The Kamogawa: the river that orders the city
The delta where two rivers meet, the stepping-stones, the summer terraces, down to Sanjo. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Demachiyanagi delta
Start where the Takano joins the Kamo to become the *Kamogawa* (the Kamo river). The grassy fork between the two channels is the city's favourite sitting-place; come down to the point and watch which river you'd rather follow.

2. The stepping-stones (tobi-ishi)
Just below the delta, flat stones cross the water — some plain, some cut as turtles and plovers. Children dare each other across; you can too. Slippery after rain, so pick your moment.

3. Kamo riverbank path
Drop onto the gravel-and-grass embankment and head south. This is the great public room of Kyoto — runners, herons, students practising trumpet badly. Stay on the right bank for the open water and the western light.

4. Sanjo Ohashi
The bridge that ended the old Tokaido road from Edo. Pause on it; this was the city's front door for three centuries. Look downstream and the *kawayuka* (riverside dining terraces) begin to line the far bank.

5. The kawayuka terraces
From May to September, restaurants between Sanjo and Shijo build wooden platforms out over the river — *kawayuka*. You don't have to book a table; walk the bank below and look up at them lit at dusk.

6. Pontocho river frontage
End where the *Pontocho* alley backs onto the water. The lanes inland are a separate walk; here, just stand on the bank as the lanterns come on and the terraces fill. The Keihan line is under your feet at Sanjo.

The Kamogawa: the river that orders the city