Having read "Memoirs of a Geisha," I have always been fascinated by this mysterious ancient Japanese profession. So, here we are in Japan, in Kyoto, in the Gion 祇園 district, on Hanamachi (花街)...why wouldn't we go spot some geishas out? Our tour guide told us that "real" geishas don't pose for pictures. They just go from one appointment to another, and is usually very fast doing so.
The Gion area is absolutely fascinating. It composes of 1 main street with many smaller alleys. The streets are all filled with small 2-story old Japanese teahouses. This is where the geishas entertain their guests. Apparently, fees for a geisha run about $400-500 USD for 3-4 hours or so. The geisha also has the power to say no to any appointments. Her outfit can cost over $10,000 USD. Her outfit, along with her head-dress, are indicators of how popular she is and how much she makes because these things don't come cheap.
So we were there at around 8pm - the perfect time as the geishas are usually wrapping up their duties. We were the papparazi for the night-- literally lurking in the dark to take pictures of the geishas! Remember they walk very fast from one destination to another - many times to a waiting car or taxi. And of course, our camera's flash wouldn't charge up fast enough... We will be like..."look, there's one. wait, she's gone...no, another one there..." In total, we saw over 10 geishas, but was only able to get a couple of shots. We were lucky to get this shot.
Overall, It was really really fun... but of course, to the geishas, we are probably the most annoying people EVER! What a great experience in our night of geisha-spotting!!
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