This weekend, I went to Kyoto for a
trip. You can find some retro streets
around Gion area, where I think a good place even for a walk. If you are lucky, you might be able to see maiko ladies. I had a chat and walked around and took some
photos with them. It was nice to hang out
with ladies in kimono stroll walk
around the traditional town. Do you want
to know how to meet this kind of maiko
ladies?
Actually, they are Hiro, my wife and Miwa,
our tea classmate! They are not real maiko.
There are some photo studios in Kyoto that make you into a maiko for recreation. So, if you want to see maiko ladies, be the one yourself or have your partner to be one of
them too.
For the plan Hiro and Miwa tried, it took
about 3 hours for the entire activities.
It took about one hour to make up and dress. They had photo shooting in the studio about
15 min each. And we had 20 min walk
outside at the retro streets around the neighborhood of the studio. And it took another hour for changing clothes and
choosing the best shots for printing. Hiro
and Miwa seemed to have a lot of fun.
Since they are bit of shy, they were bashful about walking outside
because people definitely looked at them.
Tourists passing maiko looked
back and oftentimes they aimed their camera at the kimono ladies. You need to
be open-minded and enjoy the attention.
 |
| Photo shooting in the studio |
I didn’t try it myself so I waited for a
quite some time at their lounge. While I
was waiting, many groups of ladies came and went. They all looked excited when they were
having instruction at the beginning, and after the photo shooting, they were
having fun selecting the photos. The
plan that Hiro and Miwa tried was about 10,000 yen, which includes an option of
photo retouch. They can cover the
unnatural gap of the wig and wrinkles, hahaha.
The plan covers three printed photos (no original data) from studio
shooting. The fee varies by the plans
and options. It is a worthwhile activity
in Kyoto. Be a maiko yourself and blend into the traditional city!
The photo studio we visited >> http://www.yumekoubou.info/english/index.html
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It's a pity that can not look good as a maiko since I am a blond and blue eyes girl from the USA. But how beautiful are the kimono. Such rich fabric color and patterns. Japanese women are lucky to have such spectacular traditional fabrics to wear. Western clothing is very drab and dull in comparison.
ReplyDeleteHi,Thanks for visiting my blog. I think that a blond and blue eyes are also attractive. You are right. Kimono for miko are beautiful with their gorgeous fabric. They are special and you will fell special when you wear them.
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