How to enjoy the Gion Matsuri as a tourist

Gion Matsuri is a month-long summer festival taking place in central Kyoto every July. Unlike some other Japanese festivals, it is really easy to enjoy the Gion Matsuri as a tourist! Due to it lasting a whole month, and taking place across central Kyoto, there are so many events, there will be plenty of opportunities to observe the festivities. Some will be busier than others, but you will be very unlikely to get into huge crowds or traffic jams, and altogether it is very easy to attend the Gion Matsuri as a tourist!

This is a report of my personal experience of Gion Matsuri as a tourist, with a guide on the events I participated in, on enjoying the Gion Matsuri as a tourist to Kyoto.

What is the Gion Matsuri?

The Gion Matsuri is a Kyoto summer festival. It was started during the Heian Period, in 869 CE, to be exact, when Kyoto was ridden by a plague epidemic. The Emperor of Japan ordered that in Kyoto, in order to appease the angry spirits, flag-topped halberds must be carried through the city. And lo and behold, the epidemic came and went. A few years later, with the city facing of the next epidemic, the event was repeated and, to be totally safe, it was turned into an annual event. The halberds evolved into splendid floats, decorated with tapestries and treasures, and pacifying the angry spirits turned into an elaborate event what would also purify the streets of Kyoto.

The festival is centred around Yasaka Shrine in Gion, where the Gozu Tenno Kami is thought to reside, but all kami of Yasaka Shrine are venerated and involved in the Gion Matsuri.

Important Gion Matsuri Dates and Events

The Gion Matsuri takes place every year in July, and the festival is a month long, so there are plenty of events to participate in. Here is a short overview of what is happening. I’ll lis the larger, tourist-friendly major events first.

Yoiyama Evening Festivals

Yoiyoiyoiyama, Yoiyoiyama, and Yoiyama evenings between July 14th–16th and July 21st–23rd are joyful evenings with food stalls, makeshift bars and sales stalls around the floats. You can buy special omamori (charms) only on sale on these nights, and you can climb some of the floats.

This is one of the best events to join as a tourist. It gets busy, but you can stroll around the floats – see map above- for hours, eat and drink and admire the floats ahead of the parade. Enjoy street food, traditional music, lots of laughter, yet it’s all very orderly.

Yamaboko Junkō Parades

The float parades of Saki Matsuri on July 17th and Ato Matsuri on July 24 are called Yamaboko Junkō. They have the beautifully decorated floats you see on many Gion Matsuri photographs being pulled through downtown Kyoto.

The huge floats that look like houses on wheels are called Hoko and represent the original halberds, they can weigh up to 12 tons and are decorated with a huge central pole.The slightly smaller floats are called Yama (“mountain”), and they are usually decorated with a pine tree and tell a mythological or historical story.

There are 9 Hoko and 24 Yama. Twenty-four floats will participate in the Saki Matsuri Parade, and the other ten in the Ato Matsuri Parade. I went to the Saki Matsuri and it is an excellent event suitable for tourists. The reason these floats are pulled through the streets are that they serve to purify the city streets for the Mikoshi Togyo in the evening. In 2024, the Saki Matsuri started at 9am on Shijo-dori, near Daimaru Department Store and moved eastwards towards Kawaramachi-dori. You can download a map of the route of the procession for the Saki Matsuri and the Ato Matsuri.

Mikoshi Togyo at Yasaka Shrine

Mikoshi Togyo, taking place in the evening on July 17th and 24th, are another excellent public event. The mikoshi housing the deities of Yasaka Shrine are brought out and carried through the streets to the Otabisho, a temporary shrine, on Shijo-dori, where they “rest” for a week before returning to Yasaka Shrine in another parade.

After being paraded around Yasaka Shrine, the mikoshi take different routes to the Otabisho to spread as much blessing and happiness through the surrounding streets.

Other major Gion Matsuri Events

July 10th: Omukae Chōchin (Lantern Reception) and Mikoshi Purification: Dance and Music from Shijo-dori to Kawaramachi-dori in order to prepare for the Mikoshi from Yasaka Shrine, and the shrines are taken to the Kamo river to be ritually washed.

July 14th–16th and July 21st–23rd Byōbu Matsuri (Folding Screen Festival): On the same dates as the Yoiyama, some wealthy families, private museums and art foundations open their door to the public and exhibit special treasures and heirlooms.

July 10-14 and 18-21: Float Construction for Saki Matsuri and Ato Matsuri: The huge ornate floats are constructed in situ in the streets of Central Kyoto, with traffic cooly directed around the floats. If you walk around central Kyoto during that period, you can see the floats being constructed from wooden beams and later decorated on gorgeous tapestries. You can download the map for the Saki Matsuri and the Ato Matsuri floats from Kyoto Tourist Office.

July 13th: Sacred Child Shrine Visit: Several boys are chosen each year as the “sacred child” , with the Naginaboko float sacred child being the most well-known, as he will cut the rope and open the Yamaboko Junko.

July 16th: Iwami Kagura: Short Nō performances take place at Yasaka Shrine.

July 24th: Hanagasa Junkō: A procession on foot from Yasaka Shrine to Kyoto City Hall by women wearing elaborate hats decorated with flowers, with dances on the way. Some geiko and maiko also take part.

July 30th: Purification at Eki Shrine: A smaller and possibly quite private affair for those who actively participated in the Gion MAtsuri receiving blessings from a priest at Yasaka Shrine.

If you would like to read further, I recommend an excellent web site called The Gion Festival by Catherine Pawasarat, who has also authored a book about Gion Matsuri! It is so detailed down to description and history of all the events down to details of the floats.

My visit to the Kyoto Gion Matsuri

I rolled into town in the afternoon of 16 July, arriving from a trip on the Kumano Kodo. I had a smidgen of festival experience now, having been to the Nacho no Ogi Matsuri at Kumano Nachi Taisha, but the Gion Matsuri proved completely different – and more suitable for tourists, in my opinion!

I checked into my hotel, had a nap, and set off to join the Yoiyama, the last night before the Yamaboko Junko Parade of the Saki Matsuri, around 18.00, giving me plenty of time to familiarize myself with the streets around my hotel and the location of the floats.

I also planned to see the Yamaboko Junko the next morning, although I was quite apprehensive about the standing in the oppressive Kyoto heat, and the Mikoshi Togyo Parade in the evening, therefore giving me the chance to see three major matsuri events in a relatively short time span. I managed to see them all, without much stress or planning ahead, other than booking my accommodation, and had plenty of time to visit some new to me temples,shops and restaurants, too.

I spent four nights in Kyoto altogether, and every time I walked round the downtown area, I came across special exhibits and decoration for the matsuri, and it was a very special atmosphere all over downtown bar the perpetually rammed Nishiki Market and surrounding arcades.

Eat, drink and watch the floats at Yoiyama

The evenings preceding the float parades, the Yamaboko Junko, are festive affairs in the streets surrounding the floats, where all the floats can be admired and sometimes entered, with lots of music, food drink, and the sale of special charms and all sorts of merry making. It is an extremely jolly, but at the same time, very orderly affair.

I set out well before sunset, map in hand, seeking out the streets with the floats. The crowd control was excellent, with many streets closed to traffic, and elaborate one-way systems for human traffic, that were policed and worked pretty well.

From far, I could already hear the sweet flute and drum sounds that at once, were played to pacify angry spirits, and for me have become the epitome of a very hot summer visit in Kyoto, since that music is really played everywhere during the matsuri!

Along the streets, there were stalls selling food, toys, and souvenirs.

You can buy one-of-a kind souvenirs specific to the yamaboko floats and their associations.

I strolled through the narrower streets, pulled by the crowd, occasionally glancing at my map, admiring the floats, and bought plenty of omamori and promotional stuff – a stamp here, a tenugui there, basically, feel free to purchase, as the sales support the local neighbourhood associations that build and run these floats. Of course, I was much slower than I would normally be on foot, stopping at many stalls, listening to music performances and taking lots of photos.

If there is a good time to wear a kimono or yukata as a foreigner in Japan, a festival probably is. At summer festivals, the lighter yukata are normally worn

Some even go into full costume mode. Basically, there are no rules how to dress for Gion MAtsuri as a visitor. It was still really hot after dark, so the lighter and breezier, the better.

At nightfall, the floats are lit up by hundreds of lanterns, making them even more atmospheric. And so I strolled, across Shijo-dori, down side streets, back and forth, and then again, admiring the largest hoko on Shijo-dori. Seriously one of the nicest evenings of my life. Away from the floats, it was not too crowded.

Altogether, I immensely enjoyed the Yoiyama. The atmosphere was so cheerful but not raucous, there was a lot of laughter, but never did it overpower the traditional music played everywhere. Volunteers stood everywhere to guide people, take rubbish, help with questions. Japanese efficiency at its best.

Towards the end of my walk through the festival streets, I passed the fune-hoko. This hoko is quite unique as it is the only one in the shape of a ship, and it represents a ship going into battle. The much newer ofune hoko, a 1980’s rebuild, represents a ship returning from battle.

When I thought I had seen most of the floats, I had a meal of soba. I needed to rest my feet and sit in an air-conditioned restaurant so badly. Then I discovered a large drugstore, still open, opposite. So I finished Yoiyama fairly sober, loaded up with shampoo, conditioner and facial cleanser – and ready for the Yamaboko Junko the next morning.

Best times and places for the Yamaboko Junko – Saki Matsuri and Ato Matsuri

Both Yamaboko Junko Parades start at 9am – on 17 July, the floats set off from near Daimaru Department Store on Kawaramachi and move counterclockwise towards City Hall. On 24 July, they start at City Hall and move clockwise to Kawaramachi. Here is a more detailed map of the location of the floats and the route of the Saki Matsuri Yamaboko Junko parade.

This means that you can watch the floats over a nearly 3 kilometre course, so there is plenty of room for everyone, and a front row seat almost guaranteed if you arrive half an hour early. On the check point right at the beginning, you will have many photographers and press blocking the view. So remember to find somewhere a bit away from the starting checkpoint.

I don’t recommend sitting right in front of the checkpoint. It is where the parade begins after the sacred child in the front hoko cuts the ribbon, but you will also have a glut of press and photographers in front of you (and your pictures). Anywhere from 200 metres down from the checkpoint is fine.

I found a nice place in the shade on Kawaramachi near Sakaimachi-dori. It was right next to a Doutor Coffee and a Starbucks for immediate refreshment if needed. I felt pretty safe to leave my spot in order to visit the bathroom or buy a drink – people really watched out for each other, were chatty, and I enjoyed the atmosphere immensely!

Because it is so hot and the sun moves and you will not always be in the shade, I would recommend taking a small folding chair or blanket to sit on the ground, and sun protection – an umbrella or sun hat. And water, lots of it, although there are shops around.

And soon just after 9am, the Naginata Hoko started moving towards us, a crowd of exciting press, photographers and TV crews swarming around it.

Once the parade has started, you will not be able to cross the street, but you can move alongside, and it was never painfully crowded at any point. I was hoping that the light would not be too harsh, being in a spot right at the beginning of the parade, but it was super sunny, and super hot!

Visitors are free to sit on the sidewalks almost anywhere lining the course of the parade. Some people came much better prepared with mats and little chairs, but, being typically Japanese, everyone just took as little room as they needed for their little chair and a bag. Being half an hour early was sufficient to get a “front row” place.

If you like it more sedate and a bit VIP, you best pre-purchase tickets for the seats outside City Hall.

The floats are huge, so I recommend a decent camera for getting some nice pictures. I had a camera with a 20-200mm travel zoom on me, which was plenty. I recommend something with 20-30mm (FX) to about 100mm to capture some details.

As these floats are heavy and their axles don’t move, they move quite slowly, and the crews pulling them take regular breaks.

And all the while, the sweet tunes of flutes and drum, the Gion Matsuri Music, is played by the musicians on the hoko as the pass by. Despite huge crowds, people listen raptly and it’s a relatively reverent affair.

Some say the two turns in the road are the most spectacular, as you can admire the floats from different angles, and turning as 10-ton float with rigid wheels a 90-degree angle takes some skill and action, but the turns are also the busiest when it comes to spectator numbers.

Depending on how fast the floats move, the parade lasts 3-4 hours, a bit shorter on Ato Matsuri. Of course, visitors are free to come and go when they want, except for crossing the main road. This time, one of the hoko had a stuck wheel, so the other floats had to pass it with centimetres to spare, until they got their wheel going again.

I found the cafes and shops lining the road and around not overly busy, so it was easy for me to hop to lunch after the parade had finished- I went to Komeda’s Coffee near Nishiki Market, my favourite coffee shop chain.

How to enjoy the Mikoshi Togyo

After a little siesta and moving to my next hotel, I went to pick up my rental bicycle from J-Cycle and cycled to Shijo-dori, which was closed to traffic and quickly filling up with people. Winding through Gion’s back streets, I arrived at Yasaka-jinja to find the surrounding sidewalks filled up, too, so I positioned myself on Higashioji-dori, just a bit south of but still in view of Yasaka Shrine.

It proved to be an excellent location. As the route where the main action takes place is much shorter than for the float parades, it was accordingly super crowded but still friendly. Shortly after 18.00, the music started, and at first there were various costumed people carrying small staffs and what looked like mikoshi, walking up Higashioji-dori and turning into Shijo-dori after passing Yasaka Shrine. But the main event was yet to come!

Next, the Sacred Child (chigo) defiled past on a horse – he is so instrumental in many of Gion Matsuri’s festivities, he certainly has a very busy schedule, and it is a huge responsibility for a young child! There are, in fact, several chigo, but only one to lead the Yamaboko Junko Procession and the Mikoshi Togyo, and it it said his feet must not touch the ground during the festivities.

Finally, there was more music, and a general excitement, as the first of three red and gold mikoshi (portable shrines) turned the corner from the little side street to be paraded down Shijo-dori.

Accompanied by many, many men dressed in white, way more than needed to carry the modestly sized mikoshi. Ad the passed the onlookers, they started bouncing the mikoshi quite violently up and down to the great cheer of onlookers while shouting something like “Hoito! Hoito! – apparently to amuse and entertain the kami on their way to their temporary home at the Otabisho.

After taking some photos, I gave my front row place to someone else and enjoyed the atmosphere from the second row. The second mikoshi appeared, then the third. There was some more vigorous bouncing of all three in front of Yasaka Shrine, then the mikoshi parted ways, one going straight down Shijo-dori, the other two into neighbouring streets.

The mikoshi take a different route each to spread the blessings all over town, someone next to me explained. I probably could have tried to catch up with one of them, but I felt like I had seen the best already, and it would take over an hour for all three mikoshi to arrive at the Otabisho.

The Otabisho is a relatively unremarkable-looking tiny shrine on Karasuma-dori near Mitsukoshi Department Store. The Mikoshi will be displayed with great fanfare and be exhibited for viewing for a week, before being returned to Yasaka Shrine. If you like loud and boisterous, definitely pick the Mikoshi Togyo to attend!

Other Gion Matsuri Festivities

The Yoiyama nights, Yamaboko Junko and Mikoshi Togyo are the most well -known and visitor-friendly events at the Gion Matsuri, so mid-July is the best time to be in Kyoto for the Gion Matsuri.

If you have the time, you can enter private homes during the Byobu Matsuri, where wealthy Kyoto residents, traditionally business people and traders exhibit their heirlooms, traditionally the byobu (folding screens) but other treasures can be seen as well. These are at art foundations like the Sugimoto Residence, Nagae Family Residence, art galleries, or private homes.

Many shops in town have special decorations or displays, you can buy matsuri-themed books, stationary, fans and other merchandise, and even enjoy special offers in many shops in Downtown Kyoto.

Important Information for Gion Matsuri 

The month of July is a very hot month in Japan -see below – and, when compared to cherry blossom or autumn foliage season, not exactly peak tourist season. This means, you’ll easily get a seat on the train, and decent priced hotel accommodation in July, even in Kyoto.

For maximum convenience, I recommend staying in a central accommodation in the Karasuma or Kawaramachi or Gion area, or anywhere near the subway lines, as many streets in the festival area will be closed to traffic, and buses rerouted. This way, you can easily walk to and from the parade, take a rest when you need to, and avoid the midday heat.

If you prefer a seated experience for the Saki and Ato Matsuri float parade, you can purchase seated tickets for about 4000 JPY through the Kyoto Tourist Office from early June.

The Gion Matsuri is also an excellent opportunity to don the yukata, the casual summer kimono. It makes a nice alternative to kimono rental and is a lot more comfortable to wear in the heat. Many shops in Kyoto sell them. Musubi Kyoto is a great tourist-friendly one-stop shop to buy a decent quality yukata in the downtown area. Don’t wear the onsen or ryokan yukata. These, although also called yukata, are strictly loungewear only. Department stores have high-quality version of the yukata, and you find may very inexpensive ones on second hand stores like Chicago, BookOffPlus or Second Street and flea markets, of course.

The festivities are perfectly safe for tourists and solo travellers in particular. Although they draw big crowds and large amounts of alcohol gets consumed at Yoiyama, the atmosphere is cheerfully polite, there are armies of volunteers with trash bins and guiding human traffic, and police.

How far should you plan ahead?

Gion Matsuri takes place in July, and the period between the Yoiyama Nights of 14-16 and the Saki Matsuri on 17 July are probably the busiest festival time, so expect the city full of visitors. Also, Umi no Hi, celebrated every third Monday in July, is a day off, so many national tourists travel on the long weekend.

It is, however, not such a busy time for foreign tourists as it gets very hot and humid in Japan during July. So, except at peak festival times, it should be quite possible to find accommodation, even at relatively short notice.

I booked my flights at very short notice (for me), about six weeks in advance, and by the time I figured out it’s the Gion Matsuri, it was about three or four weeks until my trip, and I still had a nice choice of accommodation. Not booking anything or booking the day before isn’t a great idea, though. Hotels were certainly quite full and more expensive when I checked “just for fun”. So even a last-minute trip to the Gion Matsuri is possible, with suitable accommodation the limiting factor.

Where to stay during the Gion Matsuri?

Anywhere near in the huge block bordered by Kawaramachi-dori, Shijo-dori, Oike-dori and Karasume-dori will be a convenient place to stay during the festival, as pretty much all the action is happening here, and you can walk to the events easily. It is also one of the busiest and most touristy areas of Kyoto, but the northern end is generally quite nice with lots of local shops and restaurants. I have picked a couple nice hotels that are quiet, yet within easy reach of the festivities. I have stayed in all of these, except Resol, but I booked Resol for an upcoming trip.

Tabist Kiki Sanjo Takakura Hotel

I changed my travel plans in order to attend the Yamaboko Junko parade and the Yoiyama preceding it. Initially, I had booked a Japanese Guest House further away from the centre, but after reading the weather forecast, I figured cycling 3km in intense heat just to get to the centre might not be the best idea, so I changed to centrally located accommodation and paid a bit more.

I spent one night at Tabist Kiki Hotel Sanjo Takakura, a very smart small four-star hotel at the back of ShinPuhKan, a rather smart area of Downtown Kyoto. This was my splurge stay, 83 Euro for one night in a reduced room as there was a window but very little daylight.

Other than that, the room was great – large, with a full size bath, two immensely comfortable twin beds and a tatami-covered sitting area with nice accents form Kyoto design house Sou-Sou. That was one of the major nights of the Gion Festival when all accommodation in central Kyoto was either sold out or super expensive.

Prince Smart Inn Kyoto

After my night of luxury, , I moved down the road to the Prince Smart Inn Kyoto Sanjo for a further three nights. Not only did this hotel have bicycle parking, but I liked the location even better – a stone’s throw from the northern End of Teramachi Shopping street with some of my favourite Kyoto shops, Kyukyodo, Misuyabari Sewing Needles, Musubi… and cult cafe Smart Coffee. The surrounding area was a great mix of small restaurants, upmarket apparel shops and art supplies and paper stores. 

The hotel was bright and modern, rooms rather spartan but large enough, with ultra comfortable beds and the only thing I really missed was a kettle for my morning coffee and my green tea. I paid 163 Euros for three nights including a relatively sparse breakfast.

Hotel Resol Kyoto Kawaramachi

For those who prefer to be in the thick of things: Of all the Hotel Resol locations in Kyoto, Resol Kawaramachi one is right opposite Mina Shopping Mall in a downtown area full of hotel and shops. It is a rather small hotel in Japanese style but with Western beds – and bicycle hire! Note that you will be pushing your bicycle a few hundred metres as cycling is not allowed in Kawaramachi Street in the daytime. Expect to pay 60-120 Euro per person per night depending on room type.

Kiraku Inn

The following is not in the central Kawaramachi block but in Northern Gion, but I am adding it anyway, as it is an excellent comfortable and clean private room budget option, and it’s walkable to Kawaramachi and Yasaka Shrine.

I stayed at Kiraku Inn Kyoto on a previous trip. It’s a very simple accommodation in a historic Kyoto Machiya. I had a private room, bathrooms were shared. I liked it, my room had everything it needed, it was quiet (except for the crows at 4am, thank you) and clean. I paid under 100 Euro for three night sin a clean private room with access to a small kitchen in a super central location – and I could also park my bicycle there thanks to the accommodating owner.

It is worth noting the true lord or the mansion is Tama, a huge tomcat, who is allowed everything and everywhere, so if you have a problem with cats or a severe allergy, it might not be for you.

The Small Print

I visited Kansai solo in July 2024, paying for all expenses myself. So what you get here is my totally unbiased opinion, no freebies, no discounts for good reviews. My only monetisation of this blog at the time of publication is affiliate links to Booking.com, which is my preferred (and only) hotel booking site when I am not booking directly. If you use one of the links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, but trust me, this blog is 99% a hobby, meaning I work a regular job and all my travel money comes from working full time.

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