Kurama: Where We Go When Kyoto Gets Too Crowded

Everyone talks about escaping to Kyoto.

But after returning to the city again and again, we have started asking a different question.

Where do you go when Kyoto itself gets too crowded?

For us, the answer is often Kurama.

Less than an hour north of the city.

A little mountain village reached by a small local train.

Forests replacing buildings.

Rivers replacing traffic.

And eventually, a place that feels much further from Kyoto than the map suggests.

The Little Train North

Getting to Kurama is part of why we enjoy going there.

You board the little Eizan train and slowly watch Kyoto disappear.

The buildings begin to thin out.

The tracks curve deeper into the hills.

The forests move closer.

Small stations appear between trees and neighbourhoods become villages.

There is no dramatic moment when the city ends.

It simply fades away.

Somewhere along the journey, you realise that you are no longer thinking about Kyoto's crowds.

You are watching the mountains instead.

And then, less than an hour after leaving the city, you arrive in Kurama.

It feels remarkably far away.

And Then There Is the Tengu

There is something rather unusual waiting outside Kurama Station.

A giant red-faced Tengu.

It is difficult to miss.

And once you begin walking around Kurama, it starts to feel strangely appropriate.

Japanese legends have long associated these mountains with Tengu — mysterious supernatural beings connected with remote forests and mountain landscapes.

Often described with both human and bird-like characteristics.

Powerful.

Unpredictable.

And not always friendly.

Kurama has become one of the places most closely associated with those stories.

Standing beneath thick forest with the mountains rising around the village, it is easy to understand how legends like these began.

The First Time, We Came for Kurama-dera

Like most visitors who make their way this far north, our first visit had a destination.

Kurama-dera.

The mountain temple sits above the village and is the reason many people come here.

We had already explored it on an earlier journey.

The forest.

The climb.

The temple grounds.

The views.

And it was worth coming for.

But returning changed our relationship with Kurama.

We no longer felt the need to arrive with a checklist.

We had already seen the place people told us we were supposed to see.

This time, we were not coming back for Kurama-dera.

We were coming back for Kurama.

A Village With Nowhere We Needed to Be

So we kept walking.

Through the little village.

Past homes tucked against the hillside.

Past small shrines.

Across bridges.

Along streets where some corners felt almost forgotten.

The river stayed beside us for much of the way.

There was no attraction we were rushing towards.

No timed entry.

No photograph we needed to take.

We simply wandered.

And that was the point.

Kyoto can demand a lot from a traveller.

There is always another temple.

Another garden.

Another famous street.

Another place that someone has told you cannot be missed.

Kurama asks almost nothing.

You can walk.

Listen to the river.

Stop when something looks interesting.

And continue when you feel like it.

There is a freedom in that which becomes increasingly valuable after several busy days in Kyoto.

Except for the Onsen

There was one destination.

The onsen.

After wandering through the village, we eventually made our way towards the hot springs at the end of the road.

A hot bath surrounded by mountains.

The river nearby.

Forest in every direction.

And nowhere we needed to rush afterwards.

By the time we came out, the village had changed again.

The afternoon was fading.

The streets were quieter.

The river seemed louder simply because everything around it had gone still.

We walked back without saying very much.

There was nothing left to accomplish.

The day had already given us what we came for.

Space.

Then Back to Kyoto

Eventually, we returned to the station.

Back past the Tengu.

Back onto the little train.

And slowly, the journey reversed itself.

The forests began to thin.

Homes returned.

The city appeared again.

And before long, we were back beside the Kamo River in Kyoto.

That contrast is part of what makes Kurama work so well.

You do not need to choose between Kyoto and the mountains.

You can have both in the same day.

A busy city in the morning.

A quiet village in the afternoon.

And Kyoto again by evening.

Leaving for a few hours somehow makes returning feel better.

 

Who Will Love Kurama?

Kurama is for travellers who enjoy the spaces between major sights.

Those who like small trains.

Mountain villages.

Forest walks.

Local legends.

And days that do not need to be filled from morning until night.

It also works beautifully for travellers who have already spent several days in Kyoto and want a complete change of atmosphere without moving hotels or travelling across the country.

You can leave Kyoto in the morning.

Spend the afternoon in the mountains.

And still be back in the city for dinner.

Who Might Not?

If you want every hour of your day centred around famous sights, Kurama may feel too quiet.

The village itself does not have a long list of attractions.

That is not why we return.

Kurama works best when you are comfortable having less to do.

When walking through the village can be the activity.

When sitting beside the river does not feel like wasted time.

And when a long afternoon that produces only a handful of photographs can still feel like a very good day.

Our Verdict

We love Kyoto.

It remains one of the places we return to more than almost anywhere else in Japan.

But loving Kyoto does not mean spending every hour inside its busiest neighbourhoods.

Sometimes what the city needs is contrast.

Kurama gives us that.

The train journey.

The mountains.

The Tengu.

The village.

The river.

The onsen.

And eventually, the journey back.

None of those things alone explain why we keep returning.

Together, they do.

Why It Matters to Beyond Tokyo

Kurama represents something we believe strongly about travelling through Japan.

Not every day needs another major attraction.

And not every day in Kyoto needs to be spent inside Kyoto's busiest streets.

Sometimes the best addition to a journey is contrast.

A little train.

A mountain village.

An afternoon without a checklist.

And enough time to simply enjoy being somewhere.

That is why Kurama has now found a place on our Kyoto Summers journey.

Not because Kyoto needs another sightseeing stop.

But because experiencing Kyoto well sometimes means knowing when to leave it for a while.

And when the mountains are less than an hour away, that feels like an easy decision.