Photo= The renovated Shijo Center has reopened as "Otabi Kyoto" (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto)

Shijo Center, a shopping center for Kyoto souvenirs, Shijo-dori Teramachi Higashi-iru, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, was renovated and reopened as "Otabi Kyoto" on September 4.

"Otabi Kyoto" handles foods and crafts from 22 stores, including 10 newly affiliated stores such as Mangetsu, a Japanese-style confectioner in Sakyo Ward, which is famous for its confectionery "Ajari-mochi," and Shoyeido, an incense company in Nakagyo Ward. On the interior, wood grain walls, there are photo displays of the annual events of Yasaka Shrine, which is deeply connected to "Otabi Kyoto." It has an area of 120 square meters, the same as before remodeling.

Shijo Center opened in 1961, when the neighboring store owners established a joint-stock corporation, "Shijo Center," and rented the "otabisho," or a resting place for portable shrines, of Yasaka Shrine for its store site. The new store name is derived from this, and even now the three portable shrines are still carried into the site for Gion Festival. Mitsuhiko Nagata, the company president, said, "We'd like the facility to become familiar as a place where people can also appreciate the history of Kyoto."