No Chinese, Low Yen? Let's Go To Amanohashidate!

[therock]

 

 

 

 

 

So you like Japan and the yen is at an all time low? Plus the fact that the winds of politics have blown away all the Chinese tourists ?

 

Timing could not be better for my trip and I didn’t even plan it for the above scenario.

 

But Kyoto is known to be packed with tourists at this time of the year with the autumn leaves beckoning.

 

Apart from squeezing with the tourists are there any other places to go and see those gorgeous leaves ?

I got a taste of autumn recently and I wanted to let my family enjoy some too, so here we go!

So I went with my lil un about two years ago and we did the usual places : bamboo forest, clear water temple, geisha district, tori gates and also the aquarium.

 

You can choose to brace the crowds or try out next places. So this time we planned

Bamboo forest but take the sagano romantic train

Kyoto train museum

Nara deer park

And the prize - Amanohishidate

We will try some nice food places and do a bit of shopping too

We got into a nice Denza for the ride to the airport, only 3 weeks old!

It takes a little more than six hours, so we have meals in the airport at Sukiya

 

 

 

As for Amanohashidate, I first heard this from a friend and decided to look into it in detail and found out it’s one of the top three scenic places in Japan

 

How to get there

 

I like to stay in Kyoto train station because it’s a hub.  Most places can be accessed from here including Amanohishidate where a Kintetsu limited express will get you here in about two hours or so.

Along the way you’ll see plenty of autumn colors and bamboo forests too. In fact the train passes through Arashiyama.

Let's get to the prize first, a simple train ride on a limited express train and you're in Amanohishidate. Walk a few steps and you're at the foot of the Viewland Amusement Park for the cable car ride to the top.

Amanohishidate is good enough to occupy your little one for more than a day and tire them out. And if you see the number of parents with little kids, you wouldn’t think Japan has a birth rate issue.

 

The view from the top is something else and this place deserves its spot as one of the top three sights in Japan.

This is how you are supposed to see the dragon in the water - by bending over

If you look around, you won't think Japan has a birth rate problem with so many kids..

 

And now for the vital question, how's the crowd?

Well, like I said, this is a little out of the way, two hours from Kyoto, so it's not busy at all, and the crowd is largely Japanese.

 

 

Edited December 2 by therock

[therock]

As for food, there are many options in the small town, but being a little out of the Kyoto, it's mainly Japanese fare and the menu has some English but the staff don't speak it.

 

Some quaint trains

[therock]

The scenery along the way is nice too

 

[therock]

Very nice sights

[therock]

I used the same hotel : miyako kintetsu kyoto station

Thanks for the recommendation!

Not too expensive, and decent size

Nice warmed toilet seats!

Buffet was 2200yen for breakfast

 

You get a nice view of the railways, as you're right next to it. You can hear the sounds of the trains, it's very muffled but if you're really bothered, don't stay in the train station itself..

Edited December 2 by therock

[therock]

There's a nightly light show at Kyoto station, and a ramen lane filled with the most wonderful choices of ramen!

 

[therock]

The Kyoto train museum is a place that will keep your child enthralled for days, and also have enough interesting facts for adults..

The live exhibits, explaining some of the mechanics behind the designs is amazing, even for me and I learnt a lot too

 

We were blessed with great weather, and bright blue skies

[therock]

Now for the 500 000 question...

Was it crowded and any Chinese tourists..

Let's just say Kyoto itself was a bit more crowded, especially last week, because it was a long weekend, but I didn't see more than a dozen Chinese tourists, although there were many Taiwanese. You can tell the difference, the accent and manner in which they speak is different. And trust me, I know, I studied there for a bit..

Lunch inside the museum wasn't anything special and do note, their food tends to be a bit more salty and oily, even for kids meals..

[Lala81]

On 12/2/2025 at 9:45 PM, therock said:

The Kyoto train museum is a place that will keep your child enthralled for days, and also have enough interesting facts for adults..

The live exhibits, explaining some of the mechanics behind the designs is amazing, even for me and I learnt a lot too

 

We were blessed with great weather, and bright blue skies

Was considering going. But didn't have time last visit. 

The explanations got English? That was my main concern. 

[therock]

We also went to the Kyoto Tower, but that was less impressive, maybe a nice thing for a kid, but it was built in the 60s or something and is not that tall, so YMMV

[therock]

On 12/2/2025 at 10:25 PM, Lala81 said:

Was considering going. But didn't have time last visit. 

The explanations got English? That was my main concern. 

The main signs do, but the individual exhibits don't.. but you can figure it out or use Google. Not too hard TBH.. 

Definitely nice if you have small kids. Not for teenagers etc

[therock]

Nara is a 30 minute train ride from Kyoto station via the Kintetsu line

your IC card will work even for a private train

theres an awesome stall at the Nara station with freshly made onigiri 👌 

 

[therock]

[therock]

Surprisingly hard to find Coke Zero 

there’s a good food lane next Nara station with many food choices 

[Wt_know]

will Hokkaido be no crowd .... tourist attraction is not congested ... human traffic is smooth like butter?

buying air tix now!!!

Edited December 3 by Wt_know

[kobayashiGT]

Woah. i see the photo i got temptation to buy tix to JPN now! 

[Wt_know]

last year , same time, kyoto ... red leaves many but only see people mountain people sea .... 

now ho say liao !

 

[inlinesix]

XDD, Wan Sui!!