Japan Travel Blog

Fujiyama (Mt.Fuji) and Geisha are two icons that symbolize JAPAN.

Unlike Samurai, Geisha are still alive with their white-painted faces, traditional Japanese hairstyles and fabulous kimonos. If you have a chance to meet one, it will definitely be the highlight of your trip to Japan. So where does one meet them? That’s the problem.

Before talking about the ways to meet Geisha, let me explain a little about Maiko and Geiko, the terms used to refer to Geisha in my hometown of Kyoto. Kyoto is known as the historical former capital of Japan which has over a thousand years history. There remain a hundred Maiko, apprentice Geisha, and 200 Geiko, matured Geisha. A Maiko is under 20, usually starting her career as young as 15 to be a professional in Japanese traditional culture and entertainment. Both Maiko and Geiko go to a special school to learn Japanese culture such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Japanese traditional music and dance. Maiko are professional artists, yet their charm is in their youth and immaturity. Their appearance emphasizes their youth. For example, they tuck their sleeves in at the shoulder like a child. When they turn 20 and are acknowledged to be skillful in art and service, they become Geiko. They are usually mature enough to listen and talk to the guest and required a higher level of artistry.

http://kyoto-gion-corner.info/ozashiki-asobi/maiko.html

Let me give you some tips to actually meet Geisha. It may sound like a dream, but it is possible. What’s more, there are several choices ranging financially from reasonable to expensive.

For budget travelers who want to see Geisha but don’t want to spend much money, Gion Corner is the best place to go. It is a theater where they play a digest version of seven Japanese traditional performing arts: tea ceremony, flower arrangement, koto (Japanese Harp) playing, gagaku (court dance), kyogen (comic play), Maiko dance and Bunraku (puppet play). At the end of the show, a Maiko or two show up and dance a traditional Japanese dance. As the theater was first made for the Tokyo Olympic Games to welcome foreign guests, it has various language brochures and earphone guides. You can experience all the performances for only 3,150 yen (35$) ! The shows are held from March to November, though recently they also tend to have special performances only on weekends during winter time.

http://kyoto-gion-corner.info/gion_corner/top/index.html

Still too expensive? Then the only way to see Geisha is to go to the Gion area and wish for good luck. Gion is where Maiko and Geiko live, so you may come across a Geisha moving from one banquet to another by chance. Hanami-koji, the street in front of Gion Corner, would be good place to wait and see. Be careful not to mistake tourists making up themselves as a Geisha for the real thing!

If you’d like to “meet ” a Geisha, Gion Hatanaka will make your dream come true. They have a special package for meeting a Geisha while enjoying authentic Kyoto cuisine. A few Maiko and Geiko in full make-up will come to the room to show some dances, pour sake to guests and talk to them. You can say “hi” to them in person and take pictures with them. If you’re brave enough to raise your hand, you can even join their party games! It will understandably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The cost is 18,900 yen (210$). Taking in consideration that Hatanaka is one of the highest ranking ryokans (Japanese inns) in Kyoto whose cuisine usually costs around 10,000 yen (110$), it’s quite a good deal!

http://www.kyoto-maiko.jp/

If you want to meet Geisha privately, or you want a more authentic experience, why don’t you try Ochaya-asobi, visiting a real teahouse (traditional banquet house)? For a long time, teahouses didn’t accept guests without references from other clients because of security and to maintain their service level, which means it was very hard to get in for a foreign guest. But they have come to open their door to guests recently. If you plan to stay at a five star hotel such as Hyatt Regency Kyoto, The Westin Miyako Hotel Kyoto, Kyoto Hotel Okura, Kyoto Brighton Hotel, or one of the nicest ryokans called Hiiragiya, then you can ask the concierge for assistance. They will make arrangements for Ochaya (teahouses) with which they have contact.

http://www.luxurykyoto.jp/entertainment/index.html

http://kyoto-gion-corner.info/ozashiki-asobi/

Maiko and Geiko are a mystery even to Japanese. Not many people have seen or met them in person. I hope you get to enjoy seeing them in some way to get a glimpse of the jewel in the crown of Japan.

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by JNTO Staff
Filed under: 06-Kansai, Photos of Japan, News | No Comments »

The ride was full of many stimulating cultural experiences. We visited Nibutani, a comfortable village with a large population of Ainu, Hokkaido’s indigenous inhabitants. Many place names in Hokkaido are derived from the Ainu language, like “Sapporo”, which means “dry, large river.” We ate deer meat miso soup and sweet dango with some friendly locals who invited us to join them at an Ainu restaurant in Nibutani, and the proprietor gave us a place to stay in her guest room. The room doubled as a work studio for the matriarch of the family, who used a sleek, wooden traditional Ainu device to weave strips of Elm tree bark into rolls of material that she sold to a kimono store in Kyoto. We slept surrounded by hanging strips of bark and carving and weaving implements. We also visited an Ainu museum, where Sho practiced playing the mukkuri, an instrument you hold in your mouth and make a twanging sound by pulling a string forcefully to the side. It’s harder than it looks!

Sho learning to play the mukkuri, a traditional Ainu instrument

Fireworks are popular in Japan throughout the summer, and most convenience stores stock packs of ready-made fireworks, which Sho found irresistible. We spent many nights shooting off a pack, often at campsites with strangers we had befriended. We also watched incredible, multi-hour fireworks displays over the ocean at Kashiwazaki (on the west coast of Japan, just south of Niigata), and over Lake Biwako at Hama Ohtsu (near Kyoto). After the fireworks display finished at Hama Ohtsu, the crowd was so overwhelming that dozens of police officers blocked off the train station entrance and forced everyone into tightly packed corrals, which felt suffocating in the oppressive summer heat. We had taken the train from Kyoto, and it took us an hour of jostling in a crowd that stretched as far as we could see just to get back onto a train. We called this adventure our “fireworks fiasco.”

Fireworks over the ocean in Kashiwazaki

Another popular summer activity is Bon Odori, dancing that takes place in August as part of the Buddhist Obon “Festival of the Dead”, when ancestors’ spirits are said to visit their relatives. Gujo Hachiman, a quaint and inviting town in Gifu prefecture, puts on a dance in a different neighborhood each night for a month. The day we visited, Sho and I found out which neighborhood would host the dancing and stayed in a nearby ryoukan. As night fell, locals spilled out onto the decorated streets wearing colorful yukata robes and geta wooden shoes, and vendors set up stalls selling sweets and enticed passersby with various children’s games. Sho enjoyed trying to scoop up plastic fish from a tub of water using a small paper net that immediately started to disintegrate after getting wet. A large float dominated the main dancing street, and soon a band perched atop the float blasted out a rhythmic traditional tune over blaring loud speakers. A long line of dancers snaked around the length of the narrow street, encouraging everyone to join in. Sho and I dove into the mix and got help from a group of friendly teenagers, who patiently taught us the steps, counting “one, two, three, one, two, three…” After it was all over, Sho exclaimed, “What an awesome way to celebrate summer!”

We also had the great fortune to stay in Tokushima, a city on the eastern coast of Shikoku, during the Awa Odori festival. This annual, raucous 3-day event dates back to the 16th century, and is the largest Obon dance festival in the country. It is often referred to as the “Mardi Gras of Japan.” Over 1 million revelers descend on Tokushima each year, where traditionally-clad dancers and musicians take over the streets in choreographed dances, parading through town each night. At first, Sho and I just watched the procession as part of a massive crowd of onlookers, but as the evening wore on, impromptu dances broke out, and we were invited to join in. Once again, locals helped to show us the moves, and we had a blast dancing the night away!

Sho learning steps from a dancer during Awa Odori

While passing through a small town in the Japan Alps near Takayama, we happened upon a Sumo wrestling festival. Sho was invited to give it a try, and pushed a 250-pound wrestler out of the ring! Sho swears that it was his speed, agility and conditioning from biking every day that made him more than a match for the wrestler.

Sho overpowering a much heavier opponent at a sumo festival near Takayama

While Japan’s major cities boast many fascinating historical and cultural sites, I gained a new appreciation for and interest in the country’s rugged natural beauty. Shirakami Sanchi, a World Heritage Site and the last remaining virgin beech forest in the country, had an ancient, mysterious feel as we hiked around. We caught on video a beautiful bird with a long red beek called Akashoubin and had to maneuver around a 3-foot long snake that blocked our path. The northwestern coast in Tohoku offered a dramatic rocky coastline with fabulous sunsets and powerful surf. Riding through the many mountain passes of the Japan Alps, while exhausting, was fascinating and included a surprise encounter with wild monkeys. And Hokkaido was a bicyclists’ paradise, especially along the sparsely populated northern and eastern coasts.

The snake that blocked our path while hiking in Shirakami Sanchi

A shot of the dramatic coastline in northwestern Tohoku

A wild monkey lounging by the road in the Japan Alps

Suggestions:

Whether you’re interested in cycling across the entire country or just spending a day or two exploring by bike, there are many good options. Here are a few suggestions:

• Hokkaido is a cyclist’s paradise, with gorgeous countryside routes, dramatic coastlines and friendly people. Many people stick to the coasts, but there are challenging mountains, if that’s your thing.
• The Shimanami Kaido (しまなみ海道) is an expressway with a dedicated bike path that connects Onomichi (in Honshu) and Imabari (in Shikoku). You can rent bikes and helmets at one end and return them at the other. The route offers incredible ocean views as it passes over nine islands. You can complete this 60km (~37 miles) ride in a day, but it’s worth it to break it up into 2 days and stay overnight on one of the islands.
• Consider renting a bike to get around Kyoto. While you will have to contend with traffic and a few hills, Sho and I thought that cycling was a great way to see the city.

Other Useful Info:

• If you plan to sleep in a tent during a multiple-day cycling adventure, one of the major challenges is finding a place to shower. The ubiquity of public bath houses (onsen or osento) in Japan made it easy for us to clean up almost every day of our ride without needing to get a hotel room.
• There are hundreds of government-designated rest stops throughout Japan called Roadside Stations (道の駅 michi no eki), which came in handy on our ride. They typically have information on the local area, food and places to rest. Some include playgrounds, an onsen and other family-friendly attractions.
• If you arrive by bike in a town without any advanced information, make your way to the main train station. That is typically where you will find tourist info. Police officers, often stationed in neighborhood “police boxes” called koban also usually have helpful information.

Resources:

• Japan National Tourism Organization (www.jnto.go.jp) – this is an excellent resource for planning a trip to Japan. We used info from the website to help us plan the ride and visited the NYC office to collect brochures and get advice from the staff.
• Japan Cycling Navigator (www.japancycling.org) – English language website with many details on cycling in Japan.
• BEE Japan (www.beejapan.org) – a group of cyclists who sponsor bike rides around Japan, environmental awareness campaigns and an annual group ride across the country.

Posted on June 12th, 2010 by JNTO Staff
Filed under: 01-Hokkaido, Blogroll, Photos of Japan, Destinations, Tips for Travelers | No Comments »

One of the best parts about our ride was encountering a variety of fascinating people. In Hokkaido, we met a traveling Buddhist monk who had been walking along the coast of Japan for the past 6 years, relying on handouts for meals and sleeping on a thin plastic mat. He told us that it took him about 1 year to walk an entire loop around the country, and that he was on his 6th circumnavigation! We also met Saito-san, a 61-year old man who had recently retired from a career as an elementary school teacher. To kick off his retirement, he set a goal of cycling along the entire coastline of the country over 4 months. We hit it off, and Sho and I spent two weeks of our ride traveling together with Saito-san, who proved to be a wonderful traveling companion.

Sho with a traveling monk who has been circumnavigating Japan on foot for 6 years.

Sho and I with our cycling buddy Saito-san.

Many strangers helped us along the way. Some offered advice on interesting sites to visit or good cycling routes. Sometimes people yelled encouragement out of their car window, as they drove by. As Sho and I were struggling to ride up a steep mountain in Shikoku on a hot and humid day, a friendly couple pulled their car over to the side of the road, flagged us down and offered several bottles of water they had collected from a nearby mountain spring. In Toyohama (on Shikoku), we stopped at the end of a day of riding to ask a stranger if he knew of a campsite nearby where we could rest for the night. When we told him that we were cycling the length of mainland Japan, he stuttered in disbelief and joked, “That’s way too hard for an 8-year old. What kind of father would do that to his poor son?” He was a kind, gregarious man and offered us a place to sleep in his community center, drove us to the local bath house to clean up, treated us to dinner, and took Sho to a batting cage to practice hitting baseballs.

In Gifu, we stayed with the Kameyama family, who heard about our ride before we left for Japan and offered us a place to stay. We ate a delicious dinner prepared by Mrs. Kameyama of sashimi, fried chicken, cooked veggies, sukiyaki, sake and more before sleeping on wonderfully comfortable futons in a beautiful tatami mat guest room. Mr. Kameyama took us to an impressive onsen public bath house and indulged Sho’s request to visit a game room. He also arranged two interviews with reporters from local newspapers. The reporters were particularly interested in Sho’s perspective on the trip and why a 41-year old Intel employee would interrupt his career to do something like this. I explained that this trip was an attempt to celebrate life by doing something adventurous, an opportunity for father-son bonding, and a way to give Sho a deeper understanding of his Japanese heritage. Sho said that he loved the chance to sample Japan’s many game rooms, which he considered far superior to the options in the U.S. “There are no Pokemon Battorio or Kyoryu Kingu games in the U.S. I don’t know why. If I became President of the U.S., the first thing I would do is to order that we have to have these games!”

In addition to articles published in a number of Japanese newspapers throughout the ride, TV Japan produced 5 television news segments that followed us from start to finish. The parents of one of their producers hosted us in Matsumoto, taking us to see the famous castle there. And we stayed at the home of one of TV Japan’s anchors in Hiroshima, where we ate okonomiyaki, lit fireworks outside with the neighborhood kids, and talked on video for an upcoming news segment. Sho felt celebrated and asked me if we were now famous. I smiled, answering, “Not really, but a lot of people are amazed at what you’re doing.”

Junji Itami, who let us sleep in his community center in Toyohama on Shikoku.

Sho and I with the Kameyama family in Seki City in Gifu Prefecture

Posted on March 30th, 2010 by JNTO Staff
Filed under: 02-Tohoku, 01-Hokkaido, 04-Hokuriku, 05-Chubu, 07-Chugoku & Shikoku, 08-Kyushu & Okinawa, 03-Kanto, Announcement from VJC and JNTO, Destinations, Photos of Japan, Blogroll, Narita, Tips for Travelers | No Comments »