Kyoto has five hanamachi, and each one stages its own annual public dance in its own theatre. Kyoto City names them in its own cultural-properties material: Gion Kobu, Miyagawacho, Pontocho, Kamishichiken and Gion Higashi, collectively the gokagai. That list, not the street corner in Gion, is where a visitor’s actual options start.

The word geisha covers several arrangements in Japan, and the institutions behind them publish a good deal in writing: performance calendars, ticket prices by seat class, preservation-district designations, and in Gion’s case a printed list of the laws that apply on the street. Everything below comes from those organisations, from Kyoto City, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Taito City, Niigata City and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, read in September 2026.

Two of the five districts were created by a single administrative split in 1881

The Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation and Kyoto City give the same five-district list, and the same history for two of them: in 1881 the governor of Kyoto Prefecture divided Gion into two, and the north-eastern part became Gion Higashi while the remainder continued as Gion Kobu. Kamishichiken is older: the foundation dates its teahouse licence to 1587, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a large tea gathering at Kitano, 294 years before the Gion split by my own subtraction of the two dates. Pontocho is a strip about 500 metres long north to south along the right bank of the Kamo River, with origins the foundation places around 1712.

One further district sits outside that list. Kyoto City records that Shimabara left the Kyoto Hanamachi Federation in 1976, and that the Sumiya building there, the only surviving example of ageya architecture, was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 1952.

The city has since wrapped the districts in formal designations. It selected the culture of the Kyoto hanamachi as an intangible cultural heritage in March 2014, and in July 2021 the Agency for Cultural Affairs certified the story of the five districts as a Japan Heritage candidate region. Kyoto City states that the story is built on 53 cultural properties, and that 104 Japan Heritage stories are certified nationwide. The foundation, established in 1996, also runs an award: it recognises performers with careers of 30 years or more who are aged 60 or over as Traditional Performing Art Holders.

The five annual dances have fixed venues, fixed run lengths and published prices

Each district’s kaburenjo publishes its own programme. Three of the five 2026 runs can be read in full on the organisers’ own sites. A fourth, the Miyako Odori, now shows only a closing notice: its dates, times and prices survive in the page source but are commented out of what a visitor sees. The fifth publishes nothing at all, and that is worth saying plainly rather than filling in.

Dance and district 2026 dates Start times Prices
Miyako Odori, Gion Kobu, at Gion Kobu Kaburenjo 1 to 30 April 2026, 152nd edition 12:30, 14:30, 16:30 (page source only) 7,000 yen with tea ticket, 6,000, 4,000, 2,000 student; programme 1,000 (page source only)
Kyo Odori, Miyagawacho, at Miyagawacho Kaburenjo Mitsuwaza 4 to 19 April 2026, dark on 13 April, 75th edition 13:00 and 16:00 7,000 yen first floor, 6,000 yen second floor, both with tea ticket
Kamogawa Odori, Pontocho, at Pontocho Kaburenjo 5 to 22 May 2026, 18 days, 187th edition 12:30, 14:20, 16:10 7,000 yen with tea ticket, 6,000 special seat, 4,000 ordinary seat
Gion Odori, Gion Higashi, at Gion Kaikan 1 to 10 November 2026, 67th edition 13:30 and 16:00 7,000 yen with tea seat, 6,000 without; programme 1,000
Kitano Odori, Kamishichiken, at Kamishichiken Kaburenjo Not published on the district’s site when read Not published Not published

The run lengths and house rules differ. Miyagawacho refuses admission to children under 10; Gion Higashi refuses admission under 3. The Miyako Odori student ticket at 2,000 yen, in the same commented-out block, is defined by the organiser as covering junior-high, high-school, university, vocational-school and technical-college students, and elementary-age children accompanied by a guardian. Gion Higashi puts each performance at about an hour and opened ticket sales at 10:00 on 1 August 2026, with its box office at Gion Kaikan from 30 October.

For Kitano Odori, the Kamishichiken site’s dedicated page returned an error when read, and the banner carrying dates on its front page is commented out of the live markup, so no 2026 dates are treated as published here. What the foundation does state is historical: Kitano Odori began in 1952 and opens on 25 March, and the theatre was built in 1902 for the thousandth-anniversary festival of Kitano Tenmangu. The theatre is also being repaired: it is designated a Kyoto City historic scenic structure, the work is budgeted at over 100 million yen, and donations from 10,000 yen are being taken between 4 September 2026 and 31 October 2028. Kamishichiken’s autumn recital, the 74th Kotobukikai, runs 12 to 18 November 2026 with a 16:00 curtain and admission of 10,000 yen.

Gion Corner runs twice a night, and the joint programme fields about 70 performers

The foundation’s own theatre programme, Gion Corner, runs inside the small theatre of Gion Kobu Kaburenjo every day at 18:00 and 19:00. Between 1 December and 11 March it runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays only, at the same two times, and it closes on public holidays during that winter season as well as on 16 July, 16 August and from 26 December to 4 January.

Admission is 5,500 yen for an adult aged 23 or over, 3,850 yen from 16 to 22, 3,300 yen from 7 to 15 and free for preschool children, with a premium seat at 6,600 yen, a tea-ceremony seat at 6,050 yen, a group rate of 4,700 yen for 20 or more and a school-trip rate of 1,500 yen. The English version of the same page carries the same admission figures but two different details: it puts the performance at about 50 minutes in its schedule box while its own description calls the programme approximately one hour long, and it splits the school-trip rate into 1,300 yen for ages 16 to 18 and 1,000 yen for ages 7 to 15. Both pages were live in September 2026 and neither explains the other.

Once a year the districts appear together. The 33rd Miyako no Nigiwai was held on 27 and 28 June 2026 at the Minamiza theatre with about 70 performers from all five districts, at 14,000 yen for a special seat, 13,000 for first class and 6,500 for second class, with a same-day student price of 3,250 yen. In the finale, four maiko from each district dance together, 20 in all by my own count of the published cast list.

On Gion’s private streets the district council prints the penalties, not a request

In December 2023 the residents of Gion-machi Minamigawa, the Gion Kobu ochaya association, the Gion geigi association, Kenninji and the district council issued a joint notice. Its first item asks visitors not to stop, touch, follow or photograph performers walking in the street without permission, adding that they are not mascot characters. What makes the document unusual is the second half of each line: on four of its five requests it attaches a penalty, and says whether it comes from a law or from an ordinance.

  • Blocking someone’s path or following them: detention of less than 30 days, or a petty fine of less than 10,000 yen, which the notice attributes to the law without naming the statute.
  • Pulling at a person’s hand or clothing: up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, which the notice attributes to an ordinance without naming it.
  • Obstructing the road, including stopping to take photographs: a fine of up to 50,000 yen, again attributed only to the law.
  • Entering private land without permission: up to three years’ imprisonment or a 100,000 yen fine; damaging property, up to three years or 300,000 yen.
  • Littering: a fine of up to 30,000 yen under an ordinance the notice does not name.

The same notice points readers who want to see kyomai to Gion Corner at 18:00 or 19:00. The council behind it was certified as a local landscape council on 11 May 2022, covering parts of Gionmachi Minamigawa and Komatsucho. Kyoto City has added its own measures: a flyer carrying the English line prohibiting photography on private roads, a listing of unauthorised photography in its manners campaign of July 2022, and, in its autumn 2025 programme, notice boards on the private roads and guidance staff on Hanamikoji on weekdays from 19 November to 12 December. In neighbouring Gion Shinbashi, anyone shooting pre-wedding or kimono portraits must obtain an armband, issued the same day at 3,000 yen each, while film, television, commercial and web shoots instead have to file a filming plan with the council in advance.

Two Kanazawa chaya districts are nationally designated, and one teahouse there prints its fee

Two districts in Kanazawa appear on the national list of Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, both in the teahouse-town category. Higashiyama Higashi covers about 1.8 hectares and was selected on 14 November 2001; Kazuemachi covers about 0.6 hectares and was selected on 9 June 2008. Kanazawa City relaxes Building Standards Act limits inside Higashiyama Higashi under ordinance 49 of 27 June 2001. The national database dates the quarter’s layout to 1820.

Two teahouses in the eastern quarter appear in the records read here. Shima was designated a national Important Cultural Property on 25 December 2003 as a single building at 1-13-21 Higashiyama. Kaikaro charges 750 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary pupils and younger, with infants free, and can be viewed from 10:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30. Ishikawa Prefecture also runs a stage programme of its own, Kanazawa Geigi no Mai, at 1,500 yen for an individual and 1,200 yen for groups of 15 or more, curtain at 14:00 with doors an hour earlier, and a backstage tour for a further 500 yen; the organising committee sits inside the prefecture’s culture promotion division.

Tokyo and Niigata publish their own figures. Taito City’s tourism site describes Asakusa as one of Tokyo’s six hanamachi and lists its Asakusa Geisha Ozashiki Odori for spring and summer 2026 on six Saturdays, on 11 April, 6, 13 and 20 June and 4 and 11 July, on the sixth floor of the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, with all seats reserved from 5,000 yen and 12 premium seats per performance at 6,000 yen. Niigata City funds the trade directly: its Furumachi geigi training support subsidy is budgeted at 6 million yen and started on 1 April 2025.

Sources Checked

Kyoto City — hanamachi pages of its cultural-properties site
Confirmed the five-district list as the members of the Kyoto Hanamachi Federation, the 1881 creation of Gion Higashi, the departure of Shimabara from the federation in 1976 and the 1952 Important Cultural Property designation of Sumiya, the selection of the hanamachi culture as an intangible cultural heritage in March 2014, and the Japan Heritage candidate story built on 53 cultural properties against 104 certified stories nationwide.
https://kyo-tsunagu.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kagai/gokagai/

Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation — hanamachi, annual events, award, Gion Corner and Miyako no Nigiwai pages
Confirmed the five-district list and the term gokagai, the 1881 split, the 1587 teahouse licence at Kamishichiken, the 500-metre length of Pontocho and its origins around 1712, the 1996 establishment of the foundation and its award criteria of 30 years and age 60, the 1902 construction of Kamishichiken Kaburenjo, the start of Kitano Odori in 1952 and its 25 March opening, the Gion Corner schedule of 18:00 and 19:00 daily with the winter Tuesday to Friday season and the closing days, the admission figures of 6,600, 6,050, 5,500, 3,850, 3,300, 4,700 and 1,500 yen with preschool children free, the Kamishichiken renovation budget of over 100 million yen with donations from 10,000 yen between 4 September 2026 and 31 October 2028, and the Miyako no Nigiwai dates of 27 and 28 June 2026 at Minamiza with about 70 performers, prices of 14,000, 13,000, 6,500 and 3,250 yen, and a finale cast list naming four maiko from each district.
https://www.ookinizaidan.com/kagai/

Gion Corner — English admission page
Confirmed the same admission figures, the description of the performance as about 50 minutes in the schedule box against approximately one hour in the page’s own description, and the school-trip rates of 1,300 and 1,000 yen.
http://www.kyoto-gioncorner.com/global/en.html

Miyako Odori, Kyo Odori, Kamogawa Odori, Gion Odori and Kotobukikai — the organisers’ own pages
Confirmed the Miyako Odori 152nd edition and its dates of 1 to 30 April 2026 as displayed, and the three daily performances at 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30, the prices of 7,000, 6,000, 4,000, 2,000 and 1,000 yen and the student-ticket definition as present in the page source inside an HTML comment rather than on screen; the Kyo Odori dates of 4 to 19 April 2026 dark on 13 April with performances at 13:00 and 16:00, prices of 7,000 and 6,000 yen and no admission under 10; the Kamogawa Odori dates of 5 to 22 May 2026 over 18 days with performances at 12:30, 14:20 and 16:10 and prices of 7,000, 6,000 and 4,000 yen; the Gion Odori dates of 1 to 10 November 2026 with performances at 13:30 and 16:00, prices of 7,000, 6,000 and 1,000 yen, about an hour per performance, no admission under 3 and ticket sales from 10:00 on 1 August 2026; and the 74th Kotobukikai on 12 to 18 November 2026 at 16:00 for 10,000 yen.
https://miyako-odori.jp/miyako/

Gion-machi Minamigawa District Council and associated bodies — joint notice of December 2023
Confirmed the request not to stop, touch, follow or photograph performers without permission and the accompanying statutory penalties: detention of less than 30 days or a petty fine of less than 10,000 yen under the law; up to six months’ imprisonment or 500,000 yen under an ordinance; up to 50,000 yen under the law; up to three years or 100,000 yen for trespass and up to three years or 300,000 yen for damage to property; and up to 30,000 yen for littering under an ordinance, with no statute named for any of them, together with the referral to Gion Corner at 18:00 or 19:00.
https://ja.kyoto.travel/news/format.php?id=428

Kyoto City — manners campaign, landscape council and autumn 2025 measures pages
Confirmed the listing of unauthorised photography of maiko in the July 2022 campaign, the certification of the district council on 11 May 2022 over parts of Gionmachi Minamigawa and Komatsucho, and the autumn 2025 plan for notice boards on private roads and guidance staff on Hanamikoji on weekdays from 19 November to 12 December.
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sankan/page/0000347035.html

Gion Shinbashi district — photography rules page
Confirmed that a new armband for pre-wedding and kimono photography costs 3,000 yen each and is issued the same day, and that film, television, commercial and web shoots require a filming plan submitted in advance instead.
https://www.gion-shinbashi.jp/c/manner.html

Agency for Cultural Affairs — preservation-district list and national heritage database
Confirmed Higashiyama Higashi in Kanazawa as a teahouse-town preservation district of about 1.8 hectares selected on 14 November 2001, Kazuemachi as about 0.6 hectares selected on 9 June 2008, the 1820 layout of the eastern quarter, and the designation of Shima as an Important Cultural Property on 25 December 2003 at 1-13-21 Higashiyama.
https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/hozonchiku/pdf/r1392257_022.pdf

Kanazawa City and Kaikaro
Confirmed the city ordinance 49 of 27 June 2001 relaxing Building Standards Act limits in the Higashiyama Higashi preservation district, and the Kaikaro building tour at 750 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary pupils and younger with infants free, viewable 10:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30.
https://www.kaikaro.jp/building-tour/

Ishikawa Prefecture — Kanazawa Geigi no Mai page
Confirmed the prices of 1,500 yen for individuals and 1,200 yen for groups of 15 or more, the 14:00 curtain with doors at 13:00, the 500 yen backstage tour supplement, and the organising committee’s place inside the prefecture’s culture promotion division.
https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/muse/event/geigi_no_mai.html

Taito City and Niigata City
Confirmed Asakusa’s description as one of Tokyo’s six hanamachi, the six 2026 performance dates of 11 April, 6, 13 and 20 June and 4 and 11 July at the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, reserved seats from 5,000 yen with 12 premium seats per performance at 6,000 yen, and Niigata City’s Furumachi geigi training support subsidy of 6 million yen started on 1 April 2025.
https://t-navi.city.taito.lg.jp/features/84

Last updated: September 2026