Kyoto Old Town: What to See in Higashiyama with Kids

Kyoto old town isn’t a single site with a gate and a ticket desk, which is the first thing worth knowing. It’s Higashiyama — a hillside district of wooden houses, stone lanes and one very photographed pagoda, sitting between Kiyomizu-dera and Gion. You walk into it off an ordinary street and suddenly the road is paved in stone and every building is two hundred years old.

We walked it three times in two days with our two kids: once in pouring rain, once after dark, and once first thing in the morning. Three completely different places. This is what we learned, and what I’d tell you to do if you only have one visit in you.

The short version

• What it is: the Higashiyama district, centred on two sloping stone streets — Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka — that climb toward Kiyomizu-dera temple.
• Cost: free. You only pay if you go inside a temple.
• How long: two to three hours to walk it properly, longer if you stop to eat.
• Best time: before 9am or after dark. In the middle of the day it is very crowded.
• With kids: works well, but it’s a walking district on uneven stone and a slope — not a stroller street.

What people mean by “Kyoto old town”

Nobody in Kyoto calls it the old town. The name on the maps is Higashiyama, the district on the eastern side of the city, and the part visitors mean is the stretch of preserved streets below Kiyomizu-dera.

The heart of it is two named slopes. Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka run one into the other, lined with wooden shopfronts selling tea, sweets, ceramics and a lot of souvenirs. Below them, on Yasaka-dori, stands the Yasaka Pagoda — properly Hōkan-ji Temple — which is the tower in every photograph you’ve seen of Kyoto. North of all this is Gion, the geisha district. Most people walk both in one go without ever noticing where one ends and the other starts.

There’s no entrance, no opening time and no ticket for the district itself. It’s a neighbourhood people still live and work in, which is worth remembering when you’re pointing a camera down someone’s street at seven in the morning.

The Yasaka Pagoda, and where the photo actually is

The Yasaka Pagoda is the reason most people come, and it doesn’t disappoint. It rises straight out of a row of low wooden houses at the end of a narrow street, and the effect is genuinely startling — one moment you’re on a normal road, the next there’s a five-storey pagoda filling the view.

It was pouring when we got there. I’d half expected that to ruin the morning and it did the opposite: the mist sat low over the roofs, the stone went dark and reflective, and the photos we came away with are better than anything we’d have taken in flat sunshine. If the forecast is bad on your Kyoto day, go anyway.

The famous view is from the street looking up toward the pagoda, not from beside it. Stand back, let the houses frame it. And go early — by mid-morning there is a queue of people waiting to stand in exactly that spot.

We went late in the evening, and due to the rain, there were few people on the spot. We just stayed till the rain finished and did the picture:

Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka: the two streets that matter

These are the streets you’ve seen on postcards, and they’re the reason the district is protected. Wooden facades, stone paving, no cars, no overhead cables.

We walked them in light rain, which turned out to be the best possible way to do it. Dumitru bought umbrellas from a shop nearby the moment the rain started — we barely used them in the end, but standing in a shop buying umbrellas while it hammered down outside is one of the things the kids still remember about that day. The streets were quiet, the light was soft, and we had space to actually look at things.

A practical note the guidebooks skip: “zaka” means slope. Both of these streets climb, on worn stone, and there are steps. It’s not difficult, but it’s not flat either, and after a full day of walking it lands differently.

We went three times. Here’s what changed.

The single best decision we made in Kyoto was going back to Higashiyama more than once. It is not the same place at different hours, and if you only see it at noon you’ll come away thinking it’s a very pretty shopping street with too many people on it.

When	What it’s like	Best for
Evening, after dark	Lanterns lit, shops shuttered, almost nobody about. The streets feel like a film set.	Photos, a quiet walk, older kids who’ll appreciate the atmosphere
Early morning	Shops opening, deliveries arriving, the district waking up. Still quiet before around 9am.	The pagoda photo, buying things, breakfast
Mid-morning onward	Full. Tour groups, queues at the viewpoints, slow going on the slopes.	Honestly — avoid it if you can

If you can only do one, I’d take the evening for the atmosphere and the early morning for everything practical. If you can do both, do both — they’re twenty minutes apart on foot from most Higashiyama hotels, and it costs you nothing.

What it’s actually like with kids

Let me be straight about this: there is nothing in Higashiyama built for children. No playground, no ride, no interactive museum. It’s a historic district and the appeal is architectural.

And it still worked, for three reasons.

The shops. Our two found two Totoro-themed stores in the morning and that was the highlight of the whole district for them — more than the pagoda, more than the temples. There are also sweet shops, ceramics with cats on them, and free samples of things.

The pagoda as a landmark. It’s visible from most of the district, which turns the walk into a game of spotting it from new angles. Small thing, but it kept them moving.

The freedom to wander. No cars. That changes how a walk with kids feels more than anything else on this list.

What doesn’t work: strollers, tight schedules, and doing it in the middle of a hot afternoon after a full morning elsewhere. Higashiyama is a first-thing or last-thing activity, not a filler.

By age

• Toddlers: carrier, not stroller. Keep it to an hour and pick the flat lower streets near the pagoda.
• School age: the sweet spot. Give them a camera and the shops and slopes do the rest.
• Teenagers: go at night. The empty lantern-lit version is the one that lands.

Rain in Kyoto is not the problem you think it is

We had rain on our Higashiyama day and I’d take it again. Fewer people. Better light. Wet stone that photographs beautifully. And a slower pace, which with children is not a compromise — it’s the whole point.

What you need: a packable umbrella each, shoes with grip (the stone gets genuinely slippery on the slopes), and a plan for one indoor stop. What you don’t need: a change of itinerary. Kyoto in the rain is one of the better versions of Kyoto.

What I’d do differently

• Pack one small umbrella per person from home instead of buying them on the day. We bought four and barely used them.
• Do the morning visit earlier — we were there as the shops opened, and even half an hour before that would have been quieter.
• Budget a proper meal in the district rather than snacking through it. We treated it as a walk and were hungry by the end and ended in a Starbucks that was still open.

Where to stay for Kyoto’s old town

Staying in or near Higashiyama is what makes the twice-in-one-day trick possible. We stayed at the Sakura Cross Hotel Kyoto Kiyomizu, a three-star place under 2 km from the district, and paid around €250 for four nights for two adults and two children. That was a 2024 price and it will have moved — treat it as a reference point, not a quote.

It’s not a luxury hotel and I wouldn’t sell it as one. It was clean, modern, well-located and cheap enough that we could stay four nights instead of two, which mattered more to this trip than a nicer lobby would have. Full write-up here: Sakura Cross Hotel Kyoto Kiyomizu review

Looking for a base near Higashiyama? Compare what’s available on your dates in the Kiyomizu and Gion area — staying this side of the river is what lets you walk the old town at 7am and again at 9pm.

Still deciding where to base yourself? See where to stay in Kyoto with kids.

How long you need, and a half-day plan

Two to three hours covers the district at a comfortable pace with children. Here’s how I’d structure it if you have one morning:

1. 07:30 — Start at the Yasaka Pagoda while the streets are empty. Take the photo.
2. 08:00 — Walk up Ninenzaka into Sannenzaka. Slowly. This is the part worth not rushing.
3. 08:45 — Shops start opening. Let the kids loose on the souvenir streets.
4. 09:30 — Continue up toward Kiyomizu-dera, or turn back down before the crowds build.
5. 10:30 — Out, before the district fills up.

Then come back after dinner and walk the same streets in the dark. It’ll feel like somewhere else entirely.

Planning the rest of your Kyoto trip

Higashiyama was our first day in Kyoto and it set the tone for the rest. If you’re building an itinerary, these are the other places we took the kids:

• 4 Days in Kyoto with Kids — full itinerary
• Arashiyama Bamboo Grove guide
• Fushimi Inari with kids
• Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion
• Iwatayama Monkey Park

Frequently asked questions about Kyoto old town

What is Kyoto’s old town?

Kyoto’s old town is the Higashiyama district on the eastern side of the city, and specifically the preserved stone streets of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka that lead up to Kiyomizu-dera temple. It’s a protected neighbourhood of traditional wooden buildings, not a single attraction, and it’s free to walk through.

Where is the Yasaka Pagoda?

The Yasaka Pagoda, properly called Hōkan-ji Temple, stands on Yasaka-dori in the lower part of Higashiyama, a few minutes’ walk below Ninenzaka. The classic view is from the street looking up toward it, with the wooden houses framing the tower on either side.

Is Kyoto old town free to visit?

Yes. Walking through Higashiyama, including Ninenzaka, Sannenzaka and the streets around the Yasaka Pagoda, costs nothing and there are no opening hours. You only pay if you go inside a temple such as Kiyomizu-dera.

What is the best time of day to visit Kyoto’s old town?

Before 9am or after dark. Early morning gives you empty streets for photographs and shops that are just opening; after dark the lanterns are lit and the crowds have gone. Between roughly 10am and 5pm the district is very busy.

Is Kyoto old town suitable for kids and strollers?

It works well with children who can walk, but not with a stroller. Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka are sloping stone streets with steps, and a carrier is far easier with a toddler. There are no cars anywhere in the district, which makes it relaxed for families in every other respect.

How long should you spend in Higashiyama?

Two to three hours is enough to walk the district properly with children, including stops in the shops. If you have the time, visiting twice — once early in the morning and once after dark — is better than one longer visit, because the atmosphere is completely different.