Before evening returning from the the 2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan, I received a few inquiries about the 2016 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan! If you are looking for that information, the details of the 2016 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan can be found here.
I already shared with you about Kyoto and some of the special experiences we had there, but one other special experience in Kyoto that I saved a post for itself was our portrait session with a maiko in Kyoto. If you have been to Japan Photo Guide before, perhaps you have seen the portrait session with the two maiko from the 2014 cherry blossom tour of Japan, also in Kyoto! If so, you might recognize this maiko as she is in those portraits as well. Can you spot what has changed about her appearance since last yet?
Of course she is a year older but now she has lipstick on both the bottom and top lips, not just a style thing, but as they advance in their training, different things like hair style and make up changes as well! This time we first met at her tea house in Gion Kyoto, had a short tea ceremony and played a game before heading out to Kyoto Botanical Gardens to take portraits of her.
Taking portraits of a real maiko is always a unique and special experience itself, but also, just having sometime to talk with her was very interesting for the group visiting Japan as talking with a maiko is so rare, especially for foreign visitors. Catching a glimpse into the world of geiko (geisha is actually geiko in Kyoto and maiko in Kyoto is a geiko in training) is a special experience that everyone enjoyed, including a couple that was taking their wedding portraits that really wanted to take a portrait with her!
Want to see more photos from the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan? The group tour also went to Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji Castle and some of us to The Fuji Five Lakes close to Mt. Fuji. Stay tuned for more photos from the escorted tour of Japan!
