MEETING A GEISHA

Not everybody gets the chance to meet a geisha walking on the streets of Kyoto, you can only see them when they are going to work at night or running errands in the morning.  Geisha is a job, they are female entertainers who act as hostess whose skills includes dancing, performing classical music and performing in a tea ceremony. Not all female Japanese can wear a geisha costume or not everyone can be a geisha, so there are only a few of them. Also not all parts of Japan you can see geisha, there are only a few districts or prefecture where you can find them. in this case, Kyoto is one of them.

At the heart of Kyoto lies Gion. The city's famous entertainment district and center of its traditional arts. Gion is known as Kyoto's famous geisha district. As I have mentioned, not all parts of Japan you can find geisha, there were only specific locations. This area is packed with traditional houses which later on converted into tea houses. 

Gion is atmospheric in the evening where lantern-lit facades will captivate every passerby. 

So while exploring this area, I was really anticipating to find geisha, my trip to Japan would not be complete without finding one. They said that geisha became elusive to tourists because they were being chased and tourists became paparazzi so only a few of them would stop and pose for a photo. Remeber, geisha are not there roam around in their costume and pose for a photo, but they are there to work.

During that night, I decided to leave Gion without having a glimpse of a geisha, maybe it was not my luck and besides I was already a bit tired from walking around Kyoto the whole day. 

Feeling disappointed, I was about to go home, but I decided to stop by in a tea house. I was just curious because there was a pile of people outside, so I went inside out of curiosity. Then to my luck, a geisha is busy greeting people inside. This is already an opportunity for me so I took a seat and had my tea during that night. I was a bit hesitant in taking a picture of her, but since a lot is asking her for a photo so I decided to ask her politely and graciously posed for my camera.

I was starstruck! They were like celebrities of that place, their graceful and refined movements are mesmerizing, truly being a geisha requires a lot of skills.

So I wasn't disappointed at all,  that night is my luck and meeting a geisha is one of the highlights of my Japan trip.