Thunder gave this shrine its name. Kamowakeikazuchi, the god worshipped at Kamigamo, is a deity of lightning, and the compound beside the Kamo river in northern Kyoto is thought to be one of the oldest Shinto sites in Japan, with a founding that tradition dates to the seventh century. In the compound, two neat cones of white sand stand in front of the main sanctuary, symbols of purity, imitating the sacred hill where the god is said to have come down. Beyond them, a small stream runs under a bridge in a grove of old trees, and the whole place has a quiet, swept look, like a stage before the performance.
The performances come in May. The Aoi Festival, which links Kamigamo with its sister shrine downriver at Shimogamo, is one of Kyoto's three great festivals, a procession of nobles, ox carts and horses dressed in the style of the Heian court, all wearing leaves of hollyhock, aoi, as emblems. Just before it, in early May, a horse race called Kurabeuma is run on the grass at the shrine, a tradition that runs back more than nine hundred years. The shrine was included in the World Heritage listing of the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto in 1994.
The ride from here goes south to the Nara palace site, which links two capitals, the Heian one at Kyoto and the earlier Heijo one, the first great planned city on the island, founded in 710. The route cuts through Kyoto's outskirts and then southwards through the hills and valleys around Uji, a town famous for green tea, along the Kizu river and over the low ridges that separate the two basins. It is not demanding riding, more a pleasant, rural pace through tea fields and bamboo, with villages in between. North of Kamigamo, by contrast, the Kitayama hills rise quickly into forested valleys, and a short ride up the road toward Kurama and Kibune shows another side of Kyoto, steep, shady and cool even in summer.
Kamigamo is a neighbourhood of the city, so petrol stations, bakeries and noodle counters surround it. The shrine itself is open to walk around freely, though some inner areas have restrictions, and early morning is the best time, when the gravel is raked and the temple priests are sweeping. Parking for motorbikes is limited, so use a nearby lot and walk.