Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove sits on the western edge of Kyoto, where a footpath winds through a dense stand of bamboo stalks that rise several stories overhead. Sunlight filters down through the leaves in shifting patterns, and the wind moving through the stalks produces a distinctive, hollow rustle — a sound distinctive enough that Japan's Ministry of the Environment named it one of the country's "100 Soundscapes."

The grove is part of the larger Arashiyama district, a longtime retreat for Kyoto's aristocracy and, later, its literary and artistic figures. Just beside the bamboo path sits Tenryu-ji, a Zen temple founded in the 14th century and recognized, along with the rest of Kyoto's historic monuments, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — its garden, designed to be viewed from a seated position inside the temple, is considered one of the finest surviving examples of Japanese garden design.

Arashiyama is also known for the Togetsukyo Bridge over the Katsura River, hillsides that turn deep red with maple leaves in autumn, and a small monkey park with views over the city. The bamboo grove itself is free to walk through at any time, though it draws its largest crowds in the early morning before tour groups arrive.