Kawadoko‐dining on the decks‐is a reminder of the summer in Kyoto. In the evening from early May until September, restaurants and ochaya facing the rivers of Kamo-gawa, Kibune-gawa, and Kiyotaki-gawa set up decks above the river, where residents and tourists enjoy eating and drinking, overlooking the river.

The history of kawadoko dates back to the Edo period, when wealthy merchants placed low tables on the riverside of the Kamo River near the Gojo Street to entertain their guests from afar with dinner.

Today, not only Japanese restaurants but also Chinese restaurants and Korean barbeque houses provide kawadoko along the Kamo River. And customers can enjoy even lunch there in May and September. In Kubune, one restaurant serves nagashi somen, a type of thin noodle served cold and delivered to you via a bamboo chute.

Refreshed with the murmuring of clear streams, smacking your lips with delicious food, having a glow on good wine and gentle breeze, you are sure to be satisfied with the luxurious and cool summer found nowhere other than in Kyoto.