Japan Tourism Agency uses ninja, sumo and geisha to demonstrate what to do and what not to do in Japan.
geisha
Authentic materials recreate the fashions of apprentice geisha, oiran courtesans, and even bridal kimono.
A more comfortable way to enjoy the festival season while out and about in your yukata summer kimono.
Foreign guests welcome at lobby lounge function that sidesteps the cost and pretense of orthodox geisha services.
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The Hollywood Ghost in the Shell turned to master prop makers from Weta Workshop to achieve their detailed practical looks.
With the controversy over the model’s Vogue photos ongoing, has anyone bothered to check on how Japan feels?
The all-new Japanese-exclusive packages include limited-edition coloured chocolates that capture the spirit of Japan.
We’ve talked before about geisha as one of Japan’s distinctly female professions, so this time we’re going to share with you a few fun facts about the geisha and their floating world.
In Kyoto, Pikachu wears a kimono with a Ho-Oh design and a Vivillion-adorned hair accessory.
If you want to become a geisha, maiko, samurai or courtesan, gender is no barrier at this Asakusa photo studio.
If you’ve ever wanted to turn back time and step into the clothes of a well-dressed geisha, a pipe-smoking courtesan or a sword-wielding samurai warrior, we’ve found the perfect place for you!
They say that it’s rare to see a real maiko walking the streets of Kyoto, since these artists usually work at night and live in their own secluded world, far from the rest of Japanese society. In fact, if you spot a maiko strolling around Gion during the day, there’s a good chance she’s a tourist who’s undergone a fabulously elaborate makeover.
We took our Japan Wish competition winner Ashley to a studio in Kyoto’s Gion neighborhood to have a maiko-over and be transformed in an amazing process that yielded completely stunning results. Ashley was able to choose her own kimono and obi sash, and as part of the deal she was treated to a professional photography session and the opportunity to take a stroll around the streets of Gion in full maiko garb!
Just as with full-fledged geisha, it’s customary for maiko, as geisha apprentices are known, to wear a layer of white face powder, called oshiroi. But those who’ve seen one of Japan’s traditional entertainers close up often marvel at their smooth, healthy skin, remarking that they would be just as beautiful with all of those cosmetic coverings washed away.
But in much the same way that their polished speech and refined mannerisms are the result of years of training, maiko also have a careful routine they follow to keep their skin looking as delicate and pleasing to the eye as it does.
Kyoto now welcomes 50 million tourists a year who come to experience Japan’s traditional culture and architecture, plus catch a glimpse of the city’s famed geisha. But, as anyone who lives in a tourist hot spot knows, living there is not the same as a short visit.
As such, the following is a list of some of the things that Kyoto locals probably have the urge to remind tourists of from time to time, so allow us to shatter your illusions with some of the realities that come with living in Japan’s ancient capital.
‘Omotenashi’, the spirit of Japanese hospitality, became something of a buzzword at home and abroad when Christel Takigawa used the phrase in her speech to the International Olympic Committee in 2013.
And it’s in this spirit that Tokyo’s Narita airport plans to extend an especially warm welcome to international visitors this year, as it renews its Omotenashi Program of special offers and cultural events for transferring passengers.
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