7 Stopover Cafes on the Randen Main Line
What is "Arashiden"?
The Randen, a retro tram running through the streets of Kyoto, opened between Shijo-Omiya and Arashiyama Stations in 1910, and will be 110 years old in 2020. It is the only streetcar still in existence in Kyoto. Currently, two lines are in operation: the Arashiyama Line connecting Shijo-Omiya and Arashiyama Stations, and the Kitano Line extending from Katabiratsuji Station to Kitano Hakubai-cho Station, and running at a leisurely speed of about 40 km/h over a distance of 13 stations (7.2 km). The line is dotted with famous old temples and historic sites, and has long been a favorite means of transportation not only for tourists from Japan and abroad but also for local residents. The fare is a flat 220 yen for the entire line, and a one-day pass allows unlimited rides for 500 yen.
The Arashiyama Main Line is convenient as a stopover for Arashiyama, a very popular tourist destination, and the Kitano Line is lined with famous temples that are listed as World Heritage sites at each station. There are many famous cafes along the line that tourists often stop by, as well as cafes that locals frequent in their daily lives. Among them, we will introduce seven cafes that you may want to stop by on the Arashiyama Line.
<7 cafes to stop by on the Randen Main Line
＜A private waterside residence located in Okuarashiyama.
<7 cafes to stop by on the Randen Main Line
1Laomatsu Arashiyama Store Tea house "Gen-i-an" Arashiyama Station
Tea ceremony sweets made from traditional Japanese ingredients
The tea house of "Yushogashi Goshoshusho Laomatsu," which researches the roots of Japanese confectionery and reflects everything from raw materials and production methods to the ancient calendar and seasonal festivals in its confectionery creations. Visitors can experience the sweetness of traditional Japanese ingredients. The blackish color is proof that the confections are made by kneading real warabi flour, and the texture and flavor are both fresh and surprising. Since it is made to order, the inside is slightly warm and you can enjoy the freshly made flavor. First, taste it without anything on it, then add molasses and soybean flour to taste.
Chairs while admiring the plants in the tea garden
The former teahouse attached to the back of the store was converted into a modern teahouse with chair seating by laying heat-resistant brick flooring. Old Pine" has a solid history even in Kyoto, where long-established confectioners compete with each other. The Arashiyama branch's teahouse offers the luxury of being able to taste their carefully selected seasonal fresh confections. The tea and fresh confectionery set includes seasonal fresh confectionery and your choice of matcha, gyokuro, sencha, or hojicha tea, with detailed instructions on how to brew and savor each tea. Experience making Japanese sweets by making a reservation in advance.
- Gen-ian Tea House, Old Pine Arashiyama Store
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20 Sagano-banba-cho, Tenryuji, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto MAP
5 min. walk from Randen Arashiyama Stn.
9:30-16:30 (L.O. 16:00)
Closed on weekends and holidays
075-881-9033
None
2eX cafe, Kyoto Arashiyama Main Store Arashiyama Station
Renovated alleyway café in a historic old mansion
A one-minute walk from Arashiyama Station in the direction of Watarazukibashi Bridge leads to a popular café in a renovated mansion tucked away in a back alley. The "Kyo Kuro Roll Kuromaru (Kyo Kuro Roll Kuromaru with Harimaen Matcha)," which has a cream made with matcha from Harimaen Tea, one of the few organic tea leaves grown in Uji, and the "Tenryuji Parfait" with organic green tea ice cream, green tea strawbutter and white rice balls, etc. are just some of the sweets that are made with carefully selected Japanese ingredients.
Enjoy a luxurious moment with a view of the seasonal Japanese garden
As you relax on the antique Scandinavian furniture in the modern Japanese-style restaurant, you can enjoy the seasonal scenery of Arashiyama in the elegant 400 m2 Japanese garden in front of you. The dynamic fusuma sliding door paintings of lions, created by a renowned Kyoto-based muralist, are a dazzling sight to behold, and the tatami room is an artistic space where you can take off your shoes and relax. In this luxurious and private space, slightly secluded from the busy streets, you can enjoy aromatic coffee and sweets that can be enjoyed with all five senses in peace and quiet.
- eX cafe Arashiyama, Kyoto
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- 35-3 Zoujicho, Tenryuji Saga, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto MAP
- 1 min. walk from Arashiyama Stn. on Randen Ranzanmoto Line
- 10:00-18:00
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- 075-882-6366
- None
3Nakamuraya coffee shop Kurumazaki-jinja station
Coffee brewed one cup at a time with a siphon, tasting just like the old days.
Founded in 1971, this nostalgic retro coffee shop is a place where not only artists working at the art college but also boatmen on the Hozu River cruise and local regulars take a break. Coffee made from home-roasted beans, carefully brewed one cup at a time with a siphon, has the same taste that has remained unchanged for nearly half a century. The coffee has a deep aroma despite its shallow roast, and is exactly the coffee of an old-fashioned coffee shop. The "coffee float," a lavish serving of ice cream, is popular among artists.
Retro interior decorated with 60's American antiques
The store, with a well-worn Dharma stove, consists of a counter and three tables, and is filled with retro sundries and rare old clocks are placed throughout. The interior is decorated in the 60's American style, inspired by the first owner who used to open an antique store on the traditional Kyoto fair called "Kobo-san" or "Tenjin-san. The only light meal on the menu is toast. The "Egg Toast," which is made to order and sandwiched with vegetables on a thick slice of bread, is a hearty dish.
- Nakamuraya Coffee Shop
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- 1-61 Saga Goshimacho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto MAP
- 8 min. walk from Kurumaori Jinja Sta. on the Randen Ranzanamoto Line
- 10:00-18:00
- Wednesday
- 075-872-3799
- None
4SARUT COFFEE Kurumazaki-jinja station
A coffee specialty store that carefully selects and roasts its own green coffee beans
From Kurumaori Shrine Station, walk through the shrine grounds and down the alley leading to the Kyoto West Post Office, and you will find a coffee shop diagonally across from the post office. The coffee is hand-picked from high-quality green beans to remove defective beans, roasted in-house, and served fresh and free of any cloying taste. The menu is quite simple, consisting only of drinks: coffee, mikan juice from "Terao Orchard" in Ehime Prefecture, and dark milk used for café au lait. The coffee is hand-dripped, which means that the beans are ground to order and brewed slowly, drop by drop, using the drip method, which creates an aroma that fills the air.
The vaulted interior of the former factory resembles a secret base for adults.
The store's unadorned interior, with its bare steel frame, used to be a painter's workshop, and the owner's playful spirit has left the traces of its former use as a secret base for adults. There are three recommended blends and eight selected blends of known agricultural regions, which are poured into original mugs that are pleasant to the palate. They also do wholesale business, selling beans from 100 grams, and for ground coffee, they will adjust the grind taking into account the way the coffee is brewed and the shape of the paper. All drinks can be taken out.
- SARUT COFFEE
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- 1-11 Saganbojiri-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto MAP
- 8 min. walk from Kurumaori Shrine Station on the Randen Ranzanamoto Line
- 10:00-19:00 (L.O.D. 21:00)
- Tuesdays, 3rd Mon.
- 075-871-0051
- None
5Smart Coffee Uzumasa, Katabira-no-tsuji station
A place for Staff/staff members of the film studios to go to for relaxation and recreation
This coffee shop is located in front of Katabinotsuji Station, the junction of the Arashiyama Line and the Kitano Line of the Randen Line. It is located in Uzumasa, a sacred place for movies, where many studios including Shochiku, Daiei, and Toei lined the streets during the golden age of Japanese movies. Staff/staff members and actors from these studios have been coming to the store for more than half a century to enjoy the original blend brewed by the master. The coffee beans are roasted in-house, and the taste has not changed since the establishment of the store. The coffee beans are roasted in-house and have a reputation at the studio for being the best "Smart's coffee" brewed by nerd drip.
The signature menu item, pancakes, tastes just like mom's!
Smart Coffee (Teramachi Dori Sanjo Kamigami) is a pioneer in Kyoto's café culture. The signature item on the menu, pancakes, was invented by the master's mother when the shop was founded in 1932, and the simple, nostalgic taste has remained unchanged for more than 80 years. The mixed sandwich and beverage set is a combination of a fluffy egg sandwich and a ham sandwich, and the mustard sauce is addictive. Inside the restaurant, sketches by the art director of Kyoto movies are casually displayed, reminding us that we are in a movie town.
- Smart Coffee Uzumasa
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- 11-22, Hadamakomairigatsuji-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto MAP
- Approx. 1 min. walk from Kairashinotsuji Sta. on the Randen Ranzanmoto Line
- 8:00-18:30
- Wednesday
- 075-881-1624
- None
6Cafe Rosa Bali, Uzumasa Koryuji station
You can enjoy "mixed juice," a staple of coffee shop menus in the Kansai region.
When you get off at the Ohata Station, you will see "Koryu-ji Temple" in front of you, and if you go west on Sanjo Street that passes in front of the temple, you will find "Toei Kyoto Studio". Near the alley leading to the studios is Rosa Bali, a store with layers of posters of movies and TV dramas. It is loved not only by the staff/staff members, directors, and actors of the film studio, but also by the locals. The most popular drink is the mixed juice. This juice is common in Kansai coffee shops, where bananas are the main ingredient and other fruits are blended in a blender, but it is said to be a surprise to all customers from Tokyo.
Located in front of Toei Studios Kyoto, frequented by actors and Staff/staff members
The store was established in 1973, and actors from Tokyo who come to the film studios miss the taste of the master's creations, so they go out of their way to stop by when they come to the Kansai region. Even actresses, who are more concerned about calories than most people, ate the "Gozari Omu Hayashi Curry" every day during their long stay for filming. This is a menu item devised by the master that offers omelette rice, hashed rice, and curry rice all on one plate. The summer specialty, "Curry Udon," in particular, has an unforgettable taste that draws a line out the door for its limited three-month menu.
- Cafe Rosa Bali
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- 13-1, Hadanishibioka-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto MAP
- 5 min. walk from Hadadakoryuji Stn. on the Randen Ranzanmoto Line
- Open 11:00-17:00
- Sunday, Holidays
- 075-881-9081
- None
7Fruits & Fruit Parlor Yaoiso Shijo-Omiya station
Fruit parlor run by a long-established fruit store established in 1869
Shijo-Omiya Station is the first station on the Randen Line. In front of the station is Yaoiso, a long-established fruit store established in 1869. Four doors east from the store is a fruit parlor, and since the parlor opened in 1972, fruit sandwiches have been a signature item on the menu. The sixth-generation owner has been familiar with the taste since his childhood at home. In addition to strawberries, kiwi, papaya, melon, and pineapple, seasonal fruits are included, and there are always seven kinds of fruit in the sandwich. The slices of fruit are large, so you can taste the fruit thoroughly.
Seasonal fruits selected by a fruit advisor are available.
This fruit store is trusted by Kyoto residents for its seasonal fruits, such as "mizu-hitsu-peaches" from Okayama Prefecture and "sagahonoka" strawberries from Saga Prefecture, which are shipped directly from the production area. The seasonal flavors are updated daily by fruit advisors who tell you when the fruit is ripe and reflect it in fruit parfaits and mixed juices without missing a beat. Another classic is the "Cream Kuzu Arare". It is served with an abundance of fruit, combined with "Yoshino Kuzu" and drizzled with Kuromitsu (brown sugar). Fruit sandwiches and other to-go items are also available.
- Fruits & Fruit Parlor YAOISO
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- 488 Tachinakamachi, Shijo Omiya Higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto MAP
- 1 min. walk from Shijo-Omiya Sta. on the Randen Arashiyama-Hon Line
- 9:30-17:00 (L.O.16:45) Fruit Parlor
- Open all year round (except New Year's holidays)
- 075-841-0353
- None
＜A private waterside residence located in Okuarashiyama.
After a day of sightseeing, how about a relaxing time at a Japanese inn in Arashiyama, which prospered as a vacation home for Heian aristocrats? At HOSHINOYA Kyoto, located along the valley of Arashiyama, you can experience the changing of the seasons and the traditions that live on in Kyoto.
8HOSHINOYA Kyoto
Quiet Japanese Ryokan in the Arashikyo area
Arashiyama, where the aristocrats of the Heian period built their villas, is about a 15-minute boat ride up the Oigawa River from Togetsukibashi Bridge, where you will find an inn built along a gorge. The inn is an elegant space created with innovative ideas using traditional Japanese techniques that are still alive in Kyoto. It is a private residence where you can immerse yourself in the refined culture that has been nurtured in the capital for a thousand years. Guest rooms all have a river view, and through Japanese cuisine that freely expresses the five tastes, Kyoto cultural experiences, and the beautiful scenery of the four seasons, this is a resort where you can quietly enjoy an extraordinary world.
Declaration of the highest level of corona countermeasures
HOSHINOYA Kyoto has set up "hygiene management" and "3-clandestine avoidance" as the two axes of countermeasures to provide a more secure stay for our guests, and has evolved the conventional services at all of our Properties. Corona countermeasures We are implementing the "Corona Countermeasures" at all facilities.
- HOSHINOYA Kyoto
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- 11-2 Arashiyama Motorokuyama-cho, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto MAP
- Approximately 30 minutes from JR Kyoto Station by car
- 0570-073-066（Reservation)
- None *Please use Parking in Arashiyama area or in the city.
Click here to make a reservation
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