Tourists carved names into around 350 bamboo stalks in Kyoto’s Arashiyama grove; the damage cannot be repaired, so officials began cutting bamboo and moving the grove beyond visitors’ reach

• In Kyoto’s Arashiyama area, bamboo groves are frequently damaged by graffiti.
• Kyoto’s famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is facing growing damage from tourists carving names and other writing into its bamboo stalks.
• A city investigation found that around 350 bamboo plants along the popular walking path had been damaged since spring 2025.