FAQ1: Which is the best Gion, Kyoto walking tour?

The Bridgeway Gion Walking Tour

The picture above is Yasui Kompiragu, which is a very special Shinto shrine in the Gion entertainment district.

  • Visit two shrines—Ebisu and Yasui Konpira-gu—and Kyoto’s oldest Zen Buddhist temple, Kennin-ji (scroll down for links to their sites);
  • Learn things you won’t learn with anyone else;
  • All walk-leaders are English native speakers, so there will be no problems with understanding the information that the walk-leader delivers;
  • Walks are private, and only your group of 1-5 people will attend;
  • The tour is fine for wheelchairs and persons with lower mobility;
  • Genuine Japanese history—like the history of all human societies—is fascinating, if you can access it! Get a complete overview of Japanese history on a short walking tour over a few hours;
  • While we're walking between sites, your walk-leader will help you with as much of the historical background as you need;
  • Visit sites that aren’t crowded, and enjoy the tour at a steady pace. Check here, here and here for news about how crowded Kyoto is these days;
  • The price of a tour for 1-5 people is ¥30 000 (entry to Kennin-ji is covered by walking-group members themselves);
  • Meet at an easy-to-access train station and return to the same place.
    • Availability
    • Mon., 1st Dec. 9am
    • Fri., 5th Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Mon., 8th Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Fri., 1st Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Mon., 15th Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Fri., 19th Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Mon., 22nd Dec. 9am & 1pm
    • Fri., 26th Dec. unavailable
    • Mon., 29th Dec. unavailable
    • Fri., 2nd Jan. unavailable
    • Mon., 5th Jan. 9am & 1pm
    • Please check the booking website through the payments page for dates further in the future.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.

FAQ2: What are the most popular tourist sights in Kyoto?

The Bridgeway Gion Walking Tour helps you beat the crowds in Gion.

The picture above is Fushimi Inari at 11am in the morning. In the afternoon you're queuing all the way around: it's very busy.

The most famous sites, the big four sites in Kyoto—Fushimi Inari, the Golden Pavilion, Kyomizu Dera and Yaska Jinja—are very busy. On a nice day you're queuing all the way around, no matter what the time of year. This is obviously not optimum and reduces the quality of your trip. The Bridgeway Gion Walking Tour visits sites that have been carefully selected to allow our walk-leaders to give you an overview of Japanese history as prompted by those sites without feeling the pressure of large crowds. In the Gion district we’ll visit two shrines and a temple, none of which are as famous as the big four, but which are also nowhere nearly as crowded.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.

FAQ3: What's so special about Japanese history?

It's incredibly interesting, but difficult to access.

The picture above is Kennin-ji Temple at 11,30am in the morning on the same day as the photo of Fushimi Inari above. With our tour you can enjoy cultural delights without the crowds.

All the history and the sites can be over-facing, and for reasons that will be explained on the tour, the real history of Japan, i.e. the ‘why’s and wherefores’ and not just names and dates, are inaccessible. However, we’ll help you put it all together and make sense of it. On the tour we’ll help you understand the origin of the Emperor tradition, the difference between Shinto and Buddhism, the origin of the samurai class, who Geisha were, and answer any of your other questions. The version of history you'll get with anyone else is confusing and contradictory, and that’s why we’re on a mission to help people understand and access the real history in all its glory. We’ll also give you some hints about what you might like to do after the tour in the Gion area.

The tour creator arrived in Kyoto in 2012, and is a trained PhD-level researcher. After teaching tour guides English for four years, our tour creator learnt about the official version of history, which answered none of the questions people usually ask. Therefore, motivated by a desire to understand what really happened, our tour creator did his own research for ten years using non-Japanese materials and visiting sites around Kansai, and this is what we want to share with you.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.

FAQ4: Where are the best places to go in Gion, Kyoto?

The Programme

The picture above is the tori gate entrance to the Shinto shrine dedicated to the god of financial and general good fortune, Ebisu, whose face you can see on the tori gate. Originally he's the god of fishermen, but fish were used for barter, so he became the god of business interests.

We will take about 2 1/2 hours to look at two quiet shrines and a temple, more details of which are below. As we move from site to site, the walk-leader will talk you through the historical background—going as deep into it as you wish—to enable you to appreciate what we're looking at. The following topics will be covered:

We'll visit three famous but not crowded sites that have been specially chosen to give you, through the walk-leader's commentary, a good overview of how Japanese history all fits together:

  • The origins of the Japanese Imperial State and the Emperor;
  • The difference between Buddhism and Shinto;
  • How the Samurai Class came to power, and;
  • An introduction to the delights of the Gion district, including Geisha, food and traditional theatre.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.

The Itinerary and Booking

The pictures above are the family crests of the Minamoto (l) and Taira (r) family clans, from which the samurai class descended. While we're walking between sites, your walk-leader will help you with as much of the historial background as you need.

The escorted-walk last about 2 1/2 hours, covers about 2km, and starts at 9.00am or 1.00pm on Modays or Fridays only. The price of a tour for 1-5 people is ¥30 000.

Escorted-walks start at a train station on the Keihan line, and they finish at the same place. Please check the information here for directions to the meeting point.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.

Other Tour FAQs

The picture above is from the Shinto shrine, Yasui Konpiragu, which is a shrine where people pray to break off bad relationships. As part of the ritual, people pass through this large stone covered in slips of paper on which prayers are written.

  • I'm concerned about paying for the tour without having had contact with the company providing the walking-tour service.

    The booking service Setmore and the payment company Stripe do not transfer the money until the tour has been completed, so if anything goes wrong, it's easy to get your money back.

  • What else is offered on the Bridgeway Gion Walking Tour?

    The tour does not include food or refreshments, but at the end of the tour the walk-leader will give you information about other things to do and see in Kyoto.

  • What happens if the weather isn't great?

    The walk will happen in all weathers except for typhoons, when your money will be refunded without question. If heavy rain is expected, umbrellas will be provided.

If you would like to book a tour for 1-5 people, please pay for and book a time slot on our
payments page.