May 19, 2014 - 1 min read

Strolling around Kyoto Streets

Take a walk and enjoy, Kyoto never disappoints you!

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

Kyoto National Museum in Higashiyama, Kyoto

Crow on the grounds of Kyoto National Museum, Higashiyama, Kyoto

Kyoto Shijo Minami-za Kabuki Theater, Shijo, Kyoto

Exquisite roof of Kyoto Shijo Minami-za Kabuki Theater, Shijo, Kyoto

Small shrine on a sidewalk of Shirakawa Street

Looks like a traditional Japanese inn, but it turned out to be a parking lot run by Kyoto City! (along Kamogawa River, near Shijo)

Kyoto Shijo Minamiza Kabuki Theater and the moon in the sky

Statue of Okuni, the primogenitor of Kabuki, along Kamogawa River near Shijo Ohashi (Shijo Bridge)

People enjoying dinner at restaurants along Kamogawa River near Shijo Ohashi (Shijo Bridge)

Western solo violinist entertaining people strolling along Kamogawa River

Japanese cake shop near Shijo Ohashi (Shijo Bridge)

Close-up of Japanse cake 'Manju' in a Japanese cake shop

I have to confess: Although I've visited Kyoto many times in my life and I even LIVED in the suburbs of Kyoto, I'd never done sightseeing or strolled around the streets there without purpose. But for the first time in my life, the chance arose! I don't know why but I just suddenly wanted to wander through the city. I asked the concierge at the hotel I was staying, 'Where is the most Kyoto-like place I should go?', and she told me some names of places. As I couldn't choose, she decided the destination for me. Shirakawa Street. I hailed a cab and the driver dropped me off at the riverside walk there. And I found out...just strolling around the streets in Kyoto was such a joy! I didn't exactly know where I was strolling, but it was FUN! You don't even need a map to do so, and people are kind to tourists, so just grab your purse and camera, and go for a stroll!