The Gion district of Kyoto is famous for being one of Japan’s most well-known hanamachi (花街, geisha districts, lit. flower town), and also for the machiya (町家, Traditional wooden townhouse) that line its streets. While the Gion district is large, and much of it is modern, there are two preserved districts that still maintain the atmosphere of yesteryear Kyoto: the Shirakawa area, and the Hanami-koji area.
We recommend checking out the Shirakawa area, as it is less touristy, and more off-the-beaten path. The area also features a stone-paved road, running alongside a canal, with willow trees and traditional machiyas on the side. There are also restaurants in these traditional buildings that overlook the canal, although many of them tend to be high-end restaurants or shops. It’s generally a great place to stroll, explore and take in the atmosphere, The Tatsumi Bridge, used as a filming spot for one of the iconic scenes from Memoirs of a Geisha, is also located in this area.
Geishas (芸者) have always been one of the most iconic aspects of Japanese culture, and are generally hard to find outside of cities such as Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) and Kanazawa. Especially since Memoirs of a Geisha, these performers have ended up a major part of Japanese pop culture imagery. However, the Geisha are simply people doing their daily jobs, and not a tourist attraction. So even if you try to spot one in the evenings, please do not hawk them for photos, or behave disrespectfully, as they are simply regular everyday people doing their jobs. No one likes to be harassed on their job, or taken photos with by tourists like some sort of “exotic” object.
Note that due to over-tourism, tourists are banned from entering private streets in the Gion area. These are usually marked off with signs indicating that they are off limits.
