Ganko & Takasegawa

On Day 2 (Tuesday), after another scrumptious Zen breakfast at Daishin-in, we went downtown to tour our project site. First, we went along the Kamogawa, one of the two major rivers that flow through Kyoto. Of the two rivers (Katsuragawa and Kamogawa) the Kamo is the more tame and refined, with paving and plantings along its course.

The Kamogawa

 The waters of both rivers are diverted into the city's many canals. Traditionally, the canals served as cooling, transportation, fire breaks, and fire control. On our side of the river, many establishments have outdoor seating overlooking the river. One such building is a restaurant galled Ganko. The restaurant rents the building from the original owners. The structure is many hundreds of years old and contains a breathtaking garden with ponds and streams sourced with water from the Kamo. If I recall correctly, it was formerly a home owned by a powerful member of society who, from his vantage point, oversaw the river.

Ganko from a bridge over Kamogawa.

 

The gardens at Ganko

The interior architecture and design of the building is also superb.  There is a variety of different spaces for eating depending on the preferred style or group size. I really wanted to try the food but my current budget does not permit it. Thus, another reason to look forward to one day returning to Kyoto.

Our Project Site: 

For many years, our area of the Takase canal has been in disrepair. In other areas, the canal is lovely, with restaurants adjacent to the canal and lively day and night activities.

A popular Italian restaurant overlooking the Takasegawa

A lovely portion of the canal with a Tadao Andou building running parallel to it.

  However, in our site area, most of the activity occurs at night. There are many many bars, adult clubs, and restaurants. The area is booming on a Friday or Saturday night but the canal is not exactly people friendly. During the day people use the street as a path to other places. They seldom stop in this area because most of the shops are not open until the evening and there is little around the canal to lure them. 

Our project site: near the abandoned school.

Some buildings that face the canal: an edge treatment clearly different from the pizza restaurant.

The canal and street during the day.

Often, during the day, it seems that there are more parked service vehicles and cars passing through than people. This is the issue that we are trying to address. Kyoto is very hot and muggy during the summer. The water and the vegetation provide much needed shelter from the heat. The Takasegawa should be a place people can rest and enjoy a break from the sweltering summer.

In the past decades, this strip of the Takase grew as an adult place and because of the rise of bars and adult clubs (because Japanese zoning laws  are conscious of separating adult pursuits from the younger society) the school in the area closed due to not having enough children in attendance.

The abandoned school.

Ironically, the Takase canal is adjacent to many very rich and lively places in Kyoto. It runs parallel to the Ponto-cho park and street which is a narrow space that is framed by lovely and sometimes expensive restaurants designed in traditional Japanese style. It is also near Kawaramachi, a busy street with hundreds of shops sheltered from the sun and rain by covered awnings. Beyond this street there is also the Teramachi, Nishiki, and Sanjo covered markets, essentially galleria of hundreds more shops and restaurants. On the other side of the Kamogawa is the Gion district, re-known for its beautifully preserved buildings from the Meiji era and earlier. Gion is also known as the area of the geisha.

I will write about Gion & Kawaramachi in more depth at another time.