Gion District

8 am | Day 2 | Kyoto

When travelling, one should be flexible with his schedule since weather can be unpredictable at times. That happened on our second day in Kyoto. We were awakened by a heavy rainfall that day. We were supposed to see more of Kyoto’s historical places but because of that we had to change our plans.

Looking outside from our guesthouse, we saw a riverside lined with colorful trees. Although it was raining there were still few people passing by with see-through umbrellas – a picturesque scene nonetheless. That gave us an idea to go out for a walk and take photographs.

It was about 8 am then, we rushed to the nearest convenience store; grabbed some breakfast and proceeded to the riverside.

*The convenience stores in Kyoto – generally in Japan, are quite amusing since you can buy to go meals that are fresh and delicious yet affordable (we will be elaborating it more on our next entries on how to survive on a short budget here in Japan).

Upon exploring the place, there were plenty of maple and gingko trees along the way. Maple leaves turn into orange and red while gingko leaves turn into yellow during autumn. Without us knowing, the riverside led us to Gion District where we were supposed to go on the following day. 

Gion District is quite a modern place. There were sprawling high rise buildings with modern architecture. There were plenty of restaurants everywhere. Whether you like western food or if you want to try Japanese food served in traditional way, you can find it here. But, Gion is more popular among tourists because of the old Japanese houses and is best known as a Geisha District. This place is where you can find Geishas – if you are lucky to catch one.

Gion has lots of alleys with traditional and old houses. Pontocho is one of the popular ones. The alley is just near the riverside and can be walked from Gion-Shijo Station. When you step into the alley, it would feel like you are in the old Japan. Wooden houses, traditional lanterns, dark and tight alleys. Most of these houses are now transformed into restaurants but the architecture still remains traditional.

We crossed on the opposite side of the river and reached Shirakawa Area which is also popular among tourists too. The streets were bigger compared to Pontocho. You can find more restaurants and temples here. You can ride Japanese rickshaws if you are feeling tired. They can take you to popular places within the area and take photographs of you. You can see plenty of tourists dressed up in their colorful kimonos while walking around in this area.

After a long walk and lots of discoveries in the area, we headed back home to relax and have dinner. We ended our day full of hope that the next day would be better.