Girls’ Trip in Gion, Kyoto: 10 Must-Visit Spots for a Perfect Day Out

We’ve compiled a list of must-visit tourist spots in the central area of Gion and Kawaramachi for your girls’ trip to Kyoto!

Don’t forget to try kimono rental in Gion; it’s so much fun!

For information on kimono strolls, check out this article: Recommended Kimono Stroll Information for Those Renting Kimonos on a Kyoto Girls’ Trip

1. Scenic Spots in Gion to Enjoy on a Girls’ Trip

Gion, where the traditional Japanese landscape still lingers, is a place where you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Japan with its cobblestone streets, willow trees, and vermilion fences. With its historic teahouses and traditional townhouses, just taking a stroll through Gion provides plenty of picturesque spots.

When visiting this hanamachi (geisha district) where maiko and geiko (geisha) walk the streets, wearing a kimono is definitely the way to go!

While your usual cute dresses are great, renting kimonos and picking out cute kimono designs together, taking photos of each other in kimono in the streets of Gion—there are so many things you can enjoy in kimono that you can’t experience in your everyday clothes.

For a girls’ trip with close friends, Gion, where you can enjoy a different look, is highly recommended. Don’t forget to try kimono rental in Gion.

2. Must-Try Food Stops Around Gion on Your Girls’ Trip

If you’re going for kimono rental in Gion, there are plenty of delightful food stops to explore. Enjoy the ambiance of old buildings as you savor delicious Kyoto cuisine.

Cute Japanese sweets are exceptional. On your girls’ trip exploring Gion, we introduce five spots that you must visit.

1. Nishiki Market: A Shared Delight for Your Girls’ Trip

Nishiki Market is a famous shopping street in Kyoto, stretching a total of 390 meters. While enjoying delicious food in small portions is a joy of a girls’ trip, Nishiki Market is the perfect place for food exploration. With 130 shops lined up, you’ll find it hard to decide what to try as you stroll through.

There are also many takeout menus available, allowing you to buy a variety of items and enjoy them at your own pace.

In addition to sweets like soft-serve ice cream, bread, warabimochi, and soy milk donuts, you can also enjoy Kyoto specialties like Kyoto-style rolled omelet, hamo katsu (pike conger cutlet), and Kyoto-style deep-fried wheat gluten called “yuba” with sweet miso. Visiting during lunchtime is recommended.

Moreover, since it’s a shopping street, you can purchase Kyoto’s unique ingredients, making souvenir shopping enjoyable.

2. Giwamokomori: A Relaxing Spot for Your Girls’ Trip in Traditional Townhouses

The cafe is surrounded by willow trees gently swaying in front of the shop, giving you the feeling of the traditional Gion. Inside the cafe, you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time, with tatami mat seating and traditional furnishings from the teahouse era.

When you enter in kimono and sit on the tatami, time flows leisurely, making you forget the usual hustle and bustle. Enjoying nostalgic conversations in this relaxed atmosphere is one way to have fun on a girls’ trip.

Giwamokomori is famous for its parfaits made with luxurious Japanese sweets like warabimochi and matcha ice cream. They also offer authentic Japanese sweets such as anmitsu (a dessert with agar jelly, red bean paste, and fruits) and zenzai (a sweet red bean soup), as well as tokoroten (a jelly noodle dish). It’s perfect for indulging in Japanese sweets.

3. Tobundo: Enjoy Food Comparisons on Your Girls’ Trip

Tobundo is a shop where you can enjoy delicious rice cakes. Normally, you might be conscious of calories and hesitate to eat rice cakes, but on your girls’ trip, enjoy them to your heart’s content!

The recommended menu is “Dangaku,” which allows you to compare and taste five different rice cakes. Tasting and discussing your impressions with your close friends is one of the ways to enjoy a girls’ trip.

In addition to rice cakes, they offer “Suzunari” filled with hojicha (roasted green tea), fresh cream, and cheese cream, as well as matcha parfaits and other delicious Japanese sweets.

4. Chorakukan Café: Spend Special Moments in an Elegant Café

Chorakukan Café is a special cafe that has been refurbished from a guesthouse built in the Meiji era. The building and furnishings from that time are still preserved, and it is registered as a Kyoto City Tangible Cultural Property.

In the past, historical figures like Hirobumi Ito, Shigenobu Okuma, and Yutaka Yamagata have visited this place. If you’re on a girls’ trip with friends who love history, you can enjoy reflecting on historical figures at this spot.

Of course, even if you’re not particularly interested in history, the grand halls and chandeliers meticulously prepared as a guesthouse are worth a visit. You can also savor elaborate authentic sweets, making it the perfect spot for a girls’ trip looking for a special experience.

5. Café Soiree: Enjoy a Fantastical Atmosphere

This café is illuminated by blue light, creating a truly fantastical atmosphere inside the shop. While the exterior looks like a nostalgic café from the Showa era, the interior is adorned with various sculptures and paintings. If you’re interested in art, be sure to visit this café.

The blue light that creates this fantastical atmosphere is a continuation of the founder’s efforts to make women look beautiful.

A must-try at this café is the “Jelly Punch” containing colorful jellies. Spending time in this mysterious atmosphere will surely become a memorable part of your girls’ trip.

Picture-Perfect Gion Photo Spots for Your Girls’ Trip

Girls love taking photos!! Naturally, on a girls’ trip, you’ll end up taking lots of photos. While it’s great to take photos at places you like while strolling, there are some Gion photo spots that you absolutely shouldn’t miss. Let me introduce them to you.

Make sure to take notes so you won’t forget to visit these wonderful photo spots during your stroll.

1. Like a Scene from a Movie! A Must-Visit Spot on Your Girls’ Trip – Tatsumi Bridge

This spot features white stone-paved paths and vivid red-lacquered fences. It’s a location that perfectly reflects the beauty of Kyoto, often used in posters and movies.

When taking photos, make sure to capture the willow trees as well. This way, the contrast of white, red, and green will fill the entire frame, creating a photo that looks like a scene from a movie. Since it’s a girls’ trip, why not take photos as if you were actresses?

2. Unmissable on a Spring Girls’ Trip – Tatsumi Shrine

This is a small shrine located north of Tatsumi Bridge. Compared to the many beautiful temples and shrines in Kyoto, it may seem less impressive, but it’s a spot you shouldn’t miss during cherry blossom season in spring.

The secret lies in its small size. During cherry blossom season, the cherry blossoms cover Tatsumi Shrine beautifully. So, if you take photos here, you can capture the beauty of being surrounded by cherry blossoms.

Furthermore, it’s believed to bring blessings for improving skills in the arts, making it a worthwhile visit for a girls’ trip with friends interested in music or the arts.

A Must-Visit for Scenic Views on Your Girls’ Trip – Shorenin Monzeki Temple

As a monzeki temple where members of the imperial family and influential noble families have served as chief priests, the historical buildings and beautiful gardens have been preserved. The most notable feature here is undoubtedly its beautiful garden! The various plants in each season offer a different view every time you visit.

Moreover, in many cases, you can only admire beautiful gardens from inside the buildings, but here you can stroll through the garden. Therefore, you can capture the landscapes you find beautiful in your photos as you wish.

Recommended for a Girls’ Trip Interested in Historical Art – Kenninji Temple

As the head temple of the Rinzai Kenninji school and Kyoto’s oldest Zen temple, Kenninji Temple has a replica of the famous “Wind God and Thunder God Folding Screen” on display. Additionally, historical artworks like the Twin Dragons painting by Japanese painter Junso Koizumi can be seen here, making it a great choice for a girls’ trip with friends interested in Japanese art and Buddhist art.

Furthermore, even if you’re not interested in art, Kenninji Temple has three different gardens as its highlights. Observing the gardens that express the essence of “wabi-sabi,” an important concept in Zen, can also provide a moment of release from everyday stress, making it a valuable time on your girls’ trip.

A Must-Not-Forget Spot for Your Girls’ Trip to Gion – Yasaka Shrine

Known locally as “Gion-san,” Yasaka Shrine is a spot you must visit when you come to Gion. In particular, taking a photo in front of the vivid red Nishimon (Western Main Gate) at the eastern end of Shijo-dori will quickly transform you into a seductive Kyoto beauty.

Furthermore, within the precincts of Yasaka Shrine, there is the “Bimigamimae Shrine” dedicated to the goddess of beauty. So, for a girls’ trip with friends who want to pursue beauty after renting kimonos around Yasaka Shrine, this is a spot I highly recommend.

Enjoy Kyoto with Plenty of Attractions for the Ultimate Girls’ Trip!!

Wherever you go in Kyoto, you can enjoy delicious food and beautiful scenery.

However, when you’re on a girls’ trip with close friends, there are unique ways to have fun. Take a detour to the spots I introduced here and share some wonderful moments together.

Author of this article

Kyoto Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku operates four kimono rental shops in Kyoto city, including locations in Arashiyama, Gion, Kiyomizu Temple, and in front of Kyoto Station. In 2023, they served over 230,000 customers in the Kyoto area!
They offer affordable plans, with a kimono dressing plan starting from 3,500 yen, and a hair setting plan from 5,500 yen.
Close to popular tourist spots such as Togetsukyo Bridge, Kiyomizu Temple, Yasaka Koshindo, and Yasaka Shrine!
Kyoto Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku
Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku Gion Store
Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku Arashiyama Store
Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku Kiyomizu Temple Store
Kimono Rental Rika Wafuku Kyoto Station Front Store