Gion Walking Tour by Night

Kyoto, Japan

From $8.74

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

1 hour 40 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

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

178 Tokiwachō, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0079, Japan
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

Explore the geisha district with a local Japanese guide on this Gion group walking tour in Kyoto. Your guide will show you secret streets and explain details that you wouldn’t find in a guidebook. Plus they will make sure you don’t get lost while you check out the area where “Memoirs of a Geisha” was filmed.

Learn about Maiko, Geiko, and more about Japanese geisha traditional kimono, hairstyles, makeup, and daily life.

Just easily find your guide and group at the departure point, and your Gion walking tour will begin.

You can also upgrade to a private tour if you’d like a more thorough tour with more personalized attention.

Gion

1 hour 40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Most travelers can participate
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.
Small-group tour option (less than 15 guests guaranteed) can be chosen for different price
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

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 canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

355 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 355 reviews

Nice tour of Gion

Florence_B, Apr 2024

Good tour. Guide was lovely and helpful. Learned a lot. Perhaps a bit long towards the end. It could have been cut by 30min

Best Gion Walking Tour

Sankaran_J, Apr 2024

Best Gion Walking Tour and our guide was awesome.Great experience. We were lucky to spot one Maiko and one Geiko during this tour.

Group size too big for experience, could be better

Joanna_G, Apr 2024

The guide was great but there were about 60 people in the group, despite being advertised on Viator as group size of 30. For that many people it's almost impossible to be able to navigate through the streets. For example, we stopped at a hair ornament shop and were standing 2-3 deep so those of us at the back could not see anything and were blocking the pavement. It was interesting but not enjoyable, would not recommend because of the group size. Disappointed.

Informative and interesting

Sonya_M, Apr 2024

Seeing a couple of Meiko walk past, surprise and a treat. Tad busy this time of year but still enjoyable.

Informative tour

Rajas_M, Apr 2024

Great informative tour. Guide had more energy/stamina than our entire family. Appreciated all the details

Beautiful Gion

Franziska_W, Apr 2024

very interesting, good tour! the route takes approximately 1.5 h and takes you to very nice spots in Gion. the group size was a little big but okay..

Gion walking tour brought to life by guide.

Michelle_P, Mar 2024

Walking the streets of Gion was the best part of the tour although we did go to 2 other areas. Our guide was excellent and made it all come life by explaining about the tea houses, Maiko life and their training. The weather was not great but our guide was enthusiastic throughout and it didn’t detract from our enjoyment. Much better than just walking through the area on our own.

Great gion tour

Florencia_R, Mar 2024

The guide was really helpful and nice. The group was very large, maybe it would be better with less people.

Kyoto walk

Christina_L, Mar 2024

Just walking around at night was great. Tour guide very informative. Very nice to wonder around with out worrying about getting lost.

Gion at night

Lilah_S, Mar 2024

The alleyways and the information imparted Very interesting Visited a shrine too The guide was a little difficult to understand but she had lots of knowledge

Nice paced districts tour.

Frazer_A, Mar 2024

A really in depth and interesting tour of several of the Geisha districts. Lots of information was provided and the walk was at a leisurely pace with a very friendly and receptive tour guide.

A must do in Kyoto!

David_B, Mar 2024

A must do in Kyoto. Mia was an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable We were exceptionally lucky to see a Geiko and several Maiko A magical evening in a sadly dying profession

A Geisha Tour with Mia

Richard_D, Mar 2024

Mia our guide was so knowledgeable and entertaining . She had personal experience with the Geisha and therefore had their trust . We were lucky enough to see the Geisha and trainees, some of whom she knew personally . The time flew by . Would highly recommend Mia and her tour .

We enjoyed every bit!

Nicole_T, Mar 2024

Mia was fabulous. She had so much reverence and respect for the Maiko and Geiko, and passed that onto us. We learned a lot and enjoyed every bit.

Gion walking tour is a...

Marsha_S, Mar 2024

Gion walking tour is a must when visiting iKyoto. Our guide made it so special and she had a great sense of humor.

Gion by night

Hirak_P, Mar 2024

Atmospheric place! Good explanation of the history and culture. A bit crowded with probably 3x the people than made sense in the crowded streets and lanes.

Great experience!

Kenneth_W, Mar 2024

It was great learning more about the geiko and maiko community. The guide shared a lot about them - the origins, their motivations, and the process to become a maiko (and then a geiko).

Great insight to the history of Gion and Geisha

William_P, Mar 2024

Seeing the tea houses and the lanes of Gion. Coco San was a very knowledgeable guide. Unfortunately didn’t see any maiko san

Elegant and Interesting area.

Kyoko_W, Feb 2024

Our guide Mie is PROFESSIONAL and her love for the Gion area was true. First time to visit Gion area. It is elegant and interesting area for adults. Her story about Gion area and Geiko san and Maiko san gave me added respect. It was educational! Thank you Mie!

Great experience. Learned so much!

Janet_P, Jan 2024

We really enjoyed our walking tour of Gion. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable- we learned so much about the area. She also gave us a great recommendation for dinner after the tour. Would highly recommend this tour.

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