KYOTO--Tourism officials here are offering premium seats for 400,000 yen ($2,870) each that provide an up-close view of the traditional Gion Festival’s massive float parade on July 17.

Core Kyoto zooms in on the Hoka Hoko, one of the festival's 34 floats Fronting the ... owl motif There are few festivals in the world like Gion Matsuri for its scope, grandeur and associated ...

The ban covers just several blocks of Gion. The district’s public streets will remain open to tourists, so the area and the rest of Kyoto will still be teeming with visitors, both from Japan and ...

Gion Matsuri was restored to its former glory ... deities' journey from the shrine to their temporary abode during the festival, and another precedes their return. The festival's revival was ...