Awamochi Sawaya
Kitano, Kyoto
- Mon, Tue, Fri to Sun
- 9:00 to 17:00
- Wed, Thu
- Closed
Closes around 17:00, or earlier once sold out. Also closed on the 26th of every month.
Source: ja.kyoto.travel, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Sawaya has made awamochi, millet cakes, a few steps from Kitano Tenmangu since 1682, when it opened as a teahouse for the shrine. There are only two kinds, wrapped in smooth red bean paste or rolled in kinako, and they pound fresh batches through the day, so yours will likely still be warm.
Insider tip
Eat them here, since they don't keep past the day you buy them. It's closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays and the 26th of each month, and it shuts early once the day's batch is gone.
What the guides say about Awamochi Sawaya
Round Kitano Tenmangu, Awamochi Sawaya pounds millet cakes through the day, wrapped in red bean paste or rolled in kinako, so yours will likely still be warm. Eat them there, as they don't keep. Outside Imamiya Shrine's east gate, Ichiwa toasts aburi-mochi over charcoal and dips it in white miso sauce for ¥600 a serving.
17. Kitano Tenmangu on the 25th. The Tenjin-san Market fills the approach all day, and after dark the shrine lights 350 stone and 250 hanging lanterns. Awamochi Sawaya has made millet cakes by the shrine since 1682, and yours will likely still be warm. City Bus 50 takes about 35 minutes from Kyoto Station. The Kitano guide covers Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district.
What's on near Awamochi Sawaya
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Awamochi Sawaya, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Kamishichiken Kotobuki-kai Dance Recital
上七軒 寿会
Time 16:00 (doors 15:30) Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae or Kamishichiken bus stop (City Bus 50), 3 min walk
Kamishichiken, which grew from seven teahouses at Kitano Tenmangu's gate, holds its annual recital at the Kaburenjo, a programme of nagauta dances by its geiko and maiko. Tickets are ¥10,000, and children under school age aren't admitted.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kamishichiken Beer Garden
上七軒ビアガーデン
Time 17:30 to 22:00 Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 50, 55, 203), 3 min walk
Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, turns its kaburenjo theatre into a beer garden for the summer, and geiko and maiko in matching yukata come round and hand out their senjafuda name cards. The first set of draught beer and snacks was ¥2,500 in 2026, seats are in two-hour slots, nobody under 20 gets in, and it isn't open every night, so check the closed days.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kitano Odori
北野をどり
Time 14:00 and 16:30 (doors open an hour before) Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 50, 51, 55, 203), 3 min walk
Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, opens the spring dance season in the Kamishichiken Kaburenjo, a Japanese-style theatre that's not normally open to the public. Each show runs about 90 minutes.
mrhayata, CC BY-SA 2.0 Tenjin-san Market at Kitano Tenmangu
天神市（北野天満宮）
Time 7:00 to sunset Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus), 1 min walk
Kitano Tenmangu's market on the 25th, the date tied to Sugawara no Michizane's birth and death, is Kyoto's other big fair alongside To-ji's, strong on antiques, old tools and secondhand clothes. On market days the shrine buildings are lit after dark.
z tanuki, CC BY 3.0 Kitano Tenmangu Momiji-en Maple Garden
史跡御土居のもみじ苑
Time 9:00 to 16:00 (last entry 15:40), to 20:00 during the light-up from 13 Nov (last entry 19:40) Station Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 50), 1 min walk
About 350 maples grow on the Odoi, the earth rampart Toyotomi Hideyoshi built round Kyoto, and the garden opens for the season with a light-up after dark from 13 Nov. Look out for the vermilion Uguisu Bridge over the Kamiya River, and the ticket comes with a sweet based on fu-no-yaki, said to have been devised by Sen no Rikyu.
z tanuki, CC BY 3.0 Nearby
Around Kitano
Tenjin's head shrine, Kyoto's oldest geisha district and Daitoku-ji
Start at Kitano Tenmangu, head shrine of about 12,000 Tenjin shrines, founded in 947 for Sugawara no Michizane, the scholar students still pray to before exams. Come on the 25th, when the Tenjin-san Market fills the approach and the lanterns are lit after dark. Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, lines the shrine's east approach, and Daitoku-ji's Zen temples are about 1.7 km north-east.
Kitano has 25 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 10 shrines and temples, 3 cafes, 3 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 bathhouses, 1 viewpoint, 1 neighbourhood, 1 museum, 1 bar and 1 market. Read the Kitano guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Awamochi Sawaya?
- 838-7 Kamiyagawa-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市上京区今小路通御前西入ル紙屋川町838-7).
- What are the opening hours of Awamochi Sawaya?
- Mon, Tue, Fri to Sun 9:00 to 17:00; Closed Wed, Thu. Closes around 17:00, or earlier once sold out. Also closed on the 26th of every month.
- How do I get to Awamochi Sawaya?
- The nearest station is Kitano Tenmangu-mae bus stop (City Bus 10, 50, 51, 55, 203). Awamochi Sawaya is in Kitano, Kyoto.
- How much does Awamochi Sawaya cost?
- Awamochi Sawaya is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Awamochi Sawaya?
- Plan for 20 min.
- When is the best time to visit Awamochi Sawaya?
- Morning, before it sells out.
Stay near Awamochi Sawaya
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