pontocho alley and kamogawa riverside

we were full from eating at ikinari steak, so we decided to take a little walk. the original idea was walking along pontocho alley and then moved to across kamogawa river toward gion area, and probably rest in a cafe and waited for dinner time. husband could work in the cafe, and i could rest and probably sample a cake or drink. but it was probably about 5 pm, which i knew probably too early for pontocho, but we walked there anyway since it was close by from ikinari steak.

pontocho alley

the kawayuka

we found the alley easily, and as i've predicted, most of the shops were still closed. the alley was pretty narrow, and on both sides, you could see various restaurants or clubs offering various dining options, from snacks, quick bites, western food even traditional kyoto cuisine which was quite expensive. all the buildings definitely gave you old-japan style vibe. everything seems traditional. the buildings have wood wall and short roof, with lots of japan's decoration, like lanterns. some restaurants have english menu but i can't say for all of them. anyway, 5 pm pretty quiet for pontocho, so probably you would need to go there later than 5 pm. though at that time i've seen several people getting ready to open their shop. if you want to get a bit description about pontocho, you can read it here.

view on the riverside

facing the bridge
(can you see how clear is the water?)

anyway, on the website it's said that in summer, some restaurants would offer dining outside, which was called kawayuka. they would build temporary platform that faced kamogawa river so people could dine outside to avoid summer heat. we were there in early autumn, so the kawayuka was still there. but you should make reservation to eat there especially on weekends. i thought it would be a good experience eating in the open, but we couldn't try it this time.

another take on the riverside

then at the end of the alley, you should turn left and after a few steps, you could see the kamogawa river. there was this long bump alongside the river, so people could sit and rest at the riverside and enjoy the view. by the time we were there, the weather was nice. it was cloudy, and bit windy, so it wasn't that hot unlike earlier that day. it was nice to sit there and enjoy the view, you could even have some drink and snacks there. as long as you cleaned up afterward. it was really close to the kawayuka, so if there were people dining there, you could see it from the riverside. anyway, at the end, we decided to go back to hotel because my husband laptop was out of battery, so he needed to charge it back at the hotel so we didn't get the chance to see gion. anyway, gion and pontocho were known for places where you could sometimes spot geisha. i guess we were unlucky this time, but it was another reason to go back there, wasn't it?

view from the bridge

if you were tired and just wanted to eat and enjoy the view, pontocho might be a good option, especially if you wanted to also stroll around gion area afterward. but if you brought along any kids, i don't think pontocho was a good place to bring kids. there were clubs there and booze sold there, so probably it was not kids friendly. but i bet they would love to play on the riverside. i can't say anything about gion since we didn't go there. so hopefully someday we could go there and update you on that subject.