Jan 5, 2014 - 1 min read

Kurama: a half-day trip from Kyoto

A walk in the woods on the hills behind the temple

By Peter Sidell

Community writer

The train from Demachiyanagi to Kurama is quite distinctive

This is the kind of view you get on the walk up

The welcome at Kurama station

The steps up to Kurama temple

First, lunch: a hearty bowl of oyakodon, chicken and egg on rice

The Buddhist Goddess of Mercy welcomes you to Kurama temple

It's a good way up these steps from the entrance to the main temple buildings

The colors in fall are exquisite

One of the temple buildings

The view across the hills from the temple

One of the temple's guardian lions

The temple buildings live in harmony with their natural surroundings

The forest behind the temple is denser and in places the floor is covered with exposed roots

There are some isolated buildings dotted among the trees

Occasionally you'll find a small shrine in a clearing

About half an hour north of Kyoto on the train, Kurama is a great place to get out of the city for a half day. Walk past the huge goblin's head at Kurama station and you come to a handful of shops and cafes, then the entrance to the temple, from which it's an undemanding walk up to the main buildings.

On the way up and from the top, you'll be afforded a beautiful view of the hills nearby, even better in fall when the leaves are turning. Then if you want, you can walk into the atmospheric forest behind the temple, where you'll find floors of exposed roots and solitary shrines, moody and austere.

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Peter Sidell

By Peter Sidell

Community writer

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