Starting this April, Kyoto is going to ban tourists from parts of the Geisha District. Since Mark and I were right by the temple just a couple of days before the first day of April, we decided to stop by and see it before we, along with other tourists, would be banned from visiting.

According to the articles, the two main streets would not be banned, but the streets connected to them would be. And for a good reason – the streets are very crowded all day long with tourists, and most of the streets have people’s homes. Many of these homes have signs stating no photographs and to keep quiet, both of which were being violated. What can you expect when there are hundreds of people walking through a day? Mark and I were respectful of the streets with these signs but can definitely understand why they will be banning visitors from these areas.