MY 19TH BIRTHDAY IN KYOTO:
Omiyacho, Kyoto, Japan.
October 28th, 2013, 11:21pm.
Hooray! It's my birthday today! It didn't really feel like it was though. I think it's because I'm used to full on fall leaves blowing around. Apparently it even snowed back at home! Last year for my 18th birthday, my family and I were in Mexico for my birthday. It didn't really feel like my birthday then, either. Oh well! What a treat it is to be here in Japan with my uncle! Today was a beautiful day, too!
I woke up, and the first thing I saw was the bright blue sky. There wasn't a cloud to be seen! I had a great view, too. The window is right beside my bed, which is the top bunk.
I got up, and Real and I went downstairs to the Hostel's Cafe to have breakfast. It was only $7 each for a an American-style buffet! It was kind of gross, though. There was toast, buns, salad, orange juice, peaches, yogurt, and sausage. All of which were foreign and sort of tasted funny. At least it was edible! I went outside and wandered the streets on my own for a while. I visited the post office, and sent a parcel back home. Then I walked to the 7 Eleven to take out some money from the bank. When I got back, I met up with Real again. We started walking North towards our first destination- Maica! Maica is a Japanese Costume Shoppe where they dress you up as a Geisha, Maiko, or Samurai and take pictures of you. It's supposed to be a Japanese experience. And boy was it ever!
I did the 3rd Maiko plan, which was full makeup, wig, and kimono, with 4 free pictures and a walk to the nearby Temple. To get ready, the lady took me upstairs where I got changed into a thin pink housecoat. I had to wear my bra strapless so that they could paint my back white. Next, they took me into the makeup room where a different lady sat me down and did my makeup. I was sort of disgusted with their sanitization routine. It was non-exsistant. They used the same brushes for everyone (yes, even the lipstick and mascara ones) without really washing them. Really, they should be using completely different tools. Especially the mascara wands. Ew.
I couldn't really say anything about it though. 1) I didn't really have any other options, and 2) They probably wouldn't understand what I'm saying anyways. I sucked it up since I knew it wouldn't kill me. It was better than the bed bug bites Real and I got on our faces from our previous Hostel!!! Even more ew!!!
The lady spent about 10 minutes on my makeup. She covered my face, neck, and upper back with pure white cream makeup. She then set it with a white powder. Next, she added red and to the corners of my eyes and to my eyebrows. Then she did the eyeliner, and filled in my brows with black on top of the red. She then used the filthy mascara wand for my mascara. Hardly any showed up! After she painted my lips red, I scurried down the stairs back to my locker where I had some mascara in my bag. I secretly added some to my eyelashes, and went back up. She thought I was in the washroom the whole time! Shhh!
Once I went back upstairs, I got my wig on. Yet another lady did my wig. She took chunks of my hair from around my face, and set them aside. Next, she placed a wig cap over the rest of my head and hair. She then took a wig that was roughly the same colour as my natural hair, and stuck it on me. Holy crap! That thing was HEA-VY! Probably 5-10 Ibs! It was worse because she secured it to a small portion of hair right near my hairline. So all the weight from the wig was pulling on my scale in a secreted spot!
There was a mirror right in front of me. So as she was placing the chunks of my real hair and merged it with the wig, I started giggling a little. I looked SO Asian!!! And I looked so... different! I proceeded to the next room, where the next lady dressed me in the kimono I had chosen. I didn't have much of a choice, since the plan I chose limited me to a few choices. All the ones I like were the ones from plans for younger Maikos. The plan I chose was to make me look more grown up.
The dressing took a long time, too. Probably about 10-15 minutes. There was so many layers and belts! And she did them up SO tight! I couldn't even expand my lungs fully. The Obi (which is the belt and the bow that goes around your waist) was the heaviest. I almost toppled over when she hung it off me! It was nothing like the kimono I have at home! Mind you, the one I have at home was for a child, not a teenager...
I put some socks on, and made my way down the stairs. It was a challenge. I could barely move my legs properly and the hallway down the stairs was extremely narrow! I braced the wall and made it!
There was a group of other girls dressed up like me in the room I went to. Real was there waiting for me. He didn't even recognize me at first when he saw me! Apparently I looked so Asian that I just fit right in!!! Hahaha! He laughed at me, which made me laugh too. He suddenly yelled and said, "Oh my God! Look at your teeth!" Sure enough, the white makeup on my face made my teeth look terribly yellow. I decided that in all my pictures, I'd smile with a closed mouth! Which was good anyway, since the whole Maiko look is supposed to be somewhat solemn/professional. Real says that the idea is to be sad and happy at the same time. Which I don't quite understand, but it looked good in the pictures!
A photographer took a couple shots inside first, and then a different photographer took me outside for a walk around the area and to the nearby Temple. The Kennin-ji Temple. It was so awesome! Actually, the Temple we went to was the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto! It was beautiful! We walked around for a good 45 minutes, while both Real and the photographer took pictures of me.
As we walked around, many people stopped to stare... I was sort of confused, especially since REAL Maikos and Geishas roam around these streets. They even wear the white makeup like I had! A couple locals dressed in full kimonos pulled me aside and asked to take a picture with me. Even some of the younger girls in the studio asked the same! It was funny, because I remembered that this time last year, I had dressed up as Katrina, or a Sugar Skull in Mexico. Even though it was something from their culture, the locals still wanted to take pictures with me! I guess it's become a tradition: Be so creative/unique that even locals want to remember you!!! Especially on Halloween- it's my favourite time of year!
We continued along, and yet another couple wanted to take my photo. This time, it was a white man and an Asian woman from Greece. They were quite rude and pushy, though. The man immediately jumped off his bike, ran over to me, and took over 10 "selfies" with me. If you don't know what a "selfie" is, it's when you take a camera and turn the lens towards you, so that you can take a self portrait of yourself. He did that, but with me in it. He completely interrupted our photo session and even ran in front of Real and the photographer to do this! It took me by surprise and caught me off guard, but it was still sort of funny. I kind of felt like a celebrity or something. The photographer we were with was great, though! She actually got an awesome picture of the man taking this "selfie" with me!!! I guess I'll remember that moment forever, now!
Once we got back to the studio, Real and I had some time to wander around the studio and take pictures. It was really fun, but by this time my head was killing me! The 5 pounds of wig had been pulling on my scalp for over an hour now, and I seriously thought that my eyes would start to water and dribble down my face! Knowing that it was almost over, and wanting to get the full potential out of this experience, I gritted my teeth through the pain! We actually got some great shots out of it! The sad look in the pictures was legitimate! Hahaha! Real and I did what any crazy niece/uncle combination would do. We took crazy unMaiko-like shots while nobody was looking! It even stated in the rules, "We'd like to preserve the image of the Maiko. Please do not abuse this image." Hahaha whoops! Oh well, at least no one that cares will see them! :)
I went back upstairs and had to wash up. I think that was the hardest part of the whole day! A lady helped me wash my back. It felt like she was scrubbing my skin with an 80 grade piece of sandpaper! Ouch! I washed my face probably 4 times... After that ordeal, I decided to give my face a break and stay away from makeup for a while...
I paid the studio, bought a CD, (which was only 3150 yen for all the pictures, by the way! So cheap!!!) and continued walking around the streets of Kyoto.
We saw some beautiful streets, with houses, rivers, trees, etc. We walked along the Kamo-gawa River. We saw fishermen and couples sitting by the waterside. It was peaceful. As we were walking up to a bridge, I noticed a HUGE flock of pigeons all lined up on the ledge. Suddenly, one of them flinched, and they all went soaring up into the air like a big puff of smoke! It was incredible! I've never seen so many birds at once! It added to the tranquility of the scene!
We walked up towards "En," which is a Tea Ceremony Workshop. Along the way, we stopped at a Japanese restaurant for supper. It was the best supper ever! I had tempura-don, and Real had a huge platter full of different foods! I opened my card from my mom and dad, (thank you by the way!!! <3) and ate up everything in my bowl! I think I'm getting really good at using chopsticks. I managed to get every single grain of rice out of the bowl without using my fingers! Seriously, I don't even think I remember what a fork looks like. I haven't seen one in nearly three weeks! Maybe I'll get home and just eat everything with chopsticks from now on!
The Tea Ceremony that we went to after supper was fantastic. I learned so much about Zen Buddhism, and about the actual ritual of the ceremony. We went into the room, where there was a scroll hanging from the wall. On the floor in front of it, there was a flower arrangement and a tiny container of incense. We learned later that this whole display can be different at each ceremony. It is the host's way of communicating the topic for the evening. Ours was, "The bird flies in the sky." How appropriate was that? Especially after seeing that flock of pigeons soaring through the air???
We sat down, and had the girl, Mai, explain everything to us. She was very professional and calm. Which is a big thing about this whole thing! We watched her make us tea, we drank it, and we even got to make some ourselves! When I made mine, she looked into my bowl with wide eyes and said, "Wow good job!" Apparently I got the froth and the texture just right. And I guess she doesn't get to many foreigners who can do that! Yay me!
We talked for a while, especially since she knew all about the philosophies and beliefs that Real is into. For time's sake, I won't go into all that stuff right now. If you really want to learn for yourself- get out here and visit Japan!!! :)
We finished our day with a piece of chocolate cake at the Cafe next door. Now I'm sitting in bed, ready to sleep! I'm kind of happy because techincally my birthday doesn't end until tomorrow! Because in Canada, everyone is nearly a full day behind us! Hahahaha! My birthday is extra long this year! I feel like Karin Downey. ;)
I miss you all! Thank you so very much for all the Birthday wishes! And to my many family members who took the time to give me a card before I left! I love you all and can't wait to get back to see you!
"Happy birthday to me! I drank so much tea! I dressed like a Maiko, so I looked Japanese!"
^My version of the song, "Happy Birthday!"
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr