Gion Hanamikoji

Kyoto's principal geisha district, between the Kamogawa and Yasaka Shrine. Hanamikoji-dōri, the central north-south lane, holds the city's densest concentration of ochaya teahouses: narrow machiya facades, wooden lattice fronts, the occasional lantern at the threshold. Geiko and maiko walk the streets in early evening on their way to engagements; respect the no-photo zones marked at the lane entrances. The district splits into two hanamachi (Gion Kobu and Gion Higashi); Kobu, the larger, includes Hanamikoji and the Shirakawa lane along the canal. Walks here read very differently from daytime: quieter, more architectural, with most teahouse interiors invisible behind the lattice.