An Arashiyama Elopement
Some couples come to Japan for the first time. Zoe and Myles came back.
Their Arashiyama elopement on the 17th of April 2026 was not their first trip to Kyoto, and it was not their first trip to Japan. Three years earlier, Myles had stood in the pre-dawn cold at the base of Mt. Fuji, sweating through a pair of hotel pyjamas, holding a ring and a cup of 7-Eleven candles. Zoe, still in bed watching reality television, thought it was a prank. By the time she saw the bead of sweat roll down his face, she already knew it was not.
This country held their engagement. It also held their grief. When they lost their son, it was Japan they returned to. The quiet of it. The way the light moves through the trees along the rivers in Kyoto without needing anyone to notice. Some places are chosen because they are new. Others are chosen because they already know your story.
With their daughter Sofie watching from the bank of the Hozu River, they came back once more.
Morning Preparations
A wedding morning in Kyoto has a particular quality of hush. The Hilton sits a few streets back from the Kamo River, and the traffic outside is more bicycles than cars. Upstairs, the room was already quietly rehearsing the day. Two boxes on the desk. His ring dark and unadorned. Hers catching the window light.
The dress hung next to the suit. Two shapes waiting for the people who belonged inside them. Akane, our hair and makeup artist, had arrived just after eleven and moved through the room with the specific calm that her trade requires. Zoe, who had told us earlier she was nervous about travelling with a one-year-old, was still.
“He is the calm to my storm. Whenever I am overwhelmed or unsure, he is the first person I turn to.”
Details, Gathered
Zoe had brought a bottle of Stonehorse Shiraz from home. A Japanese whisky joined it on the desk, alongside a wagashi in traditional paper. The objects a couple chooses to carry halfway across the world usually say something about who they are. These were quiet gifts. The kind you share with the people who made the day possible rather than display for a camera.
She dressed quietly. The small, private rituals of a wedding morning belong to the bride and groom alone. Across the room, Myles was buttoning a jacket and pulling a bow tie into line. Both of them a little unsure. Both of them about to walk out of the Hilton and into the rest of it.
To the River
Arashiyama sits in Nishikyō-ku on the western edge of Kyoto, and in mid-April it is not the Arashiyama of the Instagram feed. The cherry blossom has mostly fallen. The maples have not yet turned. What is left is a softer palette. Grey-green water, slate sky, the first flush of new foliage on the hills. It is the version of the place the locals prefer.
The permit had taken weeks. Kyoto City Ward Council had introduced a proper process earlier that year, and our Kyoto planner Chebi had worked patiently through it so that Zoe and Myles could have a legal, quiet ceremony on the public riverside. Seventeen thousand yen well spent. Boats moved across the water behind us as we walked down to the meeting point.
Daniel, the celebrant, was already there. Myles walked down ahead with him, loosely holding the script and a small bottle of sake tucked into his jacket for later. Zoe came down the stone bank a few minutes after, holding her skirt in one hand and the river at her shoulder.
“Marriage, to us, is about choosing each other. Every day. For life.”
The Ceremony
Daniel began. The river ran quietly behind him. A tour boat passed in the middle distance, carrying strangers who would never know what they had travelled past. Zoe and Myles held each other’s hands and did not let go.
They had each written something. Myles unfolded his first. He reads slowly when it matters, the way he does when he knows a thing is worth hearing all the way through. Zoe listened with a face that had already let go of any performance of composure. This was not a ceremony for the room. There was no room.
The rings came next. Daniel stepped between them with the bands resting on a small cloth. She placed his first. Then he placed hers. A quiet clap from the only other witness present, the moment held just long enough to be remembered and not a second longer.
“This country held our engagement. It held our grief. And now it holds this too.”
San San Kudo
Myles had asked earlier if we could include something Japanese in the ceremony. A nod to the country that had taken them in twice. Daniel suggested a simplified san san kudo, the sake ritual that traditionally seals a Shinto marriage. Three sips, three times. We include this as a standard option in our Kyoto elopement packages.
Sofie arrived in her father’s arms for this part. One-year-old, quiet, looking at everyone with the serious consideration that only very small children can manage. Her parents drank the sake together and passed the cup between them. Nobody needed to explain what it meant.
The signing came after. A pen, a document, two signatures on a small table beside the water.
After
When the ceremony ended, nothing really changed and everything did. We walked slowly along the pebbled bank together. The light had softened. The boats were smaller in the distance. Zoe pulled off her heels and carried them in one hand. Myles held her free one.
Through the Old Streets
We left the river and walked up into the side streets of Sagano. Traditional wooden houses, quieter than you expect, dark timber against white plaster. A narrow canal ran beside one street, its water clean and slow, lined with the kind of plants that have been growing in the same spot for longer than anyone can remember. Further up, a small shrine behind a red torii gate. Zoe stopped to look.
“We are better together than we are on our own.”
A Final Stop
Anyone who has spent more than three days in Japan understands the gravitational pull of the konbini. On the walk back, we stopped at a Lawson. There are things you plan for your wedding day. There are things you do not. A bride and groom reading onigiri labels in full formalwear belongs firmly to the second category.
They picked up egg sandwiches. Ice cream. A bottle of something cold. The staff smiled the small polite smile of Japanese service workers who have decided not to ask. Zoe laughed at a chocolate pastry with a face on it. Myles kissed her in the doorway on the way out.
Some weddings are a beginning. This one was more like a quiet, deliberate return.
Zoe and Myles did not come to Japan for the novelty. They came because this country had already been present at the best and the hardest moments of their life together. Getting married here was less about choosing a destination and more about honouring one. For couples considering a similar path, our Japan elopement FAQ covers the practical questions most people ask first.
Sofie will one day see these photographs. She will ask why Kyoto. She will ask why the river, why the sake, why her dad wore sweat on his forehead in that one photo at Mt. Fuji three years before she existed. Her parents will have an answer that takes as long as she needs it to take.
That is the whole point.
With gratitude to the people behind this day
- Photography
- James Hirata · Nomad Weddings
- Planning & Coordination
- Nomad Weddings Japan
- Kyoto Planner
- Chebi Nagai
- Celebrant
- Daniel · Wedding Pro Japan
- Hair & Makeup
- Akane
- Ceremony Location
- Arashiyama Riverside
Permit issued by Kyoto City Ward Council - Getting Ready
- Hilton Kyoto
- Date
- 17 April 2026
Questions we often get about Arashiyama elopements
Can you legally hold a wedding ceremony on the Arashiyama riverside in Kyoto?
Yes. A wedding or elopement ceremony can be held on the public Arashiyama riverside with a permit issued by the Kyoto City Ward Council. The permit fee is approximately 17,440 JPY as of 2026, and we handle the application on your behalf as part of the planning process.
What is the best time of year for an Arashiyama elopement?
Mid-April and mid-to-late November are the two strongest windows. Mid-April follows the cherry blossom peak and offers soft new foliage with fewer tourists along the Hozu River. Mid-to-late November brings the peak autumn maple colour Arashiyama is known for, sometimes holding into early December. Both seasons have mild weather and good natural light.
We also photograph weddings here in late March during sakura and in summer, though summer humidity and holiday crowding make the shoulder seasons easier.
How much does a Kyoto elopement cost?
Our Arashiyama Riverside elopement package is 470,000 JPY. The Hakuryuen Gardens package, which includes the private venue fee for one of Kyoto’s most beautiful hidden gardens, starts from 645,000 JPY.
Optional add-ons include hair and makeup, videography, officiant services, floral bouquet and buttonhole, and a celebrant for the legal marriage registration. See the full Kyoto elopement package.
Who officiates an Arashiyama elopement ceremony?
We work with celebrant Daniel, based in Kyoto, for English-language ceremonies. Daniel can also assist with the legal marriage registration process in Japan if you are getting legally married here rather than in your home country.
Where do couples get ready for a Kyoto elopement?
Most international couples choose a central Kyoto hotel for getting ready. Zoe and Myles stayed at the Hilton Kyoto in Nakagyō Ward, which we recommend often. Our hair and makeup artist Akane travels to the hotel for morning preparations, typically starting two to three hours before the ceremony.
Can you include Japanese traditions in the ceremony?
Yes. A simplified san san kudo sake ritual is the most common addition. Three sips from three cups, shared between the couple, borrowed from the traditional Shinto marriage ceremony. The ritual integrates well into an English-language celebrant-led ceremony and is a meaningful way to acknowledge the location without a full religious ceremony.
Can we bring our children or a small number of guests?
Yes. An Arashiyama riverside elopement works well for couples eloping just the two of them, or with immediate family and a small number of guests. Zoe and Myles had their one-year-old daughter Sofie present for parts of the ceremony. The public-access nature of the site means there are no rigid guest count restrictions.
What documents do we need for a Kyoto elopement?
For the symbolic ceremony itself, no paperwork is required. Most international couples complete the legal marriage in their home country either before or after the Kyoto ceremony, which keeps the process simple.
If you would like to legally register your marriage in Japan, you will need certified copies of your birth certificates, passports, and an Affidavit of Competency to Marry issued by your embassy in Japan. Our celebrant Daniel handles the paperwork on your behalf when this option is chosen.
What happens if it rains on the day of an Arashiyama elopement?
Light rain is rarely a reason to postpone. Overcast skies give soft, even light across the Hozu River and the foliage, and we carry clear umbrellas for the couple. The ceremony itself only takes twenty to thirty minutes, so we can usually time it between showers.
For heavier weather, we hold a backup plan using nearby covered locations including the Tenryū-ji Temple grounds and traditional teahouses in Sagano. Decisions are made together with you on the morning based on the forecast.
Planning your own Kyoto elopement?
We plan and photograph a small number of intimate riverside and garden weddings across Kyoto, Tokyo, Niseko, and Okinawa each year. If something in this story resonated with you, we would be glad to hear from you.
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