PhotoArashiyama · Ukyo, Kyoto

Cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama

In short

A cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama runs for 30 minutes from around 7 am in late March to early April, on the Togetsukyo riverbank and in Nakanoshima Park; an extra hour ($150) continues to Kameyama Park above the gorge. It costs from $260 for 15 edited photos within 3 days. We confirm the date against the bloom forecast in March.

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

Why here

Why choose Cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama?

Arashiyama’s cherries are scattered among pines on the mountainside and massed along the river, so in blossom season the place reads as a landscape rather than a tunnel of flowers. The ground-level trees are in Nakanoshima Park, which is covered in picnic sheets by eleven. A spring session here is therefore a morning on the riverbank, and with an extra hour a walk up into Kameyama Park, where the trees are thicker and the crowd thinner.

How the shoot is planned

How a session in Arashiyama is planned

The route

The first frames are from the south bank, with the bridge and the pink-dotted slope behind you. Nakanoshima Park comes next while it is still empty, for portraits under the low branches by the water. With an extra hour, we then cross the bridge and follow the riverside path upstream to the steps into Kameyama Park, a hillside park with cherries on its slopes and a lookout over the Hozu gorge. That longer session ends at the top, a short walk from the far end of the bamboo grove if you want to continue on your own.

The timing

Arashiyama blooms with the rest of Kyoto, usually from the last week of March into the first days of April, sometimes a few days later on the shaded upper slopes. The forecast becomes reliable in early to mid-March, and we fix the date then. Picnics fill Nakanoshima Park by eleven on fine days, and the main street is slow from ten, so 7 am is the latest sensible start.

What’s included

What Cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama includes

In the package

15 edited photos
Spot chosen on the latest bloom forecast for your date
Early start, usually before 7:30 am
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

Cherry blossom photoshoot: ideas for your shoot

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

Photos: Red Shuheart, Anthony Tran, Daniel Bernard, Mika Baumeister, Roman Holoschchuk on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama

How much is a cherry blossom photoshoot in Arashiyama?

From $260 for 30 minutes and 15 edited photos within 3 days. Kameyama Park and Nakanoshima Park are free; kimono with dressing is $55 per person if you want it.

Arashiyama or Gion for cherry blossom?

Gion gives close-up blossom over a canal and lanes; Arashiyama gives river and mountain with blossom in it, and more room for groups. If you want both, Arashiyama in the morning and Gion’s evening light-up work on the same day.

Is the climb into Kameyama Park hard?

It is a few minutes of steps and a gentle path, fine in trainers and manageable in zori if taken slowly. The base half hour ends at Nakanoshima Park anyway, all on the flat.

Same shoot elsewhere