Neighbourhood · Kyoto

Kawaramachi and Pontocho (downtown): what to see and do

河原町・先斗町

Downtown Kyoto around the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing, with the covered arcades, Nishiki Market, Pontocho and Kiyamachi between Shijo and Sanjo. It suits first-time visitors and travellers who want restaurants and bars at the door and Gion across the river.

17 places Kyoto-Kawaramachi, 5 min walkKyoto Shiyakusho-mae, 7 min walk 20 min to Kyoto Station

Shoppers under the colourful glass roof of the Nishiki Market arcade
Nishiki Market · Photo: Hidehiro Komatsu from Kyoto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Your dates

Sights

  1. Street

    Pontocho 先斗町

    A narrow alley running from Shijo-dori to Sanjo-dori one block west of the Kamo river, packed with restaurants and bars from inexpensive yakitori to exclusive traditional dining.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 3 min walk · Free entry · 45 min

  2. Nature

    Kamo River Walk 鴨川

    Paths run along both banks of the Kamo river through central Kyoto.

    Sanjo (Keihan Main Line), 3 min walk · Free entry · 45 min

  3. Temple

    Honno-ji 本能寺

    The rebuilt successor of the temple where Oda Nobunaga died in 1582, now on Teramachi-dori near Kyoto City Hall.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 3 min walk · Paid entry · 30 min

  4. Shrine

    Nishiki Tenmangu 錦天満宮

    A small shrine at the eastern end of Nishiki Market, facing Shinkyogoku, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 4 min walk · Free entry · 10 min

Food, drink and markets

  1. Market

    Nishiki Market 錦市場

    A narrow covered street five blocks long, one block north of Shijo-dori, lined with more than a hundred food shops and stalls selling pickles, fish, sweets, tofu and kitchen knives.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 5 min walk · Free entry · 1 h

  2. Nightlife

    Kiyamachi-dori 木屋町通

    A street following the Takase canal, dug in 1611, between the Kamo river and Kawaramachi-dori.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 3 min walk · Free entry · 45 min

  3. Cafe

    Smart Coffee スマート珈琲店

    A coffee shop in the Teramachi arcade near Sanjo, open since 1932 and roasting its own beans.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 4 min walk · Free entry · 40 min

  4. Cafe

    Rokuyosha Coffee 六曜社珈琲店

    A coffee house on Kawaramachi-dori just south of Sanjo, founded in 1950, with two separate rooms: a ground floor cafe and a basement that turns into a bar in the evening.

    Sanjo (Keihan Main Line), 5 min walk · Free entry · 40 min

  5. Cafe

    Tsukiji coffee house 築地

    A kissaten founded in 1934 in a lane just north of the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing, with an ornate interior designed by its first owner.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 1 min walk · Free entry · 30 min

  6. Cafe

    Francois Coffee House フランソア喫茶室

    A coffee house opened in 1934 beside the Takase canal south of Shijo, with an Italian Baroque style interior modelled on the hall of an ocean liner.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 2 min walk · Free entry · 40 min

  7. Food

    Mishima-tei (main restaurant) 三嶋亭 本店

    A sukiyaki restaurant founded in 1873 at the corner of the Teramachi arcade and Sanjo-dori, with a butcher counter at the front selling beef to take home.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 6 min walk · Free entry · 1 h 30 min

  8. Nightlife

    Bar K6 BAR K6

    A bar on the second floor of a building at Kiyamachi and Nijo, at the quiet northern end of Kiyamachi-dori.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 6 min walk · Free entry · 1 h

  9. Nightlife

    Taku Taku 磔磔

    A live music venue on Tominokoji-dori south of Bukkoji, in a sake storehouse built in 1917.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 10 min walk · Paid entry · 2 h 30 min

Shopping

  1. Shopping

    Teramachi and Shinkyogoku Arcades 寺町京極・新京極

    Two parallel covered shopping streets running between Shijo and Sanjo.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 5 min walk · Free entry · 1 h

  2. Shopping

    Kyoto Takashimaya 京都高島屋

    A department store at the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing, part of the Kyoto Takashimaya S.C.

    Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 1 min walk · Free entry · 1 h

  3. Shopping

    Ippodo Tea (Kyoto main store) 一保堂茶舗 京都本店

    The main store of a Japanese tea merchant whose history on Teramachi-dori goes back to 1717, selling matcha, gyokuro, sencha and hojicha.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 7 min walk · Free entry · 40 min

  4. Shopping

    Kyukyodo (main store) 鳩居堂 本店

    A shop founded in 1663, originally as a pharmacy, on Teramachi-dori at Aneyakoji.

    Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 4 min walk · Free entry · 30 min

Getting there

  • Kyoto-Kawaramachi (Hankyu Kyoto Line), 5 min walk
  • Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line), 7 min walk
  • Gion-Shijo (Keihan Main Line), 7 min walk
  • Sanjo (Keihan Main Line), 7 min walk
Kyoto Station
20 min
Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing
5 min
Yasaka Shrine (Gion)
12 min

Travel time (public transport)

For visitors

  • The largest collection of shopping and dining in the city, according to Japan Guide
  • Gion, Yasaka Shrine and the Kamo river are a short walk away
  • Hankyu trains to Osaka and Arashiyama, Keihan trains to Fushimi Inari, and many bus routes
  • Pontocho and Kiyamachi keep restaurants and bars open late
  • No JR station: reaching Kyoto Station takes a bus or a subway transfer
  • Streets around Kiyamachi and Kawaramachi are noisy late at night
  • Crowded sidewalks and arcades at weekends

Nearby areas

Staying here

Hotels in Kawaramachi and Pontocho had a median rate of US$376 per night in the latest weekly sample. Chain and boutique hotels along Shijo, Sanjo and Kawaramachi streets and around City Hall, hostels and capsule hotels, and small ryokan and machiya inns along the Takase canal.

Where to stay in Kawaramachi and Pontocho: stations, pros and cons, hotel types

Prices and availability come from the booking sites and can change.

Sources · Verified 24 September 2026