Higashiyama and Gion, Kyoto

Higashiyama is the best-preserved old district of Kyoto, once Japan's imperial capital for over a thousand years, where steep, atmospheric lanes of wooden machiya houses, teahouses and craft shops climb toward great temples like Kiyomizu-dera. Below lies Gion, the famous geisha district, where lantern-lit streets and wooden facades hold onto old Japan. The district climbs to Kiyomizu-dera, a component of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto.

What you actually see

• Kiyomizu-dera - the great temple on its vast wooden veranda over the hillside.
• The preserved lanes - the streets of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka.
• Gion - the geisha district of teahouses and wooden facades.
• The temples and gardens - the many temples of the eastern hills.

When to go

Spring for cherry blossom and autumn for the fiery maple colour are the most beautiful and the most crowded; go early morning for the lanes before the crowds. Evening in Gion, lantern-lit, is atmospheric.

Honest expectations

It is extremely popular, so the famous lanes and Kiyomizu-dera are packed by mid-morning, especially in blossom and autumn seasons; go at dawn for the quiet. In Gion, real geisha, or geiko, are rare and should never be chased or blocked for photos, which has become a genuine problem.

Nearby

The temples of eastern Kyoto, the Nishiki food market and the Imperial Palace are elsewhere in the city.