Five blocks closed in Gion

We read recently that five blocks in Gion (Kyoto) are to be closed to foreigners. Is this true? We are staying in a machiya in Gion in September for three weeks. Thanks very much. (If it is true, which five blocks and will it be blocked to foreigners year round?)

Fake news! Change your news provider!

It was in a reputable newspaper, either the New York Times or the Washington Post. I�fll seek the article. I hope you are right!

I don't even know how you translate an American "measurement" of a city area to a historic Japanese district.
Jeez.

New Zealand Herald

Tourists crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people around and lecture for long hours, local district official Isokazu Ota said on Friday.

�gWe are going to put up signs in April that tell tourists to stay out of our private streets,�h he told the Associated Press.

The signs will say in both Japanese and English, �gThis is a private road, so you are not allowed to drive through it�h, although the keep-out warning is aimed mainly at pedestrians, not cars, as the Japanese wording refers generically to �gpassing through�h.
�gThere will be a fine of \10,000,�h the signs continue, which comes to about $70 under recent currency conversion rates.
The ban covers just several blocks of Gion. The district�fs public streets will remain open to tourists, so the area and the rest of Kyoto will still be teeming with visitors, both from Japan and around the world.

Yes, private roads are off limits and public roads can be accessed freely, that's how it should work... everywhere? Anyone would be mad if random strangers barged in their backyard everyday.

Also, they never said anything about foreigners. How on earth did so many people misinterpret the whole thing to such an extent ?

It doesn�ft say �gforeigners �g, it says �gtourists�h.

Indeed, the article said "tourists", you are the one who said "foreigners" ;)

If it is true, which five blocks and will it be blocked to foreigners year round?

Unless you meant "people who don't live in the neighborhood". But then you would be fine since you will be renting a house there.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/08/kyoto-geisha-district-to...

Please take whatever you hear in the "news" with a grain of salt. A lot of times, they put up speaking headlines just to cause controversy when the article doesn't even say anything about what the headline does.'

In the interest of a calmer answer to the OP's question:

In recent months/years, tourists crowding walkways and photographing/following geisha/maiko in Gion has become an increasingly high-profile problem. Many of the tourists engaging in this behavior are foreigners.

In Gion, there are a number of places in which public streets and private roads connect to one another. There is often no gate or marking at these spots, so at a glance the private roads seem to be a continuation of the public streets, and so many tourists have entered the private streets without hesitation. This is, technically, trespassing, but until now the no-unauthorized entry rules have been almost entirely unenforced, since entering the private roads was seen as an unintended and unaware mistake that wasn't causing problems.

With overtourism becoming a concern in Kyoto, especially in Gion, restricting tourist access to the private roads is being used as a way to reduce crowding and up-close geisha photography. On public roads, there's not much that can be done about it (anyone has the right to walk/stand on public sidewalks, and to take pictures while standing in a public place). By restricting access to private roads, the intended goal is to, at least, get rid of crowds on those sections of the neighborhood, allowing businesses and homes located along those pathways to maintain the atmosphere and order they want. Whether this will result in smaller crowds overall, or simply intensify the crowding on Gion's public roads, remains to be seen.

So long story short: it's not that Gion is closing off blocks to foreigners, but that Gion is enforcing (or at least publicizing) keep-out restrictions on private roads as a result of behavior by tourists, many of whom are foreigners.

For the record, this situation, where private and public roads meet without gates or signage, isn't uncommon in Japan. However, it usually doesn't cause any problems as the private roads generally are just access roads to private home, often in the countryside or tucked deep inside residential areas of cities. They're usually streets that no one aside from the street's owners would have much reason or desire to use. Gion is an unusual exception in that many of its private roads are very picturesque and located near major sightseeing destinations, which is what's causing friction.

It's also worth keeping in mind that Gion can still be navigated using the unrestricted public roads, as the private roads aren't part of the city planning.

The only signs I could find the other day were "no photography on private road" (without any indications on which roads are private and which ar enot). Similar signs have been existence in the Higashiyama district for years. Most of this "Gion closed off" seems to be media nonsense of the worst kind. And social media then contributes to make it even worse.

the situations are serious more than you think.
please respect others, particularly who are living in those areas.