Sagano Romantic Train During Spring in Kyoto: A Review
Last Updated on February 27, 2025 by Kay
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As someone who has been living in Japan for over a decade, the Sagano Romantic Train in Kyoto was something I had always seen in advertisements but never thought about riding because it seemed just so darn touristy.
But you know what? It was surprisingly an enjoyable experience!
In this article, I’ll share what it was like to ride the Sagano Romantic Train in Kyoto during springtime in Japan, specifically cherry blossom season, and what you need to know before purchasing tickets.
And for those with kids, this article will also cover what my four-year-old thought about it.
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What is the Sagano Romantic Train?
The Sagano Romantic Train is a sightseeing train in Arashiyama. There are two routes you can take:
- Saga/Arashiyama Station to Kameoka Station
- Kameoka Station to Saga/Arashiyama Station
Note that these are sold as one-way tickets, so if you want to do a round trip, you need to purchase two tickets, one for each direction.
How to Get Tickets for the Sagano Romantic Train
I bought my tickets six days in advance directly from the Sagano Romantic Train website.
You can also purchase tickets from Klook and get up to $10 off your purchase by using the code TINYTOTINTOKYO.
If you don’t have much time in the city, I suggest joining this tour that will take you on the Sagano Romantic Train as well as to several popular spots in Kyoto such as Arashiyama, Kiyomizudera, and Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Keep in mind that you typically cannot purchase tickets for the Sagano Romantic Train on the day for assigned seats during peak seasons such as cherry blossom season (see the 2025 forecast here) and autumn because they tend to sell out in advance. You might be able to get standing seats, though, once the assigned seats are sold out.
If you wait to purchase your tickets, there will also be less availability in terms of where you can sit. This is important if you want to sit with someone, especially if you have kids. Furthermore, if you want to do a round-trip, tickets might not be available for going back. I found this was the case when I bought my tickets from Arashiyama Station to Kameoka — there were no tickets available from Kameoka to Arashiyama!
This is why I recommend buying tickets well in advance. Tickets go on sale a month beforehand, so if you want to go on April 5th, you can only purchase tickets from March 5th.
Note that you cannot change the date and time of your ticket(s). However, you can cancel your reservation for free as long as it’s not on the day of your reservation and rebook if seats are still available for your new date and time.
What are the Best Seats on the Sagano Romantic Train?
If you’re traveling from Saga/Arashiyama Station to Kameoka, Car 1 is at the front of the train. If you get a seat near the front of the car, it’ll give you a view as if you’re driving the train!
Seats A and D are window seats and C and D are forward seats, facing the direction you’re traveling.
The left-hand side of the train allows you to see the Hozugawa River for longer.
When choosing your seat, keep in mind that Car Number 5, the Rich Car, does not have windows that close. So if it rains, you might be in a bit of trouble. However, this car is also the most popular since it’s absolutely wonderful when the weather is nice.
Sagano Romantic Train Ticket Price
One-way tickets for the Sagano Romantic Train start at 880 yen for adults (ages 12 and up) and 440 yen for kids (ages six to 11).
Children ages five and under are free but they have to sit on someone’s lap, so I just purchased a ticket for my daughter who was four years old at the time. After all, it was only 440 yen!
After you purchase your tickets, you’ll receive a PDF with a link to the QR Code Voucher. You’ll need to click on the URL to get the QR Code when you go on the train.
The QR Code is only available on the day of your reservation.
My Sagano Romantic Train Experience
I rode the Sagano Romantic Train on April 1st. On that particular day, it had just passed the peak of cherry blossom season in Kyoto.
My daughter and I took a regular train to Arashiyama Station and then walked to Torokko Arashiyama Station (also known as the Saga Torokko Station, トロッコ嵯峨駅 in Japanese), which is where the Sagano Romantic Train departs from.
Our departure time was 1:00 PM but we arrived at around 12:30 PM, so we decided to take a look around.
The inside has a lot of fun things for kids to do, such as crane games and a coin-operated Shinkansen ride.
There’s a train diorama as well and if you pay 200 yen, the trains will move. My daughter liked watching the toy trains.
Right behind this free diorama is a paid one called Diorama KYOTO JAPAN where you can see other train dioramas. It’s fairly affordable at 530 yen for adults, 320 yen for kids ages 6-12, and free for kids five and under, but I didn’t think we had time for it so we didn’t go.
We also checked out the steam locomotives, located in an attached building called SL ROMAN CAFE. Yes, this is a cafe but they let people look at the trains for free!
Since we had assigned seats, there was no reason to line up early to get on the Sagano Romantic Train. But of course, we didn’t want to be late to board, so we lined up 10 minutes before our departure time.
Although there were already several people in line when we joined it, it only took five minutes before our QR Code was scanned and we were on the platform.
The platform is a little narrow and crowded but somehow we made it to our assigned car.
It was very exciting to see the Sagano Romantic Train pull up and lots of people, including me, took photos of it. It was so beautiful! And I loved the cute sakura illustration on the front.
Once everyone coming from the other direction got off, it was our time to board. It was very easy to find our seats, which were wooden benches that looked like this:
Since it was only my daughter and I, two older Japanese women had seats across from us. They were very nice and quietly watched the scenery from the window. The upper half of the window was open so we could hear the lovely sounds of nature and take in the fresh air outside.
One thing I would like to emphasize is to try to be quiet while you’re on the train. People want to relax and enjoy the sights, and if people are talking too loudly, it can bother others.
Our seats were in Car 3, Seats 7 A and B. From the window, we could see cherry blossom trees lining the river, although some trees no longer had blossoms and instead green leaves had sprouted.
It was really beautiful and my pictures do it absolutely no justice. There is also a train attendant who gives explanations about the view. At one point he was singing and I have no idea what song it was, but the foreign tourists on the train applaused at the end, which was really sweet!
The Sagano Romantic Train ride from Saga Arashiyama to Kameoka took about 25 minutes.
Once we arrived at Torokko Kameoka Station, we had to walk to Umahori Station so we could take a train on the San-In Line that would get us to Kyoto Station.
This was only an 8-minute walk but the connection wasn’t that great, so I decided to treat my daughter to some strawberry kakigori shaved ice from a food stall along the way.
It was so nice to sit amongst nature and take in the rolling green mountains (something I love in Kansai) while enjoying a tasty dessert. It also gave my daughter the energy to walk to Umahori Station because my husband tends to carry her (yes, she’s spoiled!).
Is the Sagano Romantic Train Kid-Friendly?
Although the ride was short, my daughter had an enjoyable time on the Sagano Romantic Train. I think it’s just enough time so kids can enjoy the ride and can see some beautiful sights but don’t get bored.
Note that there are parts of the ride where the train goes through dark tunnels, which might scare kids.
The different train displays at Torokko Arashiyama Station are also really fun for kids to look at!
Kay’s Tip: Are you a parent visiting Kyoto for spring? Then you’ll want to read my article about my top spots in Kyoto to take children to enjoy cherry blossoms!
Overall Thoughts — Is the Sagano Romantic Train Worth It?
I think it’s worth taking a ride on the Sagano Romantic Train if you’re visiting Arashiyama. It’s a great way to experience nature in Kyoto and it wasn’t crowded whatsoever because there’s assigned seating.
If you live in Kansai, I think a one-way ticket from either direction is fine but if you’re visiting Kyoto, I suggest getting a round-trip ticket from Arashiyama because there isn’t much in Kameoka.