PhotoArashiyama · Ukyo, Kyoto

Autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama

In short

An autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama is best from mid-November to early December, starting around 7:30 am on the Katsura riverbank. It lasts 30 minutes and costs from $260 for 15 edited photos within 3 days. An extra hour ($150) carries on into Tenryu-ji when it opens at 8:30; the garden fee of about ¥500 is separate.

Starting from: $260
Duration: 30 min
Edited photos: 15

Why here

Why choose Autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama?

In autumn Arashiyama colours as a whole mountainside rather than a single tree, and the slope behind the Togetsukyo Bridge faces north-east — so it is lit in the morning and flat by afternoon. That fixes the order of an autumn session here: the river first, then, with an extra hour, the temple gardens as they open, before the late-November weekend crowds that make this one of the busiest places in Kyoto.

How the shoot is planned

How a session in Arashiyama is planned

The route

We start on the south bank downstream of the Togetsukyo, where the bridge, the weir and the red-and-green slope line up in one long frame, then cross into Nakanoshima Park for closer portraits under the maples by the water — that is the base thirty minutes. With an extra hour, at 8:30 we are at Tenryu-ji’s gate as it opens: the Sogenchi pond garden borrows the coloured hills behind it, and the paths to the north are lined with maples. That session ends at the north gate, where the bamboo grove begins — by then busy, but a useful contrast of green after so much red. With a further hour, Hogon-in next door is the most saturated red in the district.

The timing

Colour usually starts in mid-November and peaks from about the 20th into the first days of December. Weekends in the last ten days of November are the hardest days of the year here — trains from Kyoto Station run full by nine — so weekdays, or the first week of December, are a better bet. The slope behind the bridge is front-lit until late morning. Book the season by the summer; weekend mornings in peak week go first.

What’s included

What Autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama includes

In the package

15 edited photos
Spot chosen on the colour reports for your week
Start in the low-sun hours, morning or late afternoon
Private online gallery within 3 days

Fees and permits on the route

Tenryu-ji: Garden about ¥500, buildings extra; 8:30 am–5 pm. No tripods; pre-wedding shoots need permission
Hogon-in: Open only in spring and autumn special periods, about ¥700; evening illumination in autumn with a separate ticket
Okochi Sanso: About ¥1,000 including matcha and a sweet; 9 am–5 pm. Personal photography only

Book online

Inspiration

Autumn leaves photoshoot: ideas for your shoot

Frames by photographers on Unsplash, credited below — the mood to plan your own shoot against, not our portfolio.

Photos: Micah Bratt, Cole Keister, Jay, Diana Lisunova, Na visky on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama

How much is an autumn leaves photoshoot in Arashiyama?

From $260 for 30 minutes and 15 edited photos within 3 days. Adding Tenryu-ji needs an extra hour ($150), and its garden fee (about ¥500 each) is paid on the day; Hogon-in needs a further hour and its own ticket of about ¥700.

Is it worth going to Arashiyama on a late-November weekend?

Only very early. By ten the bridge and the main street are close to standstill. If a weekend is your only option, we start at 7 on the riverbank and are inside Tenryu-ji at opening, which keeps most frames clear.

Arashiyama or Tofuku-ji for autumn colour?

Arashiyama gives a wide river landscape and room to move; Tofuku-ji gives one intense valley of maples but bans photography on its famous bridge at peak. For portraits in a setting, Arashiyama is usually the better fit.

Same shoot elsewhere