Living in Kyoto

I lived in Nishijin for 16 months and my advice to organizers and participants who have never been to Kyoto before would be to choose North Kyoto over its southern parts to search for accommodation, especially north (and west) of Imadegawa street and Kuramaguchi street (Kitano-Tenmangu shrine, Daitokuji, Funaokayama Park, Kyoto botanical garden). Residential landscapes are well preserved, less touristic, and access to Doshisha is easy by bike. Several areas near Daitokuji and Senbon street are specialized in silk weaving (Nishijin, where you can hear the looms) or craftsmanship. Some workers’ neighborhoods around there historically suffered from a bad reputation and as such, it is where students, artists, activists…can easily find a place. This social dynamic is triggering a wave of hispterfication that has grown stronger recently, albeit in a moderate way.