Togetsukyo is the 155-metre bridge across the Katsura River — called the Oi River along this stretch — at the foot of Arashiyama, and it is the view most people picture when they picture Arashiyama: a low, level span with the wooded mountain rising directly behind it. The name means 'moon-crossing bridge' and comes from a remark attributed to Emperor Kameyama in the Kamakura period, watching the moon track along the span and saying it resembled the moon crossing over. The present bridge dates from 1934 and is not the wooden structure it appears to be from a distance: the foundations, piers and beams are steel-reinforced concrete, and only the railings are cypress, a deliberate choice to keep the historic silhouette. It is a working road bridge, so it is crossed by traffic as well as on foot, and it is at its busiest in the autumn-foliage weeks and during cherry blossom.

Best season

Spring · Autumn

Crowd level

Popular

Admission

Free — it is a public road bridge carrying a prefectural route, not a ticketed attraction.

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