Desperately Seeking Geishas
Desperately Seeking Geishas
Gion is a famous entertainment and geisha district in Kyoto that is filled with restaurants shops and teahouses, where geisha (called geiko) and maiko (apprentice geisha) perform.
Most tourists looking to spot geisha head to Hanami-koji Street. The street and side alleys are lined with traditional wooden machiya houses, which are now mostly restaurants with a number of teahouses, known as ochaya, mixed in. Ochaya feature some of the most exclusive (and expensive) dining in Kyoto, and guests are entertained by maiko and geiko.
We arrived at Hanami-koji Street just after 7:30 PM and met a friend at the highly recommended local bar Finlandia. After a couple of drinks we strolled through the alleys surrounding Hanami-koji looking for geisha, but gave up after twenty minutes to go to dinner on the other side of the Kamo river in Ponto-chō. Hours later, we parted ways with the friend, and were back on Shijo Avenue debating whether or not to go back to the hotel, or head back to Gion to see if we could see any geisha before calling it a night.
We were on the bridge back to Gion when I spotted a geisha walking towards us. I quickly pointed her out to K. Locals laughed as we pursued her back to Ponto-chō taking photos. It was like chasing a ghost as she disappeared into one of the buildings. I still can’t believe how fast she moved walking on three or four inch high wooden clogs.
There was no stopping us now. By this time it was just after 10 PM, and with the exception of a few locals going about their business, Hanami-koji Street was empty. For the first 20 or so minutes we caught glimpses of geishas in the distance on their way from one tea house to another.
We settled on a spot across the street from a tea house on Hanami-koji after watching a Geisha get into the back of a cab that had pulled up in front. We stood a few feet off the street in one of the alleys and waited.
From that point on Hanami-koji came to life with geiko and meiko walking from one performance to the next, getting into or out of cabs, or socializing on the street.
At one point we were in the perfect position to see into the entrance of the tea house as the Okasan and another woman escorted a client out. The woman in the white kimono was clearly not happy. We got a quick glimpse of two kneeling geishas as the Okosan and the other women went back inside. Something was clearly wrong.
The client rode off in a cab, and a few minutes later one of the geishas walked the okasan to her car. She bowed, and as the car drove off started to cry. She noticed us across the street taking photos, turned her back to us and quickly composed herself before heading back inside.
At some point two guys walked up to us in our spot with cameras. One looks at us, turns to other and says “This is spot I was telling you about…” We all laughed, and they head off.
A little later, we followed a pair of geishas to the end of the street. An old woman approached us, pointed to an alley and said “Maiko!” We go to the alley and there are two apprentice geisha chatting. We take more pictures, and a few minutes later they went their separate ways. It was well past midnight so we left too.
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