Experience Maiko Entertainment At Yasaka-Dori Enraku In Kyoto

Clad in beautiful kimonos as they walk through the Kyoto streets, the elegant maiko are admired not just by international visitors but by Japanese people as well. Did you know that there is a tourist-oriented service where you can watch maiko dances and experience their traditional entertainment? The Kyoto restaurant Yasaka-Dori Enraku offers such a program.

The Entertainment of Your Dreams: Spending Time with Kyoto Maiko

The program is available Tuesday and Thursday, from 18:00-20:00. You can watch the maiko perform dances while you dine on Kyoto cuisine, and actually speak to them. The program price, which includes the meal, is 19,000 yen per person. There are English menus, Wi-Fi is enabled, and an interpreter is also available, so you don’t need to speak Japanese to enjoy the show.

If you want to learn more about maiko, check out our article on maiko here.

The Cute Maiko Enters and the Program Begins

Here we’ll explain what the program actually entails. As the customers are eating and chatting, the maiko makes her appearance on stage, holding the hem of her kimono. A stir passes through the audience as they all fix their gaze on the stage.

First the interpreter will introduce the maiko, then explain her outfit, hair ornaments and other accessories.

On the day we visited, our maiko’s name was Fukuno. Her seasonal kimono and ornaments were incredibly gorgeous. As we went to Yasaka-Dori Enraku in June, she was wearing a green flower ornament on her head that went with the fresh green of a willow tree. In April the ornament is a cherry blossom, and in February, it is a plum. Just by changing an accessory, she can make you feel the seasons of Japan.