In Japan, tourists are prohibited from photographing geishas (6 photos)

Because they don’t know how to behave, that’s why they are punished for lack of culture. We did this locally in one of the cultural districts of Kyoto, Gion, where you can often see geisha girls in traditional outfits. This is a place where you can visit tea houses and various traditional ceremonies.





Because people flock here precisely for traditional Japan and geishas. Especially after the release of the film “Memoirs of a Geisha,” the area experienced a tourism boom (they talk about it there). The girls here were constantly inconvenienced and interfered with in their personal space.



Street along the river with tea houses with sliding walls in Kyoto

If a geisha in a kimono was just walking down the street, tourists would run up to her and start taking pictures without asking. And some touched the expensive kimono with their hands (not necessarily clean ones) and tugged at the sleeves.

Often young girls were brought to tears by intrusive attention. The girls there are not like life-size dolls, they study there and work in tea houses.





One kimono costs several thousand dollars, and you have sweaty hands!

Enough tolerating this!

Everyone, including local residents, complained about the constant pestering of tourists. Because in the area there are private houses and courtyards in the old style, which tourists climbed into without asking.

In Kyoto, they are still trying to preserve ancient bamboo fences. They are very light and constantly fell and broke under the weight of tourists who decided to lean on the fence for the sake of photographing.



Agree, a beautiful old street

Now it is prohibited to do this without asking. If the police see geishas photographed without permission, they will fine you 10,000 yen.

Of course, some of the complaints are simply local whining that tourists won’t keep them from getting any rest. There are fewer places in restaurants and more crowded shops. The so-called “quiet meditative culture of Kyoto” is being disrupted. But all this brings income to the district to maintain the ancient beauty.



If you tame tourists, they will go to more accommodating parts of Japan

Therefore, of the complaints, only those related to harassment directly to living girls were taken into account. No one is prohibited from taking photographs against the backdrop of other people's private houses.

Overtourism

In recent years, interest in Asia has only been growing, and many countries are suffering from a disease called “overtourism.” When a place becomes so popular that it is literally trampled by tourists like a buffalo trail.



The locals are annoyed by tourists, but where will you get the influx of money? Seriously, resort towns are the same everywhere...

It will be necessary to talk about it separately, for example, in the Philippines entire untouched beaches have been trampled.

But by and large this is good. Rich tourists who can afford to travel leave money in the country. It’s just not clear how to control this wild crowd.