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Edited by: Declan Murphy Recommended: Suggested Itineraries Favorite Kyoto moments... Best ways to get there Kyoto Photogallery Newsgroups: fj.rec.travel.japan, Alt-FAQ Bulletin Boards: Fun/Clubs/Nightlife Accommodation/Discounts Practise your Kanji?

"Evening began to fall. "The Gion music will soon begin," said the elder daughter. "I can't imagine living any place where I would be out of earshot of the Gion music in summer." That rules out the rest of the world, and even most of Kyoto, other than a few square blocks." Alex Kerr

Introduction

Yasaka (Gion) Shrine | Gion Festival | Maruyama Park | Pleasure quarters | Pontocho | Teramachi | Shijo Street Shopping

Yasaka (Gion) Shrine

At the eastern end of Shijo-dori (4th street) bordering Maruyama park, this shrine is open 24 hours and is one of the most important and popular shrines in Kyoto. Popularly known by the locals as Gion-san, it is dedicated to the Shinto deities Susa-no-o (brother of Amaterasu Omikami - and wayward "black sheep" of the mythological progenitors of the Imperial family), his spouse Inadahime-no-Mikoto and their mythological children (all 8 of them). The important thing to remember is that Susa-no-o is regarded as the Shinto god of medicine. In the year 869, thousands prayed to Susa-no-o for relief from an epidemic - an event that led to the Gion festival (see below).

Ro-mon: The Ro-mon is a two-story gateway with bright vermilion posts and white walls at the top of the steps leading up from Shijo-dori. It is built in the Muromachi Period (1338-1573) style. There are Shinto guardians on both sides of the entrance protecting the grounds from evil spirits. Just past the gate there are Korean stone lion dogs known as koma-inu protecting the stairs that lead to the main part of the shrine.

Haiden: The Haiden (Offertory building) is on the left of the central area. Opposite it is a roofed ceremonial stage for religious ceremonies and a roofed water basin for purification. Most of the buildings here date from a reconstruction in 1654, including storage sheds for the Mikoshi (see Gion Festival below).

Honden: The Honden (spirit hall) is the most important building. 21 X 17.3 meters (approximately 69 X 57 feet) in size, this single story building has a wooden shingle roof that is half hipped/half gabled. Worshippers pray before the altar after waking up the god with a rattle of the pan shaped bells at the front of the building.

Gion Festival and other events

Gion Festival: The Gion Festival is over 1100 years old and is the most spectacular of the ceremonies involving Yasaka Shrine. It originates from an epidemic in the year 869 when the chief priest of the Yasaka shrine led a procession of citizens throught the city trying to placate the gods and praying for an end to the plaque - the epidemic subsided, and the festival has been popular ever since. The festival begins July 2nd each year. On this day the portable shrines known as Mikoshi are hauled from their storage sheds and blessed. The most important Mikoshi is carried down to the Kamogawa river on July 10th and is purefied in a ceremony conducted by the chief priest. The Mikoshi is then carried back to Yasaka Shrine on the shoulders of the same young men who brought it to the river. Also on July 10th, three Mikoshi are carried from the shrine to City Hall and the festival starts. Carrying lanterns on very long poles and wearing traditional dress, the participants escort the Mikoshi in a parade and dance groups perform in front of the City Hall. The main part of the festival is from July 15th to 17th. For the first two days the festival carts are lined up in Shijo-dori west of the river - you can get up close and have a good look. There is music and fun every night. On the morning of the third day the parade begins and many carts, mikoshi and other floats parade along Kawaramachi-dori and Oike-dori streets. If you have the money, you can reserve seats in stands set up along Oike-dori (need to be quick though). All in all it is a colorful and exciting festival.

Maruyama Koen / Garden

Directly adjoining Yasaka Shrine is Maruyama Koen/Garden (Round Mountain Park). which stretches from the entrance of Yasaka Shrine on the edge of Gion back into the hills and includes Maruyama (Mt. Maruyama). Maruyama Garden is a good place to take a break or just to enjoy a walk through the park. Autumn is the ideal time to enjoy the colored leaves but is worth visiting in any season. At New Year the entire park becomes a party venue. There is a shrine on the summit of Maruyama, which can be reached after a brisk walk. The shrine itself is not great but the view of Kyoto is well worth the climb.

The most common entry is through Yasaka Shrine on the edge of Gion. A short walk towards the hills through Yasaka Shrine brings you to a couple of small ponds with large koi (carp) and several swans. There are some small restaurants, outdoor eateries and takeaways and toilet facilities. This is an ideal place for lunch or a snack.

From this point you can walk to Otani Temple or continue on via Ni-nenzaka and San-nenzaka to Kiyomizu Temple.

The park is bigger than it first appears, if you walk east towards the Higashiyama hills you will come to the edge of the hill which rises quite steeply and the path that leads to the summit. At the summit the path to the west takes you down to a small zoo and around the base of the hill back to Maruyama Koen/Garden.

Video:   New Year at Yasaka Shrine

New Years Eve: The most popular place for the midnight countdown and subsequent Hatsumode (the first shrine visit of the year) is of course Gion-san itself, the Yasaka shrine. If you want to countdown within sight of the Hondo then you need to arrive around 11:30pm (its cold... wear warm clothing). There is an enormous crush of people but a festive atmosphere, this is mostly a young crowd. At the stroke of midnight coins are thrown towards the Honden (getting close enough to put them in the offering boxes is out of the question) and from there the crowds surge on into Maruyama park. Here you can buy beers, listen or dance to buskers (some are very good) and soak up the atmosphere. One fun thing to do is to buy one of the thin straw ropes on sale everywhere. A herb called okera is burned in the shrine's lanterns from 8pm on the 31st through to dawn the next day. In the past, it was the custom to come to the shrine and light a straw rope from the lanterns (or try to obtain a few embers) and go home to light the hearth for the first meal of the new year. The combination of the sacred fire and rice cakes boiled with vegetables (a dish known as zoni) would ensure health and happiness for the next year. Many other temples and shrines are also open all night, for more fun and adventure try a temple/shrine crawl (take your burning rope with you...) If your hangover isn't too bad, revisit Yasaka shrine the next day. Many women wear Kimono, and the maiko (apprentice geisha) wear black kimono with white patterns and ears of rice in their hair to mark the New Year.

Setsubun: On February 3rd and 4th, this celebration marks the passing of the coldest part of winter and the beginning of Spring. Roasted beans are scattered to drive away demons and wish good luck. On the evening of the 4th there is a big bonfire at Yasaka Shrine which ends the festival.

Ochatsubo Dochu Ceremony: Held on May 2nd, this is the "Traveling Tea Canister" ceremony. Until they lost power in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Tokugawa Shoguns required the tea dealers from the city of Uji (Uji is famous not only for Heian period architecture such as Byoudoin but also for its green tea) to present the first tea leaves picked (and therefore guarantee that the shogun would be drinking the freshest tea) to his storemen. These were delivered packed in large ceramic containers. The event has been renewed and the tea is paraded from Kennin-ji temple along Yamato-oji-dori to Shijo-dori (4th street) and then across the river to Yasaka Shrine.

Pleasure quarters: Kabuki, Geisha, Ochaya

After a century of warfare and destruction, Kyoto began to enjoy peace when the city came under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The current geisha quarters, ochaya (teahouses) and the theaters are still located exactly where they sprang up on each side of the Kamogawa river from the late 1500's. If you want to know more information about Geisha, Kabuki, or Ochaya, there is quite detailed information in the Yamasa Student Network (password not required).

The most famous of the Ochaya is easily the Ichiriki Ochaya on the corner of Shijo-dori and Hanamikoji-dori streets. About 300 years old, this teahouse is noted for its traditional architecture and atmosphere, and also for the history that has occured here. The famous story of the Forty-Seven Ronin (masterless samurai) and the plotting against the Tokugawa Shogunate that led to the revolution known as the Meiji Restoration have close links to the Ichiriki Ochaya.

Most of the Ochaya in Kyoto were rebuilt after the devastating fires that accompanied the warfare of 1864 when Kyoto again became a battleground. The teahouses are mostly wooden, 2-story buildings of traditional design, with protruding windows. The windows have lattices (bengara goshi) on the ground floor and reed screens (sudare) on the second floors. These are to ensure the privacy of the guests. There is usually a small curtain over the entrance (these are called noren and usually have the name of the teahouse written on them). For further privacy, bamboo slats called inu yarai (dog screens) keep people (and dogs) away from the ground floor windows and walls.

In 1712, the ochaya of Gion were given licenses permitting Geisha entertainment by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Today there are just over 100 remaining, and several entire streets (primarily in Shirakawa and Gion) are preserved. In 1976, the Kyoto City government finally bagan to prevent the destruction of the architectural heritage of the ochaya and issued architectural guidelines for 7 distinct facades. The result is that these are among the few areas of the city where you can still get an idea of what Kyoto used to look like. Kyoto wasn't bombed during WWII, all of the destruction of the cityscape has been in recent years.

On November 8th at 11am each year, geisha and maiko perform a tea ceremony at a stone monument dedicated to the poet Yoshii Isamu (1886-1960). The stone inscription is one of his poems...

No matter what they say,
I love Gion.
Even in my sleep
The sound of water
Flows neneath my pillow

It records his affection for the pleasure quarters and respect for those who continue the tradition. This is in the Shirakawa-minami-dori area, a street that runs parallel to the narrow Shirakawa river (a canal). Its a traditional teahouse area with old houses and blinds. Ask someone on the day and you should be able to locate the ceremony. It is a rare chance to see these arts as language, cost, tradition and a certain exclusiveness usually prevents many foreigners from experiencing such performances.

The Pontocho area lies between Sanjo-dori and Shijo-dori and was once the undisputed red light district of Kyoto. It basically consists of two narrow streets, one so narrow that it is more or less a pedestrian lane or alley. This narrow alley known as Pontocho is the stone paved street closest and running parallel to the Kamogawa river. Built on a sandbar, it quickly became home to tea-houses, geisha entertainment, seedier establishments and to an illicit trade in prostitutes (male and female) that the Tokugawa shogunate disapproved of but was pragmatic enough to tolerate. Regular fires swept through the crowded tenements and floods would clear out the remainder on a regular basis. With floods less regular now, Pontocho contains many old buildings, and is home to expensive restaurants, bars and hostess clubs - the cheaper and modern alternative to geisha entertainment. As prostitution is now illegal and expensive dining is not, the former has moved to the slightly cheaper real estate bordering the Shijo-dori shopping district on the other side of the Takasegawa (Takase canal).

The buildings beside the river often provide outdoor dining - with wooden platforms called yuka extending out from the restaurants above the river during the summer so that you can enjoy the cool breezes coming off the water (the water is actually flowing beneath you as you eat). While you eat, the bright lights of Gion from the other side of the river reflect in the water, students aim fireworks at each other, lovers stroll etc etc. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

The second street of the district is wider and is bisected by the shallow but dark waters of the Takasegawa (Takase canal). This area has bright neon lights, and many bars, restaurants (from excellent to poor), cafes, pubs, love hotels and in the side streets on the western side, a wide range of "night entertainment". It is a busy area full of young people, buskers, spruikers, bouncers etc.

If it isn't night time or that isn't your scene, you may want to have a look at the Pontocho Kaburenjo Theater at the Sanjo-dori end of the street. As well as the chance to experience tea ceremony, this theater has been offering the Kamogawa Odori (Kamogawa river dancing) in the spring (April-May) and again in the autumn/fall (October-November) since 1872. Known as Kyo-mai (Kyoto or Capital dances), these are performed in the traditional geisha manner.

Teramachi

Literally - the Temple district, this part of Kyoto obtained its name during the late 1500's when Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to rebuild Kyoto as his capital and Kyoto finally began to recover from a century of war. In 1583 he began to relocate many of the more popular temples into two areas along Termachi-dori in central Kyoto (mostly temples of the Jodo sect) and Teranouchi-dori (mainly the Nichiren sect) just further north. Despite the ravishes of war, fire, time and commercialization - many remain.

The most famous name would be Honno-ji temple. It was here that Oda Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his generals (Akechi Mitsuhide) and trapped - forcing him to kill himself (seppuku) and his family. The current temple though is in a different location, a few streets north of where the temple of Oda Nobunaga's time stood.

His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a protective wall along the eastern edge of the city, this is now the street known as Kawaramachi-dori. It was opened as a street after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and became a street of shops between Oike-dori and Shijo-dori. This is an entertainment area with many small shops, restaurants and some theaters.

Another interesting part of this area is the Nishiki-koji market. It is just north of Shijo-dori, and runs from Shinkyogoku-dori (Nishiki Tenman Shrine) to Takakura-dori (near the Daimaru Department store). There has been a public market here since the Heian period, though it was interuppted by the terrible warfare of the 1500's. The Christian missionary St Francis Xavier visited during this time and wrote "Kyoto was formerly a very large city; but now, on account of the perpetual calamities it has undergone in war, it is a great part in ruins and waste." When peace was restored by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he quickly re-established the market. Often referred to as "the kitchen of Kyoto", this market street is stone paved and there are something like 120-150 vendors here selling everything from fresh fish, vegetables, and dry goods, to boiled fish paste, pickled vegetables, and sweets. The usual holiday is Wednesday, though the fishmongers usually close on Sundays. Listening to the shouts of the traders, tasting the delicacies and taking in the aromas and atmosphere is interesting.

Shijo Street Shopping

The area from the river west to Karasuma-dori, roughly bordered by Shijo-dori (4th Street) and Oike-dori is where Kyoto's main shopping streets are located. In addition to the great department stores and the enormous number of small shops and specialty stores, there are major arcades. The arcades are covered roads from which cars and vehicles are banned - making it easy to walk and window shop regardless of the weather. The covered arcades are on Kyogoku-dori and Shinkyogoku-dori between Shijo-dori and Sanjo-dori (4th and 3rd Streets) as well as in Teramachi-dori between Shijo-dori and Oike-dori.

This area also has excellent public transport (buses and subway), so its also a good transit spot. You can buy just about everything (from a wide range of budgets). Naturally it is a great place for doing a bit of people watching, just observing the shoppers of Kyoto. Plus there are also many movie theaters, restaurants (and in the narrow laneways closest to Pontocho - there is a discreet red light district).

How to get to Gion?

1: From Kyoto Station:

Walk, or take the Karasuma subway line to Shijo station, or take the #206 or #207 bus to the Gion bus stop.

2: From Okazaki City:

Take the Kaisoku (Express) from JR Okazaki Station to JR Mikawa Anjo (10 minutes) or JR Nagoya Station (28 minutes). Change to a west bound Kodama shinkansen. Then take the Karasuma subway line to Shijo Station. As of writing, the tickets cost 5880 yen one way and the journey takes about 2 hours including the train changes.

Tours - The Japan Discovery Tours visits the Gion District
Click here for more information regarding when Discovery visits this destination.

Photographs and contributions

Do you have good photographs or a story to share about Gion?   Please share it with us.

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Opening hours, prices, booking procedures, schedules etc are subject to changes beyond our control. This site is just a guide, and we advise that you always check and confirm in advance. Suggestions, additions and correction of errors are always welcome. Please contact us.