Gion...
I went to Gion on Saturday with Gen and Bridget (who actually spells her name Brigitte, whoops) and it was quite the adventure. We thought we would finally be in a place that had lots of tourists and therefore lots of foreigners and people wouldn`t stare so much. We were right in that there were a lot of tourists but they were all Japanese. We made the mistake of sitting outside a cafe on the main road. Luckily, the staring does not bother me as much anymore.
Gion was also the type of place where people will strike up a conversation with you for the sole reason that you are foreign and they assume that you speak English. Luckily for us, we do.
The first guy we met at an ikebana (flower arrangement) exhibit (it was free, shut up), and he was a little creepy but harmless enough. He showed us some pictures of Geisha performances he saw last year. The second guy offered to take our photo for us but spent so long taking it that the actually photo is a fairly terrible one of us looking bored. But he hung around to talk for a little while too. And the last guy was one of the most hilarious characters I`ve met here so far. We were just walking along the beautiful bridge in the back streets and he came up to us with this huge camera and started speaking to us. The usual "where are you from and what are you doing in Japan" type conversation followed. Apparently his hobbies include "walking and taking photos. Today I have done nothing but walk around Kyoto and take photos." To reinforce this point he took a number of photos of and for us. It was a very funny day.
AND, guess who we met just as we were leaving??
Two girls dressed up as Maiko (apprentice Geisha), whether or not the were real Maiko, I couldn`t say for sure, they were doing some kind of photoshoot. We were very, very lucky.
Oh, and also this, because it`s so funny I cried a little when I first saw it.
And then on the way back to the subway we found a huge bookshop that sold foreign books. As I`d finished Nineteen Eighty-Four and needed something to restore my will to live, I was like a child in a lolly shop. I also bought the book we`re studying in Japanese literature but I`ve been too scared to open it yet.
I have an exam in a few hours, feel sorry for me.
The end. For now.
Gion was also the type of place where people will strike up a conversation with you for the sole reason that you are foreign and they assume that you speak English. Luckily for us, we do.
The first guy we met at an ikebana (flower arrangement) exhibit (it was free, shut up), and he was a little creepy but harmless enough. He showed us some pictures of Geisha performances he saw last year. The second guy offered to take our photo for us but spent so long taking it that the actually photo is a fairly terrible one of us looking bored. But he hung around to talk for a little while too. And the last guy was one of the most hilarious characters I`ve met here so far. We were just walking along the beautiful bridge in the back streets and he came up to us with this huge camera and started speaking to us. The usual "where are you from and what are you doing in Japan" type conversation followed. Apparently his hobbies include "walking and taking photos. Today I have done nothing but walk around Kyoto and take photos." To reinforce this point he took a number of photos of and for us. It was a very funny day.
AND, guess who we met just as we were leaving??
Two girls dressed up as Maiko (apprentice Geisha), whether or not the were real Maiko, I couldn`t say for sure, they were doing some kind of photoshoot. We were very, very lucky.
Oh, and also this, because it`s so funny I cried a little when I first saw it.
And then on the way back to the subway we found a huge bookshop that sold foreign books. As I`d finished Nineteen Eighty-Four and needed something to restore my will to live, I was like a child in a lolly shop. I also bought the book we`re studying in Japanese literature but I`ve been too scared to open it yet.
I have an exam in a few hours, feel sorry for me.
The end. For now.