The area is characterized by an elegant townscape with stone-paved streets along the Gion Shirakawa River, lined with traditional teahouses and ryotei (traditional Japanese-style restaurants). The Shinbashi-dori area in particular has been designated as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and its historical landscape has been preserved. The history of Gion-Shirakawa is that it developed from the mid-Heian period as a gate town of Yasaka Shrine and flourished as a teahouse town in the Edo period. 1713, a town was built along the Shirakawa River, forming “Gion-nai Roku-cho” (Gion's six inner towns). The Shirakawa River is also a first-class river, a tributary of the Kamo River in the Yodo River system, and is said to have gotten its name from the white sand on the riverbed. Today, Gion Shirakawa still retains the atmosphere of a hanamachi (flower district) where maiko and geiko come and go, and is popular with many people as a sightseeing spot. Especially in spring, the cherry blossoms along the Shirakawa River are in full bloom and attract many tourists.