Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka and the Yasaka Pagoda

Between Kiyomizu-dera and Yasaka Shrine, the Higashiyama hills are threaded with stepped stone lanes — Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka — lined with wooden shopfronts, teahouses and lanterns. A few minutes away, the five-storey pagoda of Hokan-ji, known as the Yasaka Pagoda, rises at the top of a sloping street, and the view up that street is one of the most photographed in Japan.

In kimono this is the walk most couples want, and it gives a whole session's variety in a short distance: steps, doorways, the pagoda framed between rooftops. By late morning the lanes are packed and the shops have their signs out.

Sunrise is the time: the lanes are empty, the light comes down the slopes and the shutters are still closed. People live on these streets as well as trade on them, so keep doorways and steps clear.