in Kyoto, tourists now banned from approaching geishas

The alleys of the geisha district in Kyoto will soon be closed to tourists. A measure to protect these often very young women.

A trip to Japan is inconceivable without a visit to Kyoto, the former Japanese capital, with its traditions, its restaurants and its geishas. The charm of the alleys of the Gion district takes shape around 5 p.m., when it is not uncommon to see a geiko-san or maiko-san, whom foreigners call “geisha”, sneaking around in a kimono, with hair and makeup. At this time, they go to work, to the tea houses and restaurants in the neighborhood. Except that tourists have become a problem. The managers of the establishments where these artists work have decided to take measures to protect them from the hordes of rude amateur photographers.

“Groups of tourists come here led by guides. Frightened, the maïko-san cannot go out. And if they go out anyway, the tourists are too happy and crowd around them to photograph them“, explains Isokazu Ota, the head of the Gion-sud neighborhood association. “The problem has arisen since the return of tourists after Covid“, he explains.

Gradual ban

To prevent maiko-san, who are often still only 17 or 18 years old, from being the target of tourists armed with smartphones and cameras, the decision was taken to prohibit visitors from passing through these alleys, because these are in fact private roads. “They are still teenagers, and we, the people of the neighborhood, the managers of the tea houses, must protect them.”defends Isokazu Ota, “these stolen photos are then posted on social networks, this is not good either“, he adds.

“We didn’t want to come to this but we had to.”

Isokazu Ota, head of the neighborhood association

at franceinfo

This ban will, however, be gradual. It will begin in April and will take “maybe five years“, specifies the head of the neighborhood association, because the break of signs is expensive.
It must be said that this ban was not decided by the town hall or the police; it was the owners of restaurants and tea houses who took the initiative themselves.

“Of course, customers of restaurants who have reservations will be able to go there. But in general, the groups who come to take photos do not go to these restaurants“, wants to reassure Isozaku Ota. When asked about this measure, foreign tourists in the neighborhood were understanding but a little disappointed.
“We wanted to come visit before because we heard they were going to close“, testifies an American woman while overtourism in the most popular places in Japan now constitutes a new challenge.