Thursday December 17, 2009 at 13:31

4 notes

Photo

These 2 young ladies in Gion were being photographed by a whole gaggle of foreign tourists who most probably believed they were seeing maiko or geisha. In fact the 2 women were customers of one of the many “Maiko make-over” shops that are in the area. With prices ranging from 6,000 up to more than 40,000 yen. you can get made up and wear the costume and then wander around Gion. So, how can you tell they are fake?A simple rule of thumb is that if it is the daytime, then almost certainly they are cosplayers. Another thing to look for is how they walk. Very few non-maiko will be able to walk in the correct maiko way. The bags they carry and how they lift the kimono are also give-aways. [ More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan: Fake maiko ]

These 2 young ladies in Gion were being photographed by a whole gaggle of foreign tourists who most probably believed they were seeing maiko or geisha. In fact the 2 women were customers of one of the many “Maiko make-over” shops that are in the area. With prices ranging from 6,000 up to more than 40,000 yen. you can get made up and wear the costume and then wander around Gion.

So, how can you tell they are fake?

A simple rule of thumb is that if it is the daytime, then almost certainly they are cosplayers. Another thing to look for is how they walk. Very few non-maiko will be able to walk in the correct maiko way. The bags they carry and how they lift the kimono are also give-aways.

[ More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan: Fake maiko ]

  1. tight-roped reblogged this from japansociety
  2. latenighttaskforce reblogged this from japansociety
  3. japansociety posted this