In one of the most beautiful traditional districts of Kyoto, on the Shirakawa-minami-dori, the street renowned for its expensive O-chaya (tea houses), there is a small shrine, the Tatsumi Shrine, with a funny old story. It is said that on the nearby bridge there was a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog who was attacking the passersby, making them fall in the water. To stop these attacks, the people decided to build this small shrine and the story says that, since then, the aggressive tanuki was magically stopped…

Whatever the story, after sunset, when the red lanterns are lit, the place became truly magical. It is a perfect street for a romantic walk or, why not, for a rickshaw ride…

Tatsumi Shrine, Gion, Kyoto

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Japanese Gardens, the Ohashi courtyard garden