on your right. Look for the small parking area and the signs.
Trailhead
Follow the trail uphill into the bamboo forest.
Bamboo forest
The trail is irregularly maintained, and you may encounter fallen bamboo across the trail, especially in early spring.
Fallen bamboo across trail
After picking your way uphill through the bamboo forest, you’ll eventually come to the end of the bamboo grove and enter a regular mixed forest. The route finding is a little tricky here. Indeed, I lost the main trail briefly.
End of bamboo forest
If you work up hill and toward the ridgetop, you’ll eventually get to the main trail. Yellow blazes, yellow stone trail markers and tape will all help you find the way.
Trail marker and tape
Shortly before the main trail, you’ll find a trail through ferns.
Trail through ferns
After joining the main trail, you’ll come across the first Kyoto Trail (Kyoto Isshu Trail) sign.
First Kyoto Trail sign
The Kyoto Trail runs across all of the mountains west, north and east of the city. You’ll follow this trail for the next 3 kilometers. You always want to be going in the direction of Mt Matsuo and Hankyu Arashiyama Station.
Kyoto Trail sign close up
For the next 2 kilometers or so, the route is an easy ridge walk, with some gradual ups and downs. Stick to the main trail and avoid the temptation to follow any trails that lead off to either side of the main trail.
Ridge walk
Shortly after joining the main trail, you’ll come to a bench with a decent view east over Kyoto.
Bench
Here’s the view from the bench.
View over Kyoto
A bit further along, you’ll come to a Kyoto Trail sign where a smaller game trail crossed the main trail. Stick to the main trail.
Kyoto Trail sign 43
There’s a short descent to a saddle about halfway along the ridge, followed by a short, steep climb on the other side.
Climb up from saddle
Not long after the saddle, the trail flattens out and leads through a grove of broadleaf trees, which I think are a species of beech tree.
Broadleaf trees along ridge
Not long after the beech grove, you’ll reach the wide junction below the summit cone of Matsuo-san. You’ll see some benches and a blue garbage can. This is a good spot for a rest before the final push (not that it’s much of a push).
Junction below Matsuo-san Peak
The Kyoto Trail sign at this junction is useful for understanding the route from this point. Essentially, you’ll make a short circular detour to the summit of Matsuo-san.
Kyoto Trail sign below Matsuo-san Peak
The trail to the summit of Matsuo-san starts just to the left of the Kyoto Trail sign.
Start of trail up to peak
It only takes a few minutes of gentle uphill hiking to reach the summit of Matsuo-san.
Summit of Matsuo-san
There are trees around the summit of 276m Matsuo-san, but there’s a bit of a view to the north and east.
Viewpoint below Matsuo-san summit
There’s a better viewpoint from the trail beyond (and below) the summit of Matsuo-san. From this viewpoint, you can see the summit of Mt Hiei-san at the north end of the Higashiyama mountains, which then continue north and become the Hira-san range.
View from viewpoint below summit
There’s another viewpoint a bit further on. This one affords a good view of Iwateyama Monkey Park.
Iwateyama Monkey Park from viewpoint
You can also see Togetsukyo Bridge from this viewpoint. This is the main bridge just south of the Arashiyama Sightseeing district. When I covered this route, I took a left from the summit loop in order to explore a possible route down to Iwateyama Monkey Park. It turns out that there is no clear trail down to the monkey park and they don’t want people entering the park from that direction as there are ropes blocking any attempt to descend this way. The track on the map at the end of this page shows this exploratory detour. Ignore this and stay on the main trail (the circular route to the summit and back to the main junction).
Togetsukyo Bridge from viewpoint
Another few minutes of walking brings you back to the main junction with the blue garbage can and benches. After a rest here, follow that trail to the east that starts from between the benches and the blue garbage can.
Start of trail down to Hankyu Arashiyama Station
After a few minutes descending this trail, you’ll get another, closer view of Iwateyama Monkey Park.
Another view of Iwateyama Monkey Park
A more minutes of downhill walking will bring you to a junction marked by another blue garbage can. Avoid the temptation to take the left here and continue straight downhill.
Trail junction and garbage can
The trail makes a few switchbacks as it continues to descend toward Arashiyama.
Trail down toward Arashiyama
Before long, the trail becomes a narrow dirt road.
Start of dirt road
Shortly after becoming a dirt road, the road enters another bamboo grove.
Road enters bamboo grove
Finally, the trail exits the bamboo grove and flattens out, passing a parking lot.
Last section of trail
After reaching the paved road at the end of the trail, I turned around and took a photo of the trailhead, in case you wanted to do this route in reverse, starting from Arashiyama.
Looking back at trailhead
At the end of the trail, take left and walk north to the main road.
Road toward main road
At the main road, turn right (east).
Right turn toward station
Walk slightly downhill and continue straight (east) toward Hankyu Arashiyama Station.
Straight toward station
A minute or so of walking will bring you to Hankyu Arashiyama Station. From here, you can take the Hankyu Arashiyama Line three stops to reach the main Hankyu Kyoto Line, where you can switch to trains that will take you to downtown Kyoto (Karuma and Kawaramachi stations). At Hankyu Karasuma Station you can switch to the Karasuma Subway Line, which will take you south to Kyoto Station. Alternatively, if you want to continue sightseeing, walk past Hankyu Arashiyama Station and follow the river upstream to reach Togetsukyo Bridge and cross it to reach the main Arashiyama sightseeing district.
Hankyu Arashiyama Station
Matsuo-san Hike Track
Ignore the detour to the northwest of the loop to the summit of Mt Matsuo.
More Hiking Information:
Kyoto Vacation Checklist
- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Kyoto guide
- Check Kyoto accommodation availability on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
- You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto, Kyoto to Osaka and Kyoto to Tokyo
- Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Kyoto
- See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
- You can buy an eSim to activate in Japan or buy a data-only SIM card online for collection when you arrive at Tokyo's Narita or Haneda Airports or Kansai International Airport. You can also rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
- Compare Japan flight prices and timings to find the best deals
- If you're making frequent train journeys during your visit, you might save money with Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
- A prepaid Welcome Suica card makes travelling around Kyoto easy – here's how
- World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world
- Do you want help planning your trip? Chris Rowthorn and his team of Japan experts at Japan Travel Consulting can help