Sagano Bamboo ForestArashiyama Rickshaw Tour & Bamboo Forest
The Arashiyama rickshaw tour is the one product on this site that buys access rather than convenience: Ebisuya's pullers are the only people allowed to take you down the fenced rickshaw-only lane through the Sagano Bamboo Forest, the stretch where the famous both-sides-bamboo photographs come from. From $50.49 per person, 45 minutes to just over three hours, rated 5.0 across 524 reviews.
About This Rickshaw Tour
Four options: 45 minutes, 1 h 10 m, 2 h 10 m, or 3 h 10 m
From $50.49 per adult for the 45-minute run
5.0 from 524 reviews on GetYourGuide
Private — a rickshaw seats a maximum of 2 adults
The only tour permitted on the rickshaw-only bamboo lane
Pullers double as photographers at the best angles
Listing at a Glance
The same fields on every tour page here, read from the operator's listing in August 2026. Prices and availability are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
- Tour name Kyoto: Arashiyama Customized Rickshaw Tour & Bamboo Forest
- Operator Ebisuya Rickshaw
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 101705
- Starting price $50.49 USD per adult
- Price last checked August 2026
- Rating 5.0 out of 5
- Review count 524 reviews
- Review source GetYourGuide verified bookings
- Duration 45 to 190 minutes, four options
- Time in the bamboo grove Route passes through on the exclusive rickshaw lane
- Meeting point Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama
- Expected return Back at Togetsukyo Bridge after your chosen duration
- Transport Rickshaw, pulled by your guide
- Group size Private; max 2 adults per rickshaw
- Guide language English, Japanese
- Temple entries Not applicable — outdoor route
- Lunch Not included
- Drinks Not included
- Hotel pickup Not included — meet at the bridge
- Cancellation deadline 24 hours before the start time
- Reserve now, pay later Available
- Minimum age Adult pricing from age 6; up to 2 under-5s ride on adults' laps
- Physical difficulty Easy — you are pulled
- Wheelchair accessibility Wheelchair- and stroller-friendly
- Not suitable for Pregnant women; people with back problems
- Not allowed Selfie sticks
- What to bring Nothing required; blankets provided in cold months
- Ethical notes Human-pulled; pullers are professional Ebisuya staff, tipping optional
- Weather limitations Runs in most weather
- Alternative tour The district on foot instead: see /private-tour/
Check Dates and Availability
Live prices and start times from GetYourGuide. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, and reserve now pay later.
Quick answer
The Ebisuya rickshaw tour costs from $50.49 per person for 45 minutes and is the only way into the rickshaw-only lane of the Sagano Bamboo Forest — the fenced stretch where bamboo closes in from both sides. Longer options up to 3 hours 10 minutes add Rakushisha and Nison-in. Rated 5.0 from 524 reviews.
Key takeaways
- The rickshaw lane is closed to pedestrians, so this access cannot be replicated on foot. Compare all six tours
- Four durations from 45 to 190 minutes; the 45-minute run covers the grove and Nonomiya Shrine
- Two adults maximum per rickshaw — larger groups split across several rickshaws, each paying per person
- Wheelchair- and stroller-friendly, one of the few tours here that is
- Booked at the bridge without reserving, the same rides run roughly ¥7,500 to ¥9,000 per person
What the Rickshaw Actually Buys
The lane walkers cannot enter
The public path through the Sagano Bamboo Forest runs behind low fences with lamp posts and a steady stream of pedestrians in every frame. The lane in the postcards, where the stalks arch over an empty track, is physically separate and signposted for rickshaws only. Ebisuya holds that access, and this listing is Ebisuya's product on GetYourGuide.
On the seat you sit higher than head height of the walkers, the puller times the pauses for the gaps between other rickshaws, and the photographs come out looking like the grove you imagined rather than the one the crowd sees. Reviewers mention the photography constantly; the pullers know the angles because they run them every day.
Four durations, one decision
The 45-minute run at $50.49 is the core product: Togetsukyo Bridge, the riverside, the rickshaw lane through the bamboo, Nonomiya Shrine, back. It answers the question most visitors are actually asking, which is how to see the grove properly in under an hour.
The 1 h 10 m option slows the same circuit down. The 2 h 10 m and 3 h 10 m runs leave the bamboo behind and pull you into back-lane Sagano: Rakushisha, the thatched cottage of the haiku poet Mukai Kyorai, and Nison-in's maple approach, on streets where the only other traffic is locals on bicycles. Book the long runs for the district, not for more bamboo — the grove section is the same length in all four.
The arithmetic against walking
A couple on the 45-minute run pays about $101. The same 45 minutes on foot costs nothing and covers similar ground minus the closed lane. What the hundred dollars buys is the lane itself, a photographer, a English-speaking guide who actually lives here, and the seat.
Whether that trade makes sense depends on how much of your Kyoto trip lives in the pictures; the 524 five-star reviews suggest most people who make it do not regret it. If the budget answer is what you want, walk the free path before 8:00 instead and spend nothing.
The 45-Minute Run, Stop by Stop
The shortest option, which most riders book. Longer runs extend the same shape deeper into Sagano.
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0:00
Togetsukyo Bridge
Meet your puller at the bridge, a two-minute walk from the Randen terminal. A short briefing, blankets in the cold months, and you are up.
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0:05
Riverside and the main street
Along the Katsura riverbank and up the spine of Arashiyama while the puller talks history — in English or Japanese, your choice at booking.
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0:15
The rickshaw-only lane
Into the bamboo on the closed track. The puller stops at the two or three best angles, takes your phone, and shoots.
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0:30
Nonomiya Shrine
A pause at the black-lacquered torii of the shrine from the Tale of Genji, then back through the lanes.
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0:45
Return to the bridge
Drop-off where you started. The longer options continue from here into back-street Sagano instead of turning back.
Where the Tour Runs
Start and finish at Togetsukyo Bridge. The bamboo lane sits ten minutes north, past Tenryu-ji; the long options loop further north and west through residential Sagano.
Who This Tour Suits
Book it if
You want the closed-lane photographs, you have someone in the party who cannot or should not walk far, or you want the grove made sense of by someone who works in it daily.
- The both-sides bamboo shot is on your list — no other product can deliver it
- Stroller or wheelchair in the party: this is the accessible option
- 45 minutes is all the time Arashiyama gets in your itinerary
- You want a private guide without a private-tour price
Book something else if
You want hours in the district rather than minutes, or the budget matters more than the lane.
- Half a day and several sights for less: the 3-hour walking tour at $48.57
- Your own route and pace for four hours: the private walking tour at $126.23
- A pregnancy or back problems — the operator itself advises against riding
- You are four or more and the per-person arithmetic across two rickshaws stings
Practical notes from the listing
Not suitable for: Pregnant women; people with back problems. What to bring: nothing required — blankets are provided in the cold months. Not allowed: Selfie sticks.
These lines are read from the operator's own listing, last checked August 2026 — the listing text at checkout is the binding version.
Arashiyama Rickshaw Tour Questions
How much does the Arashiyama rickshaw tour cost?
From $50.49 per person for 45 minutes when booked ahead on GetYourGuide, rising with duration to just over three hours. Walk-up rides at Togetsukyo Bridge run roughly ¥7,500 to ¥9,000 per person for 30 to 45 minutes, so the pre-booked price is comparable and guarantees an English-speaking puller.
Does the rickshaw really go where walkers cannot?
Yes. The fenced lane through the Sagano Bamboo Forest is signed rickshaw-only and Ebisuya's crews are the ones running it. Every walking tour, bus tour and private guide photographs the grove from the public path; this is the single product on this site that enters the closed lane.
How many people fit in one rickshaw?
Two adults, plus up to two children aged five and under on laps. A rickshaw is 74 cm wide, so two broad-shouldered adults may prefer one each. Children occupying a seat pay the adult fare, and adult pricing starts at age six.
Which duration should you book?
The 45-minute run if the bamboo and the photographs are the point — the grove section is identical in all four options. The 2-to-3-hour runs are for the rest of Sagano: Rakushisha, Nison-in and residential lanes most visitors never reach. Compare it against the other five tours if you want temples bundled in. If you are still weighing rickshaw against walking at all, the worth-it breakdown prices both sides.
Can you cancel or rebook?
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, and reserve-now-pay-later is available, so a rainy forecast costs you nothing to dodge. The ride itself runs in most weather with blankets provided in the cold months.
What Riders Said
Koki was a fabulous guide, great communicator, friendly, chatty, informative, and fun — and a brilliant photographer! The rickshaw was comfortable, and the blankets kept us snug and warm.
The tour was fantastic! They took us to some hidden places that weren't packed with people. Our guide was also a fantastic photographer!
Kenzi was an amazing guide. Would put it on anyone's bucket list.
Verified GetYourGuide reviews for this tour.
Page last reviewed August 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on August 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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