{"id":868,"date":"2015-05-28T22:45:16","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T14:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/?p=868"},"modified":"2019-02-03T17:38:52","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T09:38:52","slug":"kyoto-soaking-up-the-atmosphere-of-the-old-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/28\/kyoto-soaking-up-the-atmosphere-of-the-old-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto: Soaking Up the Atmosphere of the Old City"},"content":{"rendered":"

If in your mind\u2019s eye of Japan, you see old wooden structures lining narrow lanes and paper lanterns then Kyoto is probably the best place to find this. And specifically, the Kawaramachi and Gion areas in central Kyoto are great places to soak up the atmosphere of old Kyoto. I think the evenings are the best time to walk around and especially in the summer when the restaurants along Pontocho-dori expand out over the river.<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/a>
Rainy evening in Gion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My first trip to Kyoto, I stayed south of Gion so I started first with exploring this area. As I walked toward the main street of Shijo-dori, I saw\u00a0a geisha on her way to work. It’s actually quite a common sight so tourists have been asked not to harass them for photos. Besides these areas around Shijo-dori (Shirakawa and Hanami-doji), other really nice well-preserved pockets to explore include the streets leading up to Kiyomizu-dera and the aforementioned Pontocho-dori. If you have more time in Kyoto, you could explore these areas on different evenings. However, if time is limited, the following would be my suggested itinerary – it does involve a lot of walking so regular coffee\/tea breaks may be warranted especially in the summer.<\/p>\n

\"Kyoto's<\/a>
Overlooking the Kamo River in winter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s a one day suggested itinerary:<\/b><\/p>\n

Morning: <\/b>Visit Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto\u2019s largest temple and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which opens as early as 6 am, but I\u2019m assuming a visit at 9 am. I would allocate around two hours here as there are a few side temples and the garden that are worth walking through. Leave Kiyomizu-dera by walking down the pedestrian street of Sannenzaka.<\/p>\n

\"Kiyomizu\"<\/a>
Kiyomizu-dera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kiyomizu-dera\"<\/a>
Water blessing at Kiyomizu-dera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Sannenzaka turns into Ninenzaka, head left toward Hokan-ji where Yasaka Pagoda is. It\u2019s quite hard to miss because the pagoda is five stories high, sticking up above the surrounding buildings. Hokan-ji is a small temple and the stop here is really just to see the Yasaka Pagoda, which is one of the landmarks featured in iconic pictures of Kyoto. After Yasaka Pagoda, you can walk back towards Sannenzaka to resume the walk down Ninenzaka. Although it can be a bit touristy, the buildings along these streets are original and well preserved. I loved just strolling along looking at all the knick-knacks sold.<\/p>\n

\"Leading<\/a>
Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka pedestrian streets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you continue north from here you will hit Yasaka Shrine but you may want lunch by now, so I\u2019d recommend a stop for lunch in the area.<\/p>\n

\"Unagi<\/a>
Uokeya U<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lunch: <\/b>There are lots of places to eat around in central Kyoto. If you like unagi (barbequed eel), I would recommend Uokeya U (tel.no. +81 75-551-9966; incidentally Michelin one-starred), which is in the Gion area (Hanami-koji area) south of Yasaka Shrine. It should just be around a 20 minute walk from Kiyomizu (if you don\u2019t stop to look around the stores). This is also a good spot from which to continue the exploration of historic Kyoto after lunch.<\/p>\n

\"Chihana<\/a>
Chihana’s beef with leeks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alternatively, if you\u2019re looking for something quite special, Chihana (website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.kyotochihana.com\/original6.html<\/a>), which is on a lane off of Shijo-dori, is also very good serving highly refined dishes and you can sit around the counter to watch the action. This simple eatery has been awarded three Michelin Stars. You probably have to make reservations at both these restaurants. There are several others which your hotel concierge should be able to recommend depending on the cuisine you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

Afternoon: <\/b>Walk around the Hanami-koji area as well as the area south of Yasaka Shrine, there are lots of lanes and old ryokans in this area. If you\u2019ve not already walked through Yasaka Shrine, you may want to do so. Yasaka Shrine is not as striking as some of Kyoto\u2019s other sights, but is a central landmark. Normally, I\u2019d suggest walking up to Chion-In, which is a temple with an impressive gateway. However, much of Chion-In is under renovation at the moment (until March 2019) so I wouldn\u2019t bother with this now.<\/p>\n

\"Yasaka<\/a>
Mother and daughter in traditional geisha clothing at Yasaka Shrine – I don’t think they are real geishas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Yasaka Shrine walk down Shijo-dori toward the Kamo River. There are lots of stores lining this main street including a good Umeshu (plum liqueur) store. If you need a tea break, you could stop for dessert and green tea at Fukujuen\u2019s flagship store.<\/p>\n

By now it should be late afternoon or early evening. Along Shijo-dori, head north on Hanamikoji-dori until you reach the canal that runs along Shirakawa Minami-dori.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pleasant walk along the canal toward the Kamo River.<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/a>
Specialised crafts stores in the Terramachi area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you do have more time and are into very specialised arts and crafts, the area around Terramachi (not far from Nishiki market) has some impressive stores – beautiful and expensive (!). Well known tea company Ippodo is located here and they do demonstrate the correct way to may the various types of green tea.<\/p>\n

\"Upped<\/a>
Ippodo tea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pontocho<\/a>
Lots of bars to relax in along the Pontocho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evening drinks \/ dinner:<\/b> Most dining places are open by 5 pm so in the summer, the extended dining areas along the Pontocho should already be setting up. To reach the Pontocho, cross the Kamo River on Shijo-dori and almost immediately on the right is a lane with a number of bars and eateries. I can\u2019t really tell which is best to eat at (there are tons) – I chose a beef grill restaurant further up because I wanted the experience of eating overlooking the river but we were rained out. But if it\u2019s too early for dinner, having a drink at one of the bars is quite fun. You can sit and just watch people stroll by.<\/p>\n

\"Pontocho<\/a>
Looking into the window of a restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Old<\/a>
Along the lanes in old Kyoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If in your mind\u2019s eye of Japan, you see old wooden structures lining narrow lanes and paper lanterns then Kyoto is probably the best place to find this. And specifically, the Kawaramachi and Gion areas in central Kyoto are great places to soak up the atmosphere of old Kyoto. I think the evenings are the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,21,94,135],"tags":[43,58,73,47,97],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asiapac","category-japan-asiapac","category-japan-itinerary","category-japan-kyoto","tag-featured","tag-japan","tag-kyoto","tag-temple","tag-walks","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":890,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions\/890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}