Kyoto, Japan — Activities
Kyoto Culture
Music: Kyoto Concert Hall, 1-26 Hangi-cho Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku (tel: (075) 711 2244; website: www.kyotoconcerthall.org), home to Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, has a lovely, very modern, exterior design and fantastic acoustics inside. The large hall is home to the city’s symphony orchestra, while the smaller hall is more suitable for chamber music. Classical music performances are also given at the Kyoto Kaikan Hall, 13 Saishoji-cho Okazaki, Sakyo-ku (tel: (075) 771 6051; website: www.kyotokaikan.org), a culture and conference center with several big assembly halls, the largest of which can take more than 2,000 people.
An excellent performing arts venue (for music, dance and theater) is the 560-seat Kyoto Prefectural Citizen’s Hall, 590-1 Tatsumae-cho, Karasuma-dori, Ichijo sagaru, Kamigyo-ku (tel: (075) 441 1414; website: www.alti.org).
Theater: The Kyoto Theater, Kyoto Station building, Shiokoji-sagaru, Karasuma-dori, Shimogyo-ku (tel: (075) 353 3551; website: www.shiki.gr.jp) is located in the JR Kyoto Station building and puts on classic and modern western plays and musicals.
Kyoto’s most famous theater and one of the city’s cultural landmarks is the Minamiza Kabuki Theater, Shijo-ohashi-bridge, Higashiyama-ku (tel: (075) 561 1155) in Gion. It is the birthplace of kabuki, one of Japan’s most famous traditional performing art forms, which combines high drama, dance and music in an extremely stylised manner. Not only kabuki plays, but also concerts and rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) performances are held here. Kyoto also has its own noh theater, the Kongo Nohgakudo (Kongo Noh Theater), Karasuma-dori, Ichijo-sagaru, Kimikyo-ku (tel: (075) 441 7222; website: www.kongou-net.com). It was established in 2003 just to the west of Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Kyoto Tours
Walking Tours
The Kyoto Zigzag Tour (website: www.zigzagkyoto.jp) is a group of volunteers who organize a variety of walking tours in and around Kyoto that are designed to give participants some understanding of local, daily Kyoto life. Mr Hajime Hirooka, better known as the professional Kyoto guide Johnnie Hillwalker (tel: (075) 622 6803; website: http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/h-s-love), is the man behind a very popular five-hour walking tour in central Kyoto that takes in local history, Buddhism, Shintoism, geisha and various aspects of local life. Kyoto Sights & Nights (tel: (090) 5169 1654; website: www.kyotosightsandnights.com) offers a 90-minute guided afternoon walk taking in geisha schools and artisan shops in Kyoto’s world-renowned geisha districts.
Bus Tours
Sunrise Tours (tel: (03) 5796 5454; website: www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour) organize morning, afternoon or whole-day guided tours of Kyoto by coach.
Other Tours
Various guided bicycle tours are available from the Kyoto Cycling Tour Project (tel: (075) 354 3636; website: www.kctp.net/en). They offer a machiya tour, focusing on Kyoto’s old merchant houses, as well as a mystery tour and a Japanese tea tour. Several taxi companies offer private sightseeing of the city, including MK Taxi (tel: (075) 721 2237; website: www.mk-group.co.jp/english) and Keihan Taxi (tel: (075) 602 7777; website: www.joho-kyoto.or.jp/~keihan).
