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.

Yuki-jinja

4.4

shrine

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

Kibune River

4.5

nature

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

Kurama Onsen

4.3

onsen

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

Nearby in Kansai