This article is based on a visit made on Friday, 18 November 2016.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I visited multiple spots in a whirlwind tour of Kyoto. I wrapped up my day-trip with an evening stroll around the Gion (祇園, lit. 'peaceful park') district. Gion is the most famous of Kyoto's five
hanamachi (花街, lit. 'flower village'), or geisha communities. Geisha, technically known by Kyotoites as "geiko" (芸子, lit. 'child of the arts'), are women who host private parties and banquets with performances in various traditional arts.
Gion is a collection of neighbourhoods on the east bank of the Kamo river, and to the west of Yasaka Shrine. In fact, before the rise of the geisha culture in the 1700s, Gion grew up to support travellers to the shrine. I started my modern-day pilgrimage from Gion-Shijo Station, on the Keihan Main Line, and focused my attention on the two main areas of the Gion district: the Shirakawa canal, and Hanami-koji street.
Standing right outside of Gion-Shijo Station, the Minami-za (京都四條南座,
Kyōto Shijō Minami-za) theatre is Kyoto's major Kabuki theatre. Minami-za was first established in the early 1600s. The current building dates back to 1929, while the interior was renovated in 1991. At the time of my visit, the theatre was closed again for even more renovations, of the earthquake-proofing kind. As of November 2018, it has since been re-opened for performances.
Shirakawa (祇園白川,
Gion Shirakawa, lit. 'white river') is the name of a canal running along the street, and subsequently the name of the neighbourhood surrounding it. It is not as well known as Hanami-koji, which we will see below, but is quieter for it, allowing one to better appreciate the atmosphere of the place.
Some of the buildings along Shirakawa have their backs to the river. In the old days, when houses were taxed based on how much space they took up on the front street side, these kinds of houses and shops were relatively narrow (5-6 metres / 16-20 feet across), but deeper (20 metres / 65 feet back) to make up for it.
The other, bigger, draw to the Gion district is Hanami-koji (花見小路, lit. 'little flower-viewing road') lane. This street, running north-south between Shijo-dori and Kennin-ji temple, is lined with teahouses and restaurants. While I did not myself, it is possible you might see a geisha or two walking about. If you chance upon one and wish to take their picture, please do so politely. In recent times they have made complaints about tourists hounding them like paparazzi, and besides, odds are they have an appointment to get to anyway.
In contrast to the main drag, filled with people scurrying to and from their dining establishments, and even a couple of cars sharing the road, side alleys like these were deserted.
Many restaurants in the Gion areas specialise in kaiseki ryori (懐石料理,
kaiseki-ryōri), a style of haute cuisine consisting of many small but specialised dishes. Kaiseki ryori restaurants can be found all over Japan, but in Kyoto specifically, it has been perfected to an art form. Some of these restaurants are so expensive and exclusive that new customers are not accepted, unless referred by an existing one! Needless to say, I did not have dinner at those kinds of places.
Here is a closeup of the lantern in front of the above establishment.
Finally, as I queued up for the bus at the Gion stop, situated in front of Yasaka Shrine, I noticed this contraption. Since buses are a major part of transportation within Kyoto, some stops have mechanical display boards which show when a bus is approaching, based on when it has passed one of its three previous stops. This isn't the clearest indicator of how soon a bus is approaching, since they can be held up by traffic signals or... just plain traffic. You also have to be aware of whether or not a bus is headed where you need to go, and since not all its destinations are listed in English, it would help to recognise some of these places by their Japanese names. Still, I haven't seen anything like this, so call me impressed!
To close out, one of the best tourist attractions in the Gion district is the Gion Corner, a theatre which puts on twice-nightly demonstrations of various Japanese traditional arts, including geisha dances. It is located at the south end of Hanamikoji-dori. I didn't have time to check it out this time, but I got to see on my next visit; you may read my report on the Gion Corner show
here. Until then, look forward to a visit to one of Japan's most famous castles, plus more Know Your Trains, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Access: From Kyoto Station, take bus #86 (stand D2), #100 (D1), #110 (D1), or #206 (D2) to the Gion bus stop (20 minutes, ¥230). The area is also served by Gion-Shijo station on the Keihan Main Line
(KH), and Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto
(HK) line.
Minami-za Theatre
Hours: Visit their website for showtimes.
Address: 198 Nakano-chō, Higashiyama-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 〒605-0075
Access: Located across the street from Gion-Shijo Station, exit 7.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
Gion Corner
Hours: Performances start at 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM every day. From December to mid-March, they are held only on weekends and holidays.
Costs: ¥3,150.
Address: Yasaka Hall, 570-2 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 〒605-0074
Access: Located at the far end of Hanamikoji-dori, on the left side. It takes about 7 minutes to walk there from either the Gion bus stop or Gion-Shijo Station, or 10 minutes from Kawaramachi Station.
