Kurama

The Kurama-Kibune valley climbs into the cedars north of Kyoto, half an hour from Demachiyanagi on the Eizan Railway. Kurama-dera was founded in 770 and enshrines the Sonten trinity — Bishamonten, Senju Kannon, and Mao-son. A 30-minute mountain trail crosses the ridge from Kurama-dera to Kifune Shrine, the head shrine of Japan's roughly 450 Kifune shrines, dedicated to the rain-and-water deity Takaokami-no-Kami. From June through September, Kibune's restaurants build kawadoko platforms directly over the river, dining tables suspended above the running water — the original Kyoto summer escape, with the river replacing air conditioning. Yuki-jinja, moved to Kurama in 940 to guard the northern approach to the capital, hosts the Kurama Fire Festival every October 22. The valley reads as one extended overnight: most of the kawadoko ryokan offer dinner-on-the-river plus tatami rooms.

Top-rated in Kurama

Kibune Shrine

4.5

shrine

Water deity shrine with a red-lantern stairway and summer riverside dining platforms over the stream.

Kurama-dera Temple

4.6

temple

Mountain temple where tengu spirits trained young warriors, reached by a root-tangled forest trail.

Kibune River

4.6

nature

Mountain shrine village with summer river-platform dining 10 degrees cooler than central Kyoto.

Yuki-jinja

4.4

shrine

Shrine moved to Kurama 940 to protect from evil, ancient cedars dotting grounds, northern mountain oasis.

Kurama Onsen

4.3

onsen

Rustic mountain hot spring located at the northern edge of Kyoto City.

Nearby in Kansai