Sannenzaka - Mind Your Step

A stop on Kyoto: Higashiyama and Gion on Foot, a free self-guided tour.

These worn stone steps are Sannenzaka, the most famous slope in Kyoto. Its older name is usually explained as "safe childbirth slope," because it led up to Kiyomizu-dera, where women came to pray for an easy delivery; tradition credits the 8th-century empress Komyo with starting that devotion. Others say the name simply records the year the slope was laid out.

Then there is the legend every local child knows: trip on Sannenzaka and you have only three years to live. It probably began as a warning to watch your footing on slippery stone, and a gourd shop partway down has long sold charms to ward off the curse.

Look at the wooden townhouses, called machiya, with shops at the front and living space behind. In 1972 this became Kyoto's first historic preservation district. Take the steps slowly, use the handrail, and stand to one side when you stop to look.

Getting here: Walk back down the main shopping slope from the gate; where it bends, turn right at the corner spice shop and start down the stone steps of Sannenzaka.

Did you know?: The spice shop at the top of the steps, Shichimiya Honpo, traces its roots to about 1655, when it served travelers here. It still blends shichimi, the seven-spice chili mix Japanese diners shake over noodles.

Photo op: From the top step, frame the curving staircase and the tiled roofs falling away below. Before 8 a.m. you can often get it without a crowd.

More on Wikipedia: Sannenzaka · Machiya · Empress Komyo · Shichimiya

Sannenzaka - Mind Your Step

Stops on this tour