f you want a ‘Geisha Experience’ in Kyoto you’ve got many affordable options. Every few blocks you’ll find small shops renting Kimono, shoes, and/or accessories you can borrow for the day, visit the temples and walk around Kyoto both taking photos and getting photos taken of you.
The word “kimono” literally means “thing to wear”
Cotton Geisha
These shops offer kimono in bright colors, more akin to what a Maiko might wear but most of them don’t offer the makeup (white face) service or the wigs, etc. Additionally most of the rental kimonos I saw where fairly inexpensive everyday wear for renting out to tourists to bum around town in. The Ebi is more of a sash than the weighty real ones and overall it’s a theater piece, a chance to play dress-up and perfectly fine for having an amazing time and taking some great photos.
Cotten Geisha at sunset in Gion
A group of friends on the bridge
Talented: eating hot dogs while taking the steps
Two girls happy to pose
Can you guess what this restaurant serves?
AYA Makeover Experience
AYA is one of the more upscale makeover studios, one of the best in Kyoto where there is only a handful. This is a different kind Geisha Makeover as you won’t be romping around the city in your gear, eating lunch, etc. The Kimono is more expensive thick silk, there are lots of form-fitting pads and the Ebi is quite large and heavy. A typical kimono might consist of twelve or more separate parts. I wasn’t prepared for how heavy the headpiece would be – in fact, I wasn’t prepared for the experience at all.
On our second day in Kyoto, my travel partner woke me up at 8 am – after a long night drinking at the forever fabulous L’Escamoteur – a steampunk speakeasy bar. It felt like being woken up in the middle of the night. Apparently, we were booked for a breakfast cooking class. Cool for me as I just finished a 12-week course where I learned about all different kinds of Asian cooking – from Indian to Indonesian.
I blearily got ready, and off into Kyoto, we went – pattering down the small lanes and side streets to learn how to make our breakfast – the Japanese way. Once we found AYA and even once inside I still didn’t know what was going on, we were seated on cushions on the floor at a low wooden table and I was waiting for the chef or instructor to appear.
Instead, a friendly woman came over, introduced herself and brought me a large book to pick out kimono and my package… WTF! My immediate reaction was to stand, scream and bolt for the door as I’m a little shy. But soon enough they would have me upstairs in a room with 40+ fabulously colored kimonos, picking out my favorite.
Essentially you can choose to be dressed as a Geisha or a Maiko. A Maiko is traditionally a young apprentice – 15yo – 18yo and their outfits tend to be much bolder and brighter, they wear the white makeup on their face, the elaborate wigs, and red lipstick. Whereas the Geisha outfits are more subdued and they only where the white face for special occasions. I went with Maiko.
Looking through the menu; Maiko or Geisha?
Many different kimono to choose from
Transformation
The staff will shift you over to a private room where you can change your clothes and put on a two-piece under kimono called a Nagajuban. And white tabi split-toe socks. Then into a room that doubles as a beauty salon with four chairs and mirrors where you sit and let them transform you into a Maiko!
First, they remove any existing makeup and clean your face with a cleaning wipe. Then pull back your hair with a headband, and put on a clear oil-based foundation. Next comes the white face that Maiko are so famous for – it’s applied with a big round sponge and is very cooling on your skin. One coat is enough to cover your natural complexion and create perfectly white skin. On the back of your neck, there’s a design where the white comes to two points on either side of your spine.
Makeup: Next comes the eyebrows, black eyeliner, brown and red eyeshadow and finally a glossy red lipstick that comes out of a small round tub and is put on with an applicator. The lipstick is vivid and succulently red.
Now for the wig, it’s much heavier than I thought. They pull your natural hair to either side of the wig and set it with bobby pins. Then color your hair with the same shade of black as the wig (it washes out easily). Makeup done!
Getting my makeup put on
Perfectly white – who am i?
Already I don’t recognize the girl in the mirror.
The dressing ceremony
The dressing process takes place in a private studio upstairs with bamboo mats and natural lighting from the windows that overlook a small private garden, they begin with another under-robe, then use several sashes to bind you tightly, several padded sections and then on comes the kimono. Then more bindings, and padding then the heavy obe, more binding, and the finishing touches. There were no buttons, Velcro or any kind of pins, it’s just tied pieces of cloth in all kinds of color. Then you get to pick out the elaborate dangling hair accessories to match your gown.
There were all color schemes of kimono available – bright red, inky purples, sky blue or deep rich azure. I went with a light green thinking it might look good with my green eyes. Overall it had a very retro and vintage feel to it. I loved it.
Real kimono used by Maiko can cost more than USD 10,000 and a full outfit with obi, socks, shoes, and undergarments can cost over USD 20,000. This is probably as close to one of those outfits I’ll ever get and I was surprised that the vivid colors and intricacy of the designs. These aren’t cotton robes, they’re hand-sewn silk pieces of art.
Wearing the first two layers of the under-robe
Finishing touches
AYA
The staff was extremely accommodating. It was never rushed but you could tell they do this daily for years – so they’re very efficient with getting my makeup, hair, and kimono on. I was pretty shy and so they invited my travel partner up, which allowed him to take pictures while I was dressing, something I think they don’t normally encourage. Great for us as it allows us to give a little bit of a behind-the-scenes look at what you can expect from your ANA Geisha experience.
I opted for a package that included 4 professional pictures inside their studio, 3 photos outside in their traditional garden, and then an hour to walk around Gion fully dressed where I could take selfies and my partner could pose me around beautiful/tranquil Gion.
Their professional photographer was fantastic, she helped position me in every angle to get the perfect photo when we were inside. I got to hold an old fashion purse (more of a bag with a hard bottom), a red oil-paper parasol and some wooden shoes (Geta). When we moved outside to the garden the photographer decided the morning light was already too bright so they extended a mechanical shade across half the garden till the light was perfect. Then off for more photographs.
All the photos in this section were taken by AYA’s fantastic pro photographer
Kneeling pose, upstairs in their studio
A Walk around Gion
The unexpected part is they allow you to walk around the neighborhood fully dressed. With the caveat, you’re not supposed to drink or eat because of possible damage to the kimono. There were plenty of places to take snapshots – but indeed the early light was bright and I ended up using my parasol more as a sun-shade than as the decorative backdrop prop as I should have.
What I wasn’t prepared for is how heavy the headpiece and kimono with full Ebi are. Respect to real Maiko who has to wear this all night. They must be some kind of strong! After just a half-hour or 45 min I was done, the combination of heavy gear, wooden shoes, and bright sun – along with my general shyness when people took photos took its toll and we fled back into the tranquility of the Okiya.
They give you a map and set you free on Kyoto! muhaha…
Using my oil-paper parasol to hide from the morning sun
Definitely add-on the outside walk to get some unique photos
A day as a Geisha
Taking the makeup off was both quick and easy. Before I knew it I was back in the waiting room. They produced a BEAUTIFUL set of photos arranged in 4 foldable frames and a memory stick with the photos on them. There was also a tear sheet with over 30+ photos the professional photographer took and all those were included on the memory stick… Deal!
While it’s not an inexpensive experience, I’d say it’s a great value – because the value isn’t always just price, it’s quality. The quality of the kimono, the staff, the makeup, and the photos was so far above my expectations that it became one of the highpoints of my trip to Kyoto.
As something you may only do once in your lifetime, I highly encourage you to give ANA a try. Or another of the bespoke studios. While I was there – there were only two other guests, both western women, in their 20’s and 30’s. They both seemed to be having a great time as well. So it’s NOT like a factory where they’re churning geisha out 1 every 15 minutes. You should book in advance to make sure they have availability.
The only thing I would have enjoyed more is if they had been able to narrate as they dressed me and put on makeup, explaining what each piece was called, and sharing a bit of the history behind the dressing ceremony and makeup. But my Japanese skills were pretty lame (I speak exactly 4 Japanese words and probably only 2 of those are correct).
If I had it to do over, the only thing I might do differently is trying for an afternoon slot so that you can walk around Gion in the early evening and try to catch the golden light – but then you have to contend with the chance of rain.
If you’re interested in learning more about Kimono – Wikipedia (as always) has you covered.
If you want to give AYA a try. Please visit their site and make a reservation.
A huge thank you to AYA for one of the best days on my trip!
7. Tips
If you’re on the fence about spending the money on an upscale boutique, all I can say is that I loved my experience and have the photos and memories for a lifetime. Life is short and youth is fleeting 😉
