Gion and Pontocho - Kyoto, Japan

In the late afternoon / early evening, the Gion district of Kyoto is bustling with activity. Cooks enjoy a break, perhaps smoke the last cigarette before returning to their kitchens, delivery men and women take their dishes to the secretive Ochaya (tea houses), cabs come and go, bringing the businessmen. With a little patience, nowadays much more needed given the large number of tourists and even guided tours that flood the alleys, one can spot the maikos, walking in haste to their appointments. It is a ritual that is repeated every day, although, the explosion of visitors have killed some of the magic and, due to the disrespect by some of them, has brought with it a series of increasing restrictions. 

Neighboring  Pontocho offers a multitude of options for dinner or a drink and, eventually, one can also spot a maiko walking through its alleys, as it happened to me on a rainy evening.