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The history of Gion （祇園） back dated to the Middle Ages, where it has been a district built t accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors visiting Yasaka Shrine. Slowly, the area gained its fame and become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha （芸者）districts in Japan.

While geisha refers to "artist" or "person of the arts" in Japan, Gion geisha uses a local term called geiko （芸子）, meaing "a child of the arts" or "a woman of art". Though there are considerable decline in the number of geisha in Gion, it is still famous for the preservation for the traditional architecture and entertainment. Partial of the district is being preserved under national historical buildings and there are ongoing restoration on the streets og Gion, including shifting of all overhead utilities underground to preserve the original beauty of Gion.

The Gion district is being divided into two communities, Gion Kobu （祇園甲部） and Gion Higashi （祇園東）. The Kobu occupies a larger area while Higashi is smaller and located northeast corner of the district, amidst of the rehearsal hall.


During my trip to Kyoto, I visited Gion Corner （ギオンコナー） in Yasaka Hall （弥栄会館）, showcased on the display was some of the ornaments and accessories used by geisha during in the past. The history of hair pin could back date to Prehistoric Japan about 12,000 BC in Jomon Time（縄文時代）, which later the use of hair pin flourished in Nara Times after different cultural hair pin is being introduced from China.


As era cultural started to change, the complexity of the hair pin also started to evolve. The hair pin are being designed and wore by the women based on different seasons and occasions. The main material used for creation of the hair pin in the past was either silver, tin or copper and decorated beautifully with precious metals, jade and corals at times.

Life of a Geisha
I could not explain much of their lifes, but if you really wanted to see how stringent and their routines practise to become a Geisha, you could watch the movie directed by Rob Marshall, Memoirs Of A Geisha, starring Zhang Ziyi. The movie has won numerous awards and nominations for six Academy Awards.


We was intending to catch a performance at Yasaka Hall, but due to the timing, my friend had to rush her last train back to Tokyo to meet up with my another friend, we had to give it a go and went for a short coffee break instead.

Updated on 20 Jan 2014

We decided to walk our way back to Kyoto station and we saw this temple which are decorated with bright orange beams.. (I forgot the name, will update again) and saw this American singing along with the ducks and birds. Sentimental eh !? Perhaps we are not sawing much of this in Singapore anymore. Anyway, there was this old man feeding the ducks and pigeons at the side, which is prohibited in Singapore as well ... Should include that in my new blog as well.



As we walk deeper in the temple, I found this ! I know this is a vintage car, but I am not sure what maker it is. This car is certainly still works, looking at the number plate it has. Anyone any clue ?

In Kyoto, the famous food are Tofu (豆腐), Yuba (ゆば) and Unagi (鰻). As my friend was visiting Kyoto for the first time, I thought it would be good to bring her for those, but we only managed to eat Yuba and Unagi as the Tofu are quite pricey, around 1,500 yen (S$ 22.50).

Some might wonder why Kyoto is famous for Tofu and Yuba. One of the reasons is because Kyoto is place for Buddhism devotees where there are thousands of temples within the city, while another reason is because Tofu and Yuba requires lots of water during the making process and quality of the water affects the taste of the end product. Kyoto's water is famous for its purity and thus helps to make the Tofu and Yuba tastier.

From 2009-05-09 Huizhi to Kyoto

What a nice breakfast, now we are going to take the train to Kyoto, about 45 minutes ride.

From 2009-05-09 Huizhi to Kyoto

About Kyoto Tower

It is the tallest structure in Kyoto, with it observation deck at 100m (328 ft) and its spire at 131m (430 ft). This tower is directly opposite of Kyoto Station and you can see it after you exit from the station. The tower stands atop of a 9 storey building, which houses Kyoto Tower Hotel and some department stores.

Gotten take a bus to reach our destination - Kiyomizudera Station (清水寺駅). Still feeling tired due to lack of sleep, need a smoke... This is the Kyoto Tower (京都タワー), but thought of visiting later since we are coming back to the station again.

From 2009-05-09 Huizhi to Kyoto

Took a bus to our destination, Kiyomizudera. There are riding cards selling on the vending machines, which enables you to take unlimited rides on that day for 500 yen (ard S$7.50).After reaching the bus stop, we still have to walk about 25-30 minutes before reaching the temple. This is when we spotted the following ladies - Geisha (芸者). This are just "imitations". There are shops in which provides make-up services as well as clothing for photo taking sessions. Heard that make up alone would take up to 2 hours.

From 2009-05-09 Huizhi to Kyoto