With all the places we had planned to see every day, I wasn't confident I would be able to walk around all day in a kimono and those wooden sandals while wearing tabi socks. The next logical replacement of a similar experience, I thought, would then be to do the Geisha/Maiko makeover in a makeover studio.
A Maiko is an apprentice Geisha, who's usually younger, and from what I've seen, wears brighter colour and prettier clothes. In the studio I've chosen -- Studio Shiki, you can choose to be either a Geisha or a Maiko, and the majority of the guests choosing to be Maikos.
I wanted to be a Maiko as well.
It was our first time in Kyoto on one misty morning. We climbed up the stone paved road and turned left by one of the oldest temples.Everything was too beautiful and picturesque.
I had chosen Studio Shiki for my maiko makeover experience. I compared a few different companies, some looked really high end (and so were the prices), and some seemed less so. Studio Shiki was at the middle with a very established business process, 2 branches, and a well organized English web site. They have a year long campaign going on and most of their plans were 50% off because of that. The cheapest plan was the Studio Plan, which was the one that I chose. It consists of 6 studio photos and 10 minutes of free time to take your own photos. Other plans allow you to either take photos in a Japanese room, the court yard, or an outdoor plan that is much longer and allows you to walk around while a photographer follows you around.
As we approached our destination, we saw the sign to the studio followed by a wide and beautiful entry way. Through the traditional Japanese wooden doors was a small reception area. The studio opens at 9 and we got there around 9:40 even though our appointment was for 10. I read a ton of reviews about this place and people said it fills up really quick and they schedule up to 20 people per hour during weekends and holidays. There were 3 more people before us waiting in the reception area when we got there, but 2 more arrived soon after we did. We waited for about 15 minute, then I was given a basket, a key, and was told to head on up stairs to get started. Keith, being my trusted camera man, had to wait downstairs until I got all dressed up.
The studio is 3 stories high. Behind the reception desk is a huge wall of shoe closets, you get a locker key with a number, and a clip with the same number. You clip the clip onto your shoes, and head up to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, there is another huge row of small lockers where you can put your clothes. They give you a pair of tabi socks and a funky geisha robe that has 2 v-necks, one in the front and one in the back. There is also a row of sinks, some hair dryers, and tons of products by the sinks for you to wash your makeup off afterwards.
After you get changed, you go to the 2nd floor, where the assembly line starts. There's a tiny waiting room area where an employee verifies your file and your plan. You are then led into a room with 6 makeup seats and mirrors. There is also a row of benches by the wall behind those makeup seats where you sit and wait for your turn. There are about 8 staff working on everyone and running around. Minutes after I sat down, one of the ladies came to take my makeup off. She then put some glue like paste on my face and shoulders. Another 5 minutes later, I was shown to a makeup chair where another lady put the white paint on my face and neck. After she did the preliminary painting, another lady came over to do the finer details of the makeup. She padded down the white paint to even it out, then worked on the rest of my makeup. All the ladies were friendly and extremely professional. they seemed to be really skilled at what they do and were persistent in making things perfect.
I was then led to a huge closet where hundreds of beautiful kimonos were displayed. I was told to pick out my favorite, but there were so many I was having a hard time. I also wanted something with more patterns and didn't really see any of them. I hesitantly asked this one lady if she could recommend something. She asked me which colour I wanted, I told her pink, and she soon picked out one that she said was very popular. And it was perfect. Not only was it the right shade of pink I wanted, it had lots of beautiful patterns on it. I immediately said yes to that.
They bring your selected kimono into the kimono dressing room while you get a wig fitting. You wait back in the makeup room in one of those benches in the back, then you're called into the wig room, where there is once again a huge closet with wigs in them. There are 2 options for wigs, one is a full wig, which basically sit on your head like a helmet, and the other, a half wig, where they incorporate your own hair into it. The half wig took a lot longer and was ¥2,100 extra, so I went with the full wig.
I was led into the kimono dressing room where 4 staff members are helping guests get dressed. I waited about 2 minutes before it was my turn. There were a lot of ropes, padding, and even a huge piece of plastic plate that has to go under the kimono, by the end of it I felt a lot like a Chinese Zongzi. With all those layers it was actually a bit hard to walk down the stairs, but it's show time!
I had picked out an extra photo in the Japanese room so I was led there first, Keith was brought over as I did the Japanese room shot (the photo at the very top of this post).
I was then led into a studio that was completely white. It had all sorts of professional lighting and a kick ass looking professional camera. I was given props and coached on how to pose and where to look. We took a total of about 9 pictures and was led back into the Japanese room, where we were given 10 minutes to take our own pictures. Keith and I actually had rehearsed which poses we wanted and got swiftly to work.
This experience was quite amazing. It was quick and painless, and all the staff are really nice. Definitely recommend it if you have a couple hours to spare the next time you're in Kyoto.
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