JAPAN

Tokyo

 

Where the Geisha (Still) Are

Geisha are rare these days and most—but not all—chances to see them dance are costly

“LESS THAN A century ago,” says the 8th edition of the Rough Guide to Tokyo, “geisha—female performers of traditional music and dance—were a common sight round certain areas of Tokyo.” Several city districts had quarters where geisha lived and entertained clients. Today, however, even in Mukojima, once the largest of these districts, the numbers are down substantially and “it’s thought that there are only around 600 geisha practicing their arts nationwide.” As a result, says the guidebook, “an audience with a geisha is far from being a cheap affair, costing in the region of ¥50,000 to ¥100,000.”

There are less costly opportunities to see geisha dance performances, though. Top hotels often have events during cherry blossom season (late March, early April) for ¥10,000 or less, and traditional theatres, including the Shimbashi Embujo (www.shinbashi-enbujo.co.jp, in Japanese only), sometimes host geisha shows. The tourist centre in Asakusa, a neighbourhood the guidebook says scores highly “for sheer charm,” sometimes has weekend performances. The centre is in front of Asakusa’s biggest attraction, Tokyo’s most venerable Buddhist temple, Senso-ji.

If you’re in town the third weekend in May, when Tokyo’s “most boisterous festival,” the Sanja Matsuri, takes place, you can see geisha for free during the festival’s parade through Asakura.

For those into cosplay, the Studio Geisha Café (www.geishacafe.jp) in the Ryogoku area “will doll you up with immaculate make-up for a photo-shoot; it’ll cost around ¥15,000.”

 

www.roughguides.com