To many tourists an image of a Japanese geisha is still coated with mystery and enigma. At least I definitely had that feeling, so of course I really wanted to get a glimpse on their very special culture. Fortunately, Kyoto has the most geisha in all Japan, so it was a good place for trying to unravel the mystery of geisha (or geiko, as they call them in Kyoto).
For many years and decades a geiko-hosted dinner and her performance was a luxury and a privilege that tourists could not even think about. But the recent multiplication of tourist influx to Japan encourages geiko to provide their services to foreigners too, and nowadays it is not an impossible task to meet a geiko or even hire her to host you at dinner.
There are multiple ways for Kyoto visitors to get an understanding of geisha history and see what modern geisha look like. What you choose must depend on your itinerary, time allocation, and, of course, your budget 😉
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