Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
August
August is hot and humid in Kyoto, but the skies are usually sunny and most tourist sites are uncrowded, except
during the O-Bon holiday in mid-August - book ahead.
Daimon-ji Gozan Okuribi
Mistakenly referred to by many as Daimon-ji-yaki (literally, 'burning of Daimon-ji'), this
impressive event on 16 August is held to bid farewell to the souls of ancestors. Enormous
fires are lit in the form of Chinese characters or other shapes on five mountains. The main
which is lit at 8pm. The other fires are lit at 10-minute intervals thereafter, working anti-
clockwise (east to west). Watch this event from the banks of the Kamo-gawa, Yoshida-
yama or pay for a rooftop view from a hotel.
Tōki Matsuri
Kyoto's largest ceramics fair, held from 7 to 10 August, is a good place to snap up some
bargains, especially late on the last day. The market runs along Gojō-dōri, between
Kawabata and Higashiōji. It's a 10-minute walk from Gojō Station om the Keihan line.
