Kansai Independent Travel | Kyoto Food | Arashiyama Kijurou | A Donburi Specialist Hidden in an Arashiyama Alley

Kansai Independent Travel | Kyoto Food | Arashiyama Kijurou | A Donburi Specialist Hidden in an Arashiyama Alley | Dining Beside a Japanese Garden

Arashiyama is one of Kyoto's most popular tourist areas. Besides the many shops selling souvenirs and gifts, there are also plenty of restaurant options here. Tucked away in a small side lane off Arashiyama's busiest main street is "Arashiyama Kijurou" — if it weren't for the sign at the lane entrance, most people would easily walk right past without ever noticing this restaurant.

📜 Information

Address: 18-27 Sagatenryuji Kitatsukurimichicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8374
Opening hours: 11:00–20:30
Online menu: https://gurunavi.com/zh-hant/c150212/mn/menu1/rst/
Payment: cash and credit cards accepted
Official website: https://kijurou.gorp.jp/

📍 Location and Interior

The sign at the entrance to the lane

Arashiyama Kijurou is a 4-minute walk from Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Electric Railroad and a 15-minute walk from Hankyu Arashiyama Station. It sits in one of the alleys off the bustling Arashiyama main street, with a sign and menu displayed out on the lane. After reading the menu and checking its Google rating, we thought it looked pretty good, so we picked this place for lunch in Arashiyama.

The building at the end of the lane on the right is "Arashiyama Kijurou"

We arrived at 1 p.m. and there was still a queue outside, so we waited a little while before being seated

The exterior and entrance are simple, traditional Japanese architecture

Inside, the style is likewise simple and Japanese. There are actually quite a few seats — four-person tables as well as two-person seats by the window — but since so many people come here, you'll still need to wait a bit during meal times. Outside the window there's a small Japanese garden, so sitting by the window feels almost like dining inside the garden itself — a very pleasant experience.

The Japanese garden at Arashiyama Kijurou

📜 Menu

While you queue at the seats outside, the staff will hand you a menu to look over in advance. The menu centers on various donburi set meals, and for some sets you can even choose the portion of meat (100g / 150g), giving diners more options.

For the full, detailed menu, see the official website: https://kijurou.gorp.jp/

🍽️ The Food

Wagyu Steak Donburi Set (with Ochazuke)

The donburi set comes as a full tray like this: besides the rice bowl itself, there's a bowl of miso soup and some Japanese pickles. The steak was fragrant and tasty, and the small pot at the bottom left holds tea, which you can pour over the rice to enjoy it as ochazuke.

Beef Donburi Set + Yudofu (Hot Tofu)

For the other order we chose the yudofu with grilled beef donburi. The yudofu is lit over a flame after it arrives at the table and needs to come to a boil before eating. It was surprisingly delicious — silky in texture with a wonderfully rich soybean aroma. The grilled beef was also excellent, with a lovely smoky charcoal flavor and good-quality meat. Overall it was really tasty, and compared with the previous dish, I'd recommend this one more.

We also spotted some Kyoto-flavored sparkling cocktails on offer, so we tried a "Kyoto Yuzu." Unfortunately it didn't taste very good — if you want something to drink with your meal, you can skip this one; a draft beer would probably be a better choice.

This time we didn't research much in advance about where to eat in Arashiyama — we simply Googled nearby restaurants once we arrived and went into a highly rated one. Personally, I thought "Arashiyama Kijurou " was pretty good, so if you're looking for lunch in Arashiyama, it's worth considering.

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Travel Sean

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