Kyoto Geisha Dance Seasons

Once a year each of Kyoto’s five hanamachi, the geiko and maiko districts, puts its dancers on a full stage for its own public dance. Four of the five dances fall between late March and May, and the fifth, the Gion Odori, in the first ten days of November; the five districts also dance together at the Minamiza theatre in late June. Tickets are sold by each district’s troupe, not through this site. Outside those weeks, the nearest thing is a short daily Kyomai: the performance on this page is the Gion Kagai Art Museum’s Kyoto: Geiko and Maiko Dance and Gion Museum Visit, two songs in the Inoue style by a geiko or maiko, about 15 minutes, five times each afternoon, with admission to the museum. It was per person from $25, checked November 2026, with 558 reviews.

The calendar above is the museum Kyomai, at 13:30, 14:20, 15:00, 16:00 or 16:30; come 10 minutes before. Usually one geiko or maiko dances; on some days two dance the third and fourth sessions. The ticket is non-refundable, so pick the date you are sure of.

The five dances, month by month

Kitano Odori, Kamishichiken: late March to early April

Kamishichiken, by Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in the north-west of the city, opens the season. In 2026 the Kitano Odori ran from 20 March to 2 April (Kyoto Prefectural Tourism Federation); the 2027 dates had not been announced when this page was checked in November 2026. Kamishichiken lies well off the map below, which covers Gion and Pontocho.

Miyako Odori, Gion Kobu: 1 to 30 April 2027

Gion Kobu stages its dance at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo, 570-2 Gionmachi Minamigawa. The 153rd Miyako Odori runs from 1 to 30 April 2027, three times a day at 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30. Seats cost 8,000 yen first class with a tea ceremony, 7,000 yen first class and 5,000 yen second class, with 3,000 yen student seats in the second class; the programme is 1,000 yen. Tickets go on sale on 6 January 2027 at 10:00, online or by phone, and cannot be cancelled, changed or refunded. Tea-ceremony guests are served from an hour before the curtain and should arrive at least 40 minutes before it. Each figure is the troupe’s own, read on 3 November 2026, and published as the plan as of October 2026. Every seat is 1,000 yen dearer than in 2026, when the run was also 1 to 30 April.

Kyo Odori, Miyagawa-cho: April

Miyagawa-cho, south of Gion along the Kamo River, dances at the Miyagawacho Kaburenjo, about 400 metres on foot from Keihan Gion-Shijo Station. Its 2027 dates had not been published when this page was checked; the Kyo Odori is usually held in April.

Kamogawa Odori, Pontocho: May

Pontocho dances at the Pontocho Kaburenjo, at the west end of the Sanjo bridge. In 2026 the 187th Kamogawa Odori ran from 5 to 22 May, at 12:30, 14:20 and 16:10, with seats at 7,000 yen with tea, 6,000 yen and 4,000 yen, no choice of seat and no cancellation after card payment. The tea room is on the 4th floor, where a geiko performs the tea ceremony before the show. The 2027 dates were not on the troupe’s site when it was read on 3 November 2026.

The five districts together: late June

In late June the geiko and maiko of all five districts, about 80 of them, dance together at the Minamiza theatre, each district showing its own dances (Pontocho Kabukai). The 2027 date had not been published when this page was checked.

Gion Odori, Gion Higashi: 1 to 10 November, every year

The autumn dance belongs to Gion Higashi and plays at Gion Kaikan, in front of the steps of Yasaka Shrine, from 1 to 10 November every year (Kyoto City Tourism Association). The 2026 run: curtains at 13:30 and 16:00, about an hour each, seats at 7,000 yen with tea or 6,000 yen, the programme at 1,000 yen, no children under 3, and same-day tickets at the Gion Kaikan window (Gion Higashi Kabukai, read 3 November 2026).

Where the theatres are

Four of the five theatres are within a short walk of each other. Gion Kaikan is about 240 metres on foot from Yasaka Shrine; Gion Corner, in the Kaburenjo annex, is about 610 metres on foot from Gion Kaikan; Pontocho Kaburenjo, across the river, is about 1.2 kilometres on foot from Gion Corner.

Buying dance tickets

Each troupe sells its own tickets, online and at its theatre’s window, and the spring dances go on sale well ahead: in January for the April Miyako Odori. Seats cannot be cancelled or refunded at the Miyako Odori, nor after card payment at the Kamogawa Odori, so buy once your dates are fixed. The tea ticket adds a place at a tea ceremony before the show; at the Kamogawa Odori a geiko performs it.

When no dance is on

Most of the year, no district dance is playing. A shorter performance fills the gap every day: the museum Kyomai in the afternoon, Gion Corner at 18:00 and 19:00 in the evening, and the maiko shows, where the dance is followed by questions and photos.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Gion Corner’s evening show, with a kyomai dance among other traditional arts, is compared with the maiko shows on Gion Corner or a maiko show.