Kyoto’s famed Gion Festival features dazzling portable shrines and crane dances at Yasaka Shrine, geisha sightings, amazing street food and outstanding people watching.

But its best-known symbols are the 33 floats that are painstakingly constructed, decorated and taken down again each year between July 10 and 24. They vary in shape and size, but the largest weighs in at a whopping 12 tons, their spires reaching up seven stories in the air.

Kyoto’s torrential rains and steamy heat in July make the best of us feel miserable. Before modern science and sanitation, it made people desperately ill. And back in the 9^th century, plagues and such were punishment from unhappy spirits. So the Heian emperor ordered a ritual to appease them.

Photo by: that_italian_guy_in_japan Intricated, precious traditional tapestry.

Apparently, it worked. Fast forward 1,100 years and the ritual still happens every July, now one of Japan’s largest celebrations.

The Gion Festival lasts the entire month of July and features many different kinds of events and subfestivals. The best way to enjoy it is to wander around and explore in the cool of the morning and evening. Visit all the display areas you can, to marvel at museum-quality treasures, piled on top of each other in small downtown Kyoto spaces. Stay hydrated and rested.

Photo by: that_italian_guy_in_japan Yasaka Shrine during the Kagura.

Each float celebrates a sacred persona from Asian myth or legend. Naginata Boko float still features a living child, considered a medium for the gods who descend from the heavens to purify this human realm.

The Gion Festival may be the world’s most extraordinary community event. Each year volunteers honor tradition by hosting more than a million visitors.

As downtown real estate prices drive out the historical residents who’ve always sponsored the festival, change is certain. Every visitor forms part of the human and divine story of how future generations get to enjoy the Gion Festival.

Gion Festival can get extremely crowded so come prepared.

Know before you go

The saki matsuri or “early festival” takes place from July 12-17, while the ato matsuri or “late festival” happens from July 20-24.

The yoiyama and yoiyoiyama crowds on July 16 and 17 are an extraordinarily crowded and not for the faint of heart. The smaller ato matsuri is what the Gion Festival “used to be like.”

Yasaka Shrine offers an amazing opportunity to get in touch with the historical side of Japan, especially the Heian period (794-1185), when the Japanese started to develop an original style of architecture.

The shrine (formerly Gion Shrine) is located in Kyoto, between the Gion and Higashiyama districts. Even though Yasaka is the main shrine in the area, there are other historical attractions nearby, such as smaller shrines and parks.

Nearby Maruyama Park has a gigantic weeping sakura tree.

Summer festivities

The shrine is most famous for its complex architecture and the Gion Matsuri (festival). The festival is held each year throughout July, with special parades in Gion on July 17 and 24. It attracts a lot of tourists and turns the city center into a lively festival with food stalls and many women dressed in traditional kimono.

Originally, the Gion festival came into being by an epidemic of plague and pestilence, which caused a lot of deaths in Kyoto during that summer. The carrying of a mini shrine through the streets is said to have cured this epidemic, and so the tradition of the Gion Festival lasts even now.

Gion Festival’s carrying of the mini shrines.

Shrine of beauty

Yasaka Shrine is also one of the biggest in Japan and deifies one of the most important gods in Japanese mythology: Susanoo-no-mikoto. He was the brother of the goddess Amaterasu. The shrine’s huge garden area hosts a smaller temple named Utsukushi Gozensha. It is devoted to Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto, who was said to be a beautiful woman. Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto, also known as Benten-sama, is not just a goddess of beauty, but also of the performing arts, especially music and singing.

It was just a matter of time until this shrine became a popular power spot for beauty — a good clue as to why it is frequently visited by young women. The most popular prayers are for healthy skin and shiny hair. After finishing your prayers, it is time to take a break and walk through the cherry tree-lined streets that lead to Maruyama Park.

Maruyama Park

Close to the shrine is Maruyama Park, an impressive garden with a huge pond and many bridges. The entrance is guarded by a gigantic weeping sakura tree.

In the springtime, the cherry blossoms transform the park into the perfect place for an authentic hanami (flower viewing). This park offers a distinctive experience for enjoying the rich culture of Japan’s ancient past. After a breath of fresh air, you can also walk out of the park to find yourself in an area with narrow streets and old Japanese houses and restaurants.

The original Japanese pleasure quarter, Gion is Kyoto condensed into a scene straight out of Memoirs of a Geisha. This is where you might just spot a maiko (geisha-in-training) hurrying along lantern-lit alleyways before slipping out of sight through a silent sliding door.

Explore this fashionable pleasure quarter well-preserved since the classical period of Japanese history.

Filled to the matcha-bowl brim with geisha inns and historic ochaya (tea houses), this picturesque district is located within close proximity to Yasaka-jinja, the brilliantly bright orange sanctuary formerly known as Gion Shrine.

Originally constructed to appease the gods following a ravaging plague to the city, the iconic landmark has also played host for the past 1,000 years to the annual Gion Matsuri; a raucous affair that has metamorphosed from a religious ceremony to a less than holy summer block party. From people promenading in yukata robes (the festival fashion of choice) to the procession of large-scale yamahoko floats whose unparalleled craftsmanship have earned them a UNESCO nod, Gion’s tranquil streets come alive with equal parts food stalls and festival goers throughout the month of July.

Gion’s traditional streets are as well-preserved as its hospitality – enjoy multi-course meals in one of the many ryotei restaurants.

With two bus routes stopping directly at Gion from Kyoto central station, you can explore the streets lined with exclusive ryotei restaurants preparing and preserving the culinary culture of Kyoto cuisine. Known throughout Japan as ‘kyo-ryori’, the subtle flavors and oh-so delicate garnishes in this seasonal cooking style make for nothing short of an ‘hallelujah’ eating experience.

Nearby is the classic cobblestone street of Hanami-koji, lined with traditional wooden townhouses that now simultaneously serve as souvenir or tea shops. Yes they’re touristy but in a charming, understated way.

Geisha hunters can secure their chances of seeing one in person with a performance at Gion Corner, a small theater located at the end of Hanami-koji that offers a reasonably-priced conclusion to their pursuit.