Geisha and Cherry Blossoms

• Kristint's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Kyoto

Trip Start Dec 10, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End Nov 27, 2008 Next
Entry

  Kyoto, Japan
Monday, April 7, 2008

The sun is setting over the forested hillside casting an orange glow on the narrow bustling street. A cool spring breeze spurs a flurry of cherry blossom (sakura) petals snowing down around me. I look up and watch them slowly swirl past my face. The dark sky releases silent raindrops bringing the fresh-green smell of spring. As the cobblestone street becomes wet, the stone changes from gray to black mirror and reflects the orange dusk light and the people with multicolored umbrellas. On my left, two geisha in kimonos with thick silk belts, wooden sandals, and shiny black up-swept hair scurry across the bridge to find shelter from the rain. They duck into a wooden door, inconspicuous among the endless row of similar doors, identifiable as a restaurant only by the red-paper lantern with black Japanese characters that I appreciate only for their mystery. On my right, a sweaty man with a bandanna headband pulls a rickshaw carrying a smiling old couple, happy to enjoy the evening while their legs rest warm and dry under a red tarp

Umbrellas

. A crowd of people huddle under their umbrellas and seem to all look at the same point in the sky. I wonder why until I see a dim rainbow arching over the small red shrine and tiers of tiled rooftops.

The sunlight fades, and I cross the street. The cobblestone ends and now the roads are eight lanes across and crowded with speeding cars. Electronic music and amplified voices attempt to entice me into Pachinko parlors, video game arcades, and karaoke bars. Young men with immaculately styled, lightened and volumized hair begin their night by loitering with their cigarettes on street corners. They carelessly flaunt their tight torn jeans, chain belts, and pointed elf-toed shoes exhibiting an effeminate beauty. However, they receive no acknowledgment from the young women with their tottering high-heels, thigh high socks, short shorts, and long, loosely curled hair. From this highway of youth emerge the ancient image of two elderly women in kimonos and puffy silk sandals on their way home from a long day in Kyoto.












More photos with captions (click "i" in middle of photo)

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Ricksha	Kristin	Geisha	Aaron and Kristin

Slideshow Print this entry Share Kyoto hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry