Kyoto · Higashiyama and Gion
Sannenzaka Street
Sannenzaka is a set of stone steps and a paved slope that climb toward Kiyomizu-dera, and together with nearby Ninenzaka it is the heart of a preservation district the city declared in 1976. About 65 percent of the buildings in the district are classified as traditional: wooden houses from the end of the Edo period to the twenties of the 20th century, alongside temples such as the Yasaka Pagoda and Kodai-ji.
The name has two readings. The official one is the slope of prayer for an easy birth, on the way to the childbirth Kannon statue at Kiyomizu-dera. The popular one is the three-year slope: according to a belief recorded as early as 1679, anyone who falls here will die within three years. Because of this, bottle gourds were once sold here, a charm meant to bring back the soul that slipped away in the fall.
Good to know
- The easy route is downhill: from Kiyomizu-dera through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka to Kodai-ji. That way the steep steps are on the way down, not up.
- On wet stone the steps are slippery. In a rented kimono and geta, go down slowly.
- After 18:00 most of the shops are closed, and the street is quiet and easy to photograph.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Sannenzaka Street.
- HereSannenzaka Street
- 1 min
Umezono Kiyomizu Cafe
A branch of a Kyoto sweets house founded in 1927, on Sannenzaka. The best-known dish is mitarashi dango, grilled rice dumplings in a sweet soy sauce.
- ~2 min
Shichimiya Honpo Shopping
At the junction of Kiyomizu-zaka and Sannenzaka since 1655. At first it was a teahouse that served pilgrims hot water with mustard, and later shichimi, chili with six other ingredients, was invented here, and the shop changed its name to match.
- ~3 min
Camellia Flower Teahouse More to see
In a tea room near Kiyomizu-dera you watch the ceremony, eat a seasonal sweet and learn to whisk matcha yourself.
- ~4 min
Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya Cafe
A branch in a Japanese wooden house more than a hundred years old, with seating areas on tatami. It opens at 08:00, before most of the shops in the lanes.
- ~4 min
Kasagiya Cafe
A sweets house on the Ninenzaka steps, open since 1914, with paintings by the artist Takehisa Yumeji on the walls. Ohagi in three colors or zenzai, a sweet red bean soup with grilled mochi, ¥900. Cash only and no reservations.
- ~5 min
Bien Kyoto Vegan Cafe Food
A vegan cafe that opened in fall 2025 on the Chawanzaka slope, steps from Kiyomizu-dera: vegan ramen, sushi and sandwiches, ice cream and ma
More in Higashiyama and Gion
Appears in: Higashiyama: Kiyomizu-dera in the morning, the Sannenzaka lanes, and Gion in the evening