A fire broke out Monday at a restaurant in an area of Kyoto popular with tourists, engulfing several neighboring buildings, police said.
The fire occurred at around 9:15 p.m. at a restaurant on the main street of the Gion geisha district, where there are numerous traditional wooden merchant houses. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
There were many foreign tourists and geisha in the district at the time. The street was temporarily closed due to the fire, which was brought under control after about 3½ hours.
A 20-year-old woman who works at a neighboring sushi restaurant said the adjacent Japanese restaurant had filled with smoke before she left the building and her eyes stung.