100-Step Journey to Gion - the Last District of Geisha

Article and photos:The Bamboo

Geisha, or Geiko as the Kansai people call it, is an artist who is trained in performing arts skills, dress code, and strict communication to perform at upper-class parties.

I like standing at the crossroads, watching the stream of people pouring onto the pedestrian crossing every time the light turns red, some busy in black suits, some hurriedly holding your hand when the light is about to change...

Although it is a big city, once the capital of Japan during the Edo period, Kyoto still has a gentle feeling like a small town. Gion Street is probably the most “Kyoto” neighborhood with traditional tea houses; houses with lattice doors, Gion Minamiza Theater, expensive Hanamikoji Street full of machiya restaurants, where you can enjoy a high-class Kyoto-style kaiseki ryori party… Immersing yourself in the crowd of people walking in Gion gives you a very special feeling.

About an 8-minute walk from Gion, I found the Fujukuen teahouse in Uji. My friend told me that this is one of the most famous and oldest places in Kyoto (226 years old).

Welcome we are teacherstea mastermiddle-aged man who showed me how Japanese people cherish the simple things in life, from tea bowls with patterns representing the four seasons to how to stir tea properly and the water temperature for each type of tea.

Tea bowl inspired by Japanese nature

In Uji culture, the concept of tea drinking is also called “the garden in the sky”, based on the spirit ofShichu-no-Sankyo*in tea ceremony. In the busy days of the year, why not come here for a quiet day, enjoy a bowl of matcha and feel the peaceful nature around you?

*Shichu-no-Sankyo:a phrase expressing the state of “"A still mind in the midst of a changing life."

The Thanh