Discover Kyoto’s magical Gion district, which is known for being the city’s Geisha area. Don't worry about language barriers, as a guide is there to help you translate and explain the difference between maiko, geiko, and other Japanese words. The unmarked narrow streets of Gion can make it easy to get lost at night, but this is not a problem with a guide to navigate and lead the way. Upgrade to a longer, private tour for a closer look at Geisha culture.

No getting lost—a guide navigates down Gion’s narrow alleyways
Learn where to find hidden places in the Geisha district
Go to areas when 'Memoirs of a Geisha' was filmed
Learn about Geiko and Maiko from your guide, on this Gion walking tour

What's Included

Professional, English-speaking guide

Transportation to/from attractions
Hotel pickup/drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

井筒八ッ橋本舗北座祇園本店
Japan, 605-0079 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, Tokiwachō, １７８井筒八ッ橋本舗北座祇園本店
The best way to locate Gion Omoide Museum is to search in the google map by typing key word "gion omoide museum" However, it is small museum, and not familiar among people. If you ask locals about its location, please ask "Izutsu Yatsuhashi Gion Honten" which is the traditional pastry shop. The museum is located in the same building. Please arrive in the meeting place before 6pm or 15 minutes before 6pm.

Start time

06:00 pm

End point

Gion Corner
570-2 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan

What To Expect

Gion

1 hour 40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Not recommended for participants with serious medical conditions
This tour has a maximum of 15 passengers per booking. If you require a booking for more than 15 passengers, please create a separate booking. Please note that more than 30 passengers may join the tour depending on the conditions of the tour departure date.
Near public transportation

Small-group tour option (less than 10 guests guaranteed) can be chosen for different price
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

I would highly recommend doing this on your first night to get your bearings and to enjoy the rest of your stay in Kyoto.

Rainy evening spoiled the experience for me and would suggest an easier to find meeting spot.

Reviews

4.5

299 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 299 reviews

Good tour of Gion

Grace_P, Sept 2023

Our guide was excellent and informative. group was rather large so sometimes difficult to hear. enjoyed all the personal and historical references

Great walking tour of the Geisha districts in Kyoto

tara, Sept 2023

Lovely walking tour with our very knowledgeable guide - Choco (apologies I did not get the spelling but she made a point of saying like chocolate ) . She taught us a lot and answered many questions. She was very friendly and personable and spoke English very well. I would recommend to other.

Highly recommended!

Floor_Q, Sept 2023

It was one of the most fun tours I ever went to. The tour guide (I believe her name was Mei) was great! She was very funny and involved. The tour was very interactive and she asked questions. She could tell a lot about the sights we went to and she even told some stories about her own life. We even saw a geisha walking by! After the tour the guide walked with me and some other travelers I met during the tour to get diner to show us the best restaurants in the area. Also it is quite cheap in comparison to other tours. The Gion area was also very nice to visit in the evening.

Probably one of the best guides we had anywhere In our travels and we have done a fair bit!

ShannonY, Sept 2023

We took the tour in September and had a private group. Chako was our guide and she was REALLY great and I highly recommend this tour. She was so passionate about the topic and shared a lot with us and she was very patient and answered all our curious questions about Gion. We were impressed with her knowledge and genuine passion. Probably one of the best guides we had anywhere In our travels and we have done a fair bit!

Kyoto tour

John_E, Sept 2023

Hiro met us at our hotel and guided us around through Nijo Castle and the Golden Pavillion. He was very knowledgeable and was happy to answer any questions

Too large group for this tour

Snezhana_H, Aug 2023

It was a group of more than 50 people, we weren't able to hear everything told by the guide. She tried to use a microphone, she tried to the best what she could do. They new the number of people paid for this tour from the beginning and they had to provide at least one more guide.

Wonderful tour. We saw and learnt so much

Marcelle_T, Aug 2023

We booked this just the day before. So glad we did it. It was wonderful to learn all about the Geisha tradition and culture.

I am glad we took the...

Roman_E, Aug 2023

I am glad we took the tour. Our guide Mia shared interesting information she got from her personal communication with geiko.

Complete disappointment!!

Mark_H, Aug 2023

Well we never managed to get there as the GPS location in the one provided us was not correct! Made numerous attempts to contact the guide ( screen shots of the conversation available) but the guide never bothered to reply! After the tour was finished I reached out again and the guide never replied! Very very disappointed ! Why include a messaging service with the guide if they're not going to respond???

Wonderful stories bring Gion to life

Amanda_M, Aug 2023

Mia, our guide, was wonderful, and managed to wrangle our large group well. Great stories. I really do not like being forced to write more here.

Nice walking tour

Staci_T, July 2023

Tour guide was very knowledgeable, Goin district is a very cool place to visit and it was nice to have someone that knows the area tell us the history.

Loved the small group...

Gregg_Y, July 2023

Loved the small group tour. Excellent information and a very friendly guide! We even had the the great luck to see some maiko in Gion.

Amazing, informative and memorable

Monica_Q, July 2023

Amazing tour of the gion district. Really informative and gave us a new understanding ans appreciation for the wondeful Geiko

Informative

Gail_T, June 2023

Guide was informative and friendly, we saw 2 Maiko very briefly. Expected to see more so it was a little disappointing.

Great private tour

Barbara_V, June 2023

We had a private tour and it was a lovely, informative evening with an entertaining and knowledgeable guide. Strongly recommend.

Disappointed

Rekha_N, June 2023

The tour was too overcrowded with participants. Number of people should be limited for quality experience. You could see the frustration of the locals with such a large group walking together disrupting everything. We also couldn't hear the tour guide most of the time.

I wrote to you all

Rachel_L, June 2023

Very big group.more than 40 people. We cant heard all. Just people were close to the guede .but it was so big

Such a good tour, and a great value!

Rosemary_B, June 2023

We took this tour in early May 2023. It was absolutely wonderful -- our female guide (didn't get her name) was enthusiastic, easy to understand, very likeable and patient, and very knowledgeable about the Gion region. And I can say that it's an incredibly good value, in terms of the experience and interesting information you get for the money. Highly recommended.

Too many people

Laurie_L, June 2023

Chaco was very informative and welcoming. But the group was too large and people randomly joined. That meant not everyone could hear the narrative and it was difficult to navigate the narrow sidewalks. It wasn’t really a tour of Gion - geisha district. It also included Maruyama park which we saw during the day. I would raise the price and limit the participants. We left halfway through the tours and I doubt it was noticed.

Great Experience

Kelly_S, June 2023

Mia was absolutely fantastic with her knowledge of the area and of course seeing a Maiko just made the night perfect…..thanks again Mia

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