Geisha Performance and Totoro

After the beautiful climb to the shrine lined with torii gates, we had to rest briefly at the hotel. Because in the afternoon I had booked us a Geisha dance performance (the month of May).

After a short subway ride and a hurried stroll through the city with Google Maps, we arrived at the museum, had to leave our umbrellas there, and take off our shoes (for which we received plastic bags). Luckily Martin had spare socks with him. I only wore sandals and going barefoot would have been a bit rude.

Then we didn’t have much time left and at the ticket entrance we received two plastic signs as tickets for the performance and two printed paper strips with symbols on them. This was explained to us before the dance. They are essentially the business cards of the Geishas. Hence, you can book them again.

On the upper floor, we waited in front of a room divider for the entrance. After we took our seats in front of the stage, we were reminded after every explanation that no photos were allowed.

The dance was dedicated to the season of autumn. It was very exciting to observe the graceful hand movements and the interplay of the dancers, almost hypnotic.

After the dance, we could still explore the museum, which had a very beautiful garden. The displayed kimonos in the attached photos looked almost like paintings.

Now it was time for a refreshment, which we enjoyed in a small café in the Gion district. It was very traditional, the family that owns the café was also sitting at the counter chatting, otherwise, it was very empty. Perfect for resting.

Then we saw a Ghibli store with great stuff related to the animes during the tour, which we definitely wanted to visit again. That’s how the photo with Totoro at the bus stop (blue round sign) came about.

In the evening, we visited a vegetarian Indian restaurant. On the way there, I noticed once again the adventurous electrical distribution in the city.

After this day we had reached our 20,000 steps and truly earned the onsen at the hotel for recovery.

Marei