Pontochō, Kyoto
At a glance, Pontochō looks like a place you often see in television of how old Japan is portrayed with its narrow streets and paper lanterns hanging outside of every entrance of houses, shops and ryokans.
Pontochō (先斗町) is a district in Kyoto, Japan known for geisha and home to many geisha houses and traditional tea houses. Like Gion, Pontochō is famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment.
The name Pontochō is said to be a portmanteau of the English word “point” or the Portuguese word “ponto” (also meaning point) and the Japanese word meaning town, street, or road. The district crest is a stylized water plover or chidori.
Pontochō centres around one long, narrow, cobbled alley running from Shijo-dōri to Sanjo-dōri, one block west of the Kamo River (Kamogawa). This is also the traditional location of the start of kabuki, and a statue of Okuni still stands on the opposite side of the river.
Geisha have existed in Pontochō since at least the 1500s, as have prostitution and other forms of entertainment. Today the area, lit by traditional lanterns at night, contains a mix of very expensive restaurants—often featuring outdoor riverside dining on wooden patios—geisha houses and tea houses, brothels, bars, and cheap eateries.
The area is also home to the Pontochō Kaburenjō Theatre at the Sanjo-dōri end of the street. This theatre functions as a practice hall for geisha and twice a year since the 1870s Kyoto geisha perform the Kamogawa Odori—Kamogawa river dancing, a combination of traditional dance, kabuki-like theatre, singing and the playing of traditional instruments—there, offering a rare chance for ordinary people to see performances by real geisha.
How to get to Pontocho?
The closest bus stop to Pontocho is Shijo Kawaramachi, which is served by ten bus lines, including lines 17 and 205 from Kyoto Station. The closest train stations are Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Line and Shijo Station on the Keihan Line.
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