Day Two in Kyoto

We got dressed up as geisha. It was a pretty weird experience. The whole procedure took about two hours. We paid the cheapest price and for it we got a couple of old kimono to try on and wigs as opposed to creating the real hairdo, which would have taken much longer. There were about three layers under the kimono itself, lots of makeup and a really heavy wig. Needless to say it got pretty hot. After we got dressed we were allowed prance around the different setups to take pictures of ourselves.
In this one I look like the little demon child from the Grudge. The white face made our teeth and eyes look yucky yellow.
Megan-san exiting her okiya for the evening's entertainment.
















Here's a close up of the wig and make-up. The eyebrows are red and she only painted half of my top lip with lipstick. I guess my honky white girl lips are a little too lucious for a geisha.
The wig was hot and heavy and built on a metal frame that fit on your head like a baseball helmet.







Kneeling on tatami mats.












Here is a close-up of my nostril and the sweat balls that are forming in my three classic sweat ball locations, the nose, the lip and the chin.










Just a couple of geisha letting their hair down.












The make-up removal process was a whole lot less glamorous than having it put on and being dressed. Even with the help of cold cream this was by far the longest part of the process. It didn't help that the white makeup is all down our chests and backs as well.

All in all it was a lot of fun and something that we had both been looking forward to well before the trip. Apparently there has been one Western woman who made it in the geisha world and she's written a book that I absolutely HAVE to read. I know that it's a pretty tight knit world so I don't know what kind of strings she had to pull to get in the bizz.

The rest of Saturday was spent riding our rented bikes all around Kyoto. The bikes made the day. Kyoto is great for bike traffic and it reminded me a lot of Holland. We made our way to Nanzen-ji temple famous for its borrowed scenery for the construction of the classic zen gardens. The gardens were exquisite and although I don't fully understand the concept of Zen I definitely found myself in a state of peaceful calm as I snaked my way shoeless along the elevated wooden pathways.
After Nanzen-ji we made it just in time to the Heian shrine to take a quick tour of the gardens before it closed. The natural gardens within the shrine were phenomenal, like something you read in a fairy tale. I felt like I needed a picnic basket and fiddle music to complete the story. The gardens were so beautiful that Jen and I felt the need to take some obscenely ridiculous pictures just to disturb the serenity a bit. A digital pinch on the arm so to speak.
It was a great day and it solidified my love for Kyoto. I could totally live there. I think I might start seeing what the job market there is like just for future reference in case I decide to take another ESL job at some point.