Geisha dress-up party

I'm getting much better at getting stuff done here, even without speaking the language. It really strikes you how much of communication is non-verbal. I was pretty proud of my linguistic/non-linguistic skills this morning. Yesterday, I put a smudge on the lens of Dan's camera with my finger and I really needed it cleaned before arriving at my appointment at the tea house for my Geisha make-over. Dan told me that my best bet for purchasing lens paper would be the electronics section of a department store, but none of them were going to be open until after I had to be there. So I tried convenience stores - no dice - then I hit the mother lode a little Japanese guy with a huge video camera and an assistant carrying ten bags of camera accessories. So I pulled out the trusty phrase book, marched over to him and said, "Sumimasen, renzu kami, ku da sai." (Excuse me, lens paper, please.) Then I pointed to the relevant words and phrases in the phrase book, then I held up my camera and made rubbing, camera cleaning type motions.
He and his assistant thought it was excellent, or silly and stupid - it's hard to tell here. But, not only did he have what I needed, he cleaned the whole camera for me, inside and out, and it was sparkling when he finished.
I have to say that this isn't a unique occurrence, staff at stores, restaurants, passers-by, have all been universally helpful. Ask for directions and they'll walk you there and tell the other person when you get there what they've already figured out from you so far, so you don't have to start from scratch with the phrase book again. It's wild, and there's no tipping here, so they are just that nice and polite. Note to self: be extra nice to Japanese tourists in other countries.
Actually, I paid the favour forward about 20 minutes after I got the camera cleaned when some Italians came up to me and asked for help finding a street. I was thinking, I don't know where the heck I'm going either, but I had a look at their map, but their first problem was, it was all in Japanese - so I cracked out the guide book and said one of the few words I know in Italian, that isn't a swear, Andiamo! (let's go!)

So I met Peter at 10, discovered that the real tea house (where the Geishas work and sometimes live) where I was getting my dress-up done couldn't take me till noon. So we went and hung out at his office and went for lunch at a restaurant that was down an alley and around the corner and absolutely beautiful inside. The food was a-mazing, but the best part was the bathroom, I already have a picture of the worst bathroom I've ever seen, and so when I went into the best bathroom I've ever seen, I wish I could have taken a picture, but it seemed inappropriate, so I'll just have to settle for fond memories. Perhaps if I ever own a home, I'll recreate it.

So Peter took me over to the tea house which was covered with pictures of a recent visit by Richard Gere and like everyone else in Japan, they love Richard Gere. And no, he didn't get dressed up like a Geisha! Or at least there were no pictures of that, his daughter and her friend did.

So first they put you in a dressing gown with a really open neck and back and the mother of the house did my hair while her daughter in law did my make-up. Usually the Geishas do their own make-up and get their hair done once a week. So the first step is to put wax on your skin wherever the white make-up will go. The wax is sticky and doesn't spread very easily and it has to be really even, so when they are putting it on your face you feel like your skin is being detached from your face. Then they take a big brush and spread the white on, then powder, on all of your face, chest and back. Then they put a little pink around your eyes, and eyebrows, red on the lips and black on the lashes. All the while, the mother was pushing and pulling on my hair.

The kimono part was quite involved. Peter chose a gorgeous blue kimono that one of the Maikos in the house would wear (Maikos are apprentice Geisha). They put about 3 layers of garments on me under the kimono and those little socks with the big toe separated. Then they put the Kimono on me and I had to hold my arms up for a million years while they put the Obi on me. Actually, they had me holding a bamboo pole so they wouldn't knock me down with all the pushing and pulling - it was tight! Holding the bamboo pole reminded me of the scene in Gone With The Wind when Mammy is tightening Scarlet's corset and Scarlet is holding on to the bed post and Mammy says, "Now hold on and suck in!"

The funny thing is that the Obi actually adds bulk to your waist instead of making you look thinner - but forget having any movement between your shoulders and your hips, because it's not going to happen. Bend from the waist and take small steps.

Peter stuck around for the whole thing, and took pictures and translated and it was so great, I was sad that no one was going to be there to see and take pictures because Dan had to work in Tokyo and besides, without the rail pass, you'd have to auction off your first born child to pay for the ticket. So having Peter there totally made up for it and he took some amazing photos. If any of you guys are going to Kyoto, I'll give you his number (he's the best and he's cute too!)

So now I completely understand why Geishas walk the way they do. I want to go back and do it all again - even the wax part.

So after that, I went to the knife shop that sells the best knives in the world, which were priced as such, yeesh! Then I headed back to Tokyo for the night.