Yasaka Shrine — also called Gion-san by locals — stands at the eastern end of Shijō-dōri, where the long shopping street runs up against the western edge of the Higashiyama hills. The orange Western Gate (Saimon) facing the street is one of the most familiar landmarks in Kyoto. The shrine was founded in 656 and has been the spiritual sponsor of the Gion district and the great Gion Matsuri summer festival for more than a thousand years.
The grounds stay open all night and the central dance stage is permanently strung with hundreds of paper lanterns donated by local businesses; lit up after dark, the shrine is one of the city's most atmospheric night-time sights. Behind the shrine, the long lawns of Maruyama Park spill up the hill — a popular cherry-blossom spot in early April — and a path through the park climbs east toward Chion-in and the upper Higashiyama temples.