Kyoto Geisha & Maiko Dinner: Intimate Cultural Experience In Gion

It was a wonderful experience meeting the Maiko, seeing her do 2 traditional dances, asking her questions and playing a game with her. She was a delight. The guided tour of the Gion area felt rushed but the guide Josh was good at the restaurant by explaining the history and other details of the Geiko and Maiko and information about our dinner and the performance. The dinner was fine but not exceptional but included drinks.

Josh was a superb guide, we had a wonderful time with him leading the way. Our Maiko was charming and an absolute delight. This was the highlight of our trip.

Josh was so knowledgeable, and the geiko we met was fun to talk to and very interesting. It felt authentic and was one of the highlights of our trip. I highly recommend it.

This was everything we could hope for. Such a great time and learning to boot.

A wonderful experience. Definitely worth it.

We had a great time! The food was delicious. Unlimited drinks was an unexpected gift :). Our guide, Josh, was funny and informative and the Geiko was engaging and charming. Lovely experience!

T did a great job leading our tour. He was very informative and customer service focused. Our Geisha was wonderful and danced and sang beautifully. She was very interpersonal and answered all our questions thoughtfully. The restaurant was not very impressive, tired looking. The food was just OK, served by some young servers. Overall experience was saved by T our guide and Geisha.

This was such an amazing evening. Our guide Rika was engaging and fun guide. She toured us through Gion giving us the history. We then had a great meal in the Gion district where she told us stories. Meeting the Meiko was such a unique and wonderful experience. We got to ask her questions and hear about her life. She performed dances for us and we played a fun game with her. There was an opportunity to take pictures of her and with her. This was truly a memorable evening. We are so thankful we did this and thankful to Rika for making this such a fun, wonderful evening.

Fabulous experience. The knowledge of our guid was impressive. Our Maiko was entertaining and very engaging to talk to. We loved it.

It was amazing. Dream came true

We had a fantastic, educational experience with Josh. As a Kyoto native, he was very knowledgeable on Gion’s history and was ready to answer any questions that were posed to him. He’s also fun and we share laughs together. Josh also went out of his way after the tour to take us to the bus stop to get back to Kyoto Station which was very much appreciated. This is a “must do” if you want to learn about Gion.

This was truly one of the highlights of our time in Kyoto. We really enjoyed the walking tour and learned so much about the history, traditions, and fascinating world of geiko and maiko. Our guide was knowledgeable and made everything interesting and easy to understand. But the most special part was meeting the Maiko over dinner. The experience felt surprisingly intimate and authentic, not staged or overly touristy at all. We were able to ask questions, interact with her, and get a glimpse into her training and everyday life. It gave us a completely different appreciation for this beautiful tradition that is still very much alive in Kyoto today. Such a unique and memorable evening. We walked away feeling like we had experienced something genuinely special rather than simply watched a performance. Definitely one of our favorite experiences in Kyoto!

Amazing experience! The food was good and unique and the maiko performance was splendid! The guide explained a lot of history and we had a chance to ask many questions about the maiko life! One of a kind party

It was an interesting experience! First we went through some places in Kyoto, to learn the history about theaters, and meiko/geiko, and then we went to the cafe, where we had our own performance. We asked our meiko a lot of questions, and then had a performance :)

Great experience with the tour, dinner and Geiko experience. Josh explain everything very well and the interaction with the Geiko was great.

Josh was amazing! He had great energy and intelligence about Kyoto.

Josh is a very knowledgeable guide, and it was fun to chat with Maiko! Amazing tour and highly recommended!

Amazing personal experience. Pair it with the theater nearby which has a show with two Maiko. The difference with this experience is the dinner and that you can interact with the performer and take a photo with her.

I had such a lovely experience with Akko! She was incredibly kind, warm and friendly, and made the whole evening feel very natural and special. We walked around Gion before having dinner with a Maiko, and Akko shared lots of interesting insights along the way. She was also so sweet about helping me take some great photos around Kyoto, which I really appreciated as I was travelling on my own. A beautiful and memorable evening - thank you, Akko!

Our guide was so kind and informative and maiko san was so beautiful and answered a lot of our questions. This was the highlight of my Japan trip. Hope to do it again.

My guide was absolutely amazing! This was such a wonderful experience from start to finish. Meeting a geisha has always been a dream of mine, and this experience exceeded my expectations. The food was delicious, and everything was well organized. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kyoto!

Unique and awesome experience. Our tour guide was knowledgeable in Kyoto culture, he tirelessly showed us around and introduced us to a great meal. Interacting with Geiko was the highlight of our tour. She delivered a great performance and showed such grace and compassion. Highly recommend!!!

What a wonderful experience! Our guide was wonderful and we enjoyed our stroll through the Gion district where Rica gave us lots of information about Maikos and Geikos. The restaurant served us an absolute feast of many courses. We tried traditional foods we had never had before and learned to love new things. Our Maiko was sweet and talented. We talked with her through our guide and she answered all of our questions. There were many smiles and lots of laughs. She danced for us and we played games with her. It was a wonderful adventure to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary and it was everything we hoped for an more. Highly recommend!!

We had a very interesting evening. The experience started with a brief tour of the Gion district which was really helpful. The tour description said we’d have a tour but I wasn’t expecting it to be so informative and it provided good context for the highlight of the evening which was our dinner with a Maiko. Our guide was very friendly and engaging and was an excellent host and translator for us. We also enjoyed meeting the Maiko and found her to be inquisitive and charming. It was one of the most unique experiences we had on our trip having not really known much about geisha culture before. I recommend this tour as it’s hard to find anything quite like it.

It was a fantastic tour and dinner. I wanted something special for my husband's and my 31 anniversary and this tour delivered. Our Maiko was so sweet and answered every question asked. The game played with our Maiko was a lot of fun. Our host Josh was sooo friendly and knowledgeable about the Meiko/Geiko culture. He easily made the walking tour of Gion and then as the interpreter with our meeting of our Maiko a 10 out of 10. Knowing we would never have an opportunity to speak directly with a Meiko made this tour a must.

We had such an amazing time with Nobu. She was very knowledgeable and explained everything well. The walk through Gion was beautiful. Dinner was excellent and Geisha show was unique and memorable. We would absolutely recommend this tour.

This was an amazing experience. Our tour guide was friendly, knowledgeable and attentive to the groups need. One of the highlights of a very anticipated trip.

It was such a pleasant experience to meet with a Maiko. We had opportunity to speak to her, ask her many questions and watch her dance. Our host was kind and was very knowledgeble. Thought us about the history of Gion, Maiko and Geiko. Food was also great too, I would recommend it for everyone.

What a treat! Rika is an exceptional guide. This was a rare opportunity to learn about the Gion area, we had walked around the area before but saw it so differently after touring it with Rika. The highlight of the evening however was the dinner with a Maiko. We were able to converse with her (with Rika as translator) for a long time. It was fascinating to learn about her life, why she decided she wanted to be a Geiko, and what her training entailed. We then played some really fun games and we all had a lot of laughs!

This was an interesting experience and a highlight of our time in Kyoto. Josh, who lived in the US for many years as a sportswriter, was our excellent guide, and started the evening with a short tour around Gion and explanation of meiko/geiko culture. Then we sat down for a good meal, and the star of the show, Kanako, who was incredibly charming and solicitous in answering our questions. We enjoyed her stylized, traditional dance performance, and she taught us a fun party game. All too soon she was off to her next engagement, but we felt privileged to have had a window into this ancient subculture.

We had a great evening out with Josh. Josh took us for a short tour of the Gion neighborhood and entertained us with interesting tid bits of information along the way. We then had a multi-course dinner, made from local Kyoto foods, followed by entertainment by a very poised, beautiful, fun Maiko. She also allowed us to ask her questions about her life and training, which was very interesting! Josh translated and took lots of video and photos, which made for a nice keepsake of our evening. Great tour!

I loved everything about this experience. I really didn't know what to expect. But the knowledge of our tour guide in the Gion area really helped us understand how special and historically important this area was and is. The dinner with our Maiko was truly special though, and I know it really depends on their personality, but she was such a wonderful human and I will never forget our interaction. A wonderful human and artist.

This was an amazing experience where we had the privilege of meeting a real Geiko, Katsuhana, who was incredibly charming and elegant. We communicated with her through our guide, Josh—a knowledgeable, well-travelled Japanese gentleman who was also extremely entertaining throughout. At the end, we had the chance to play a classic drinking game with Katsuhana called Konpira Fune Fune—suffice it to say, I lost very quickly! The group size was well managed and included a short tour of the Gion district, along with fascinating historical insights from Josh. The tour ended with a wonderful traditional Kyoto banquet, with plenty of drinks available (possibly warm sake—I certainly had my fair share 😁). Finally our meeting with Katsuhana which lasted one and half hours. Many thanks for a fantastic experience. Robin

The tour started with a walk through Gion. Our guide, Josh, did a great job showing us points of interest and explaining the history of the district. After a nice relaxing walk we arrived at our restaurant. There we had a nice meal before the Maiko arrived. She was very graceful and charming. In addition to conversation she performed dances and beat us at traditional drinking games!

Went alone after going to one with a group last year, and it was so much better. Enjoyed the games a lot and the experience was a lot more personal with the maiko! Food and Gion tour was great as well.

This was the intimate and authentic experience I was hoping for. Josh out guide was knowledgeable and informative and provided great information about the Gion district, the role of the Maiko and Geiko. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to speak with our Maiko and ask questions pertaining to her life and what lead her to pursue this lifestyle. The food at dinner was delicious and the small group setting added a depth to the experience. It exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it.

Great tour, amazing guide, we had a blast

Josh was a great guide. We enjoyed all his explanations and highly recommend taking a tour with him. Thank hou so much.

I would caution anyone from booking this experience. It is definitely a fake advertisement and im not sure who would actually enjoy this experience. We spent over an hour with the guide showing us videos on his iphone and making small talk while they served us seafood that looked grey and smelled questionable. They took us into a home that also smelled moldy and then we sat there in silence, he then said we will wait another hour for maiko. We literally had to excuse ourselves because it was that bad.

This was spectacular! Probably the highlight of our Kyoto 4 day experience. Josh was very informative and translated for our Maiko (she was 4 years in). The Maiko performed two songs and sat with us for an extended period. We got to play games and ask plenty of questions. It was fascinating and to top it all off, the food was great. The whole thing was outstanding; worth every cent for a wonderful evening.

We had an incredible evening and truly loved this experience. It began with a lovely walk through Gion, and was followed by a delicious dinner in a relaxed setting. The highlight was meeting a maiko, having the chance to ask her questions, watch her perform a beautiful dance, and even take part in a fun game. It was a special and memorable way to learn more about Japanese culture. Thank you, Josh, for being such a wonderful guide and creating such a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Une experience genial a Kyoto

Amazing experience, like nothing you have ever seen. You must go if you are in Kyoto

Absolutely incredible experience! We did a private dinner since we had two kids under the age of 15 and we all loved it. Such an amazing opportunity to spend some time with a Maiko and the learn more about the culture. Highly recommend!

Amazing- so special. The artistry of the dancing was my favorite part.

This tour is a must do and one you will not want to skip. Akko our tour leader made this the most incredible night. She was personable, fun, translated very well and kept the evening entertaining. Our Maiko was incredible and getting to know a Maiko up close and personal is a bucket list must do. Well worth the price and the length of the tour gives your more than enough time to interact. Thank you Akko! 😊

Well, what a most memorable evening! Rika was an informative and engaging host who brought the group together to truly enjoy our Maiko experience.

We had the most wonderful time - Josh was a great host, very charismatic, open and informative. It was a night to remember and a highlight of our trip!

Absolutely incredible experience!