1y ago

Kyoto to ban tourists from Geisha district over ‘out of control’ behaviour

www.independent.co.uk

Local officials in Japan’s popular Geisha district in Kyoto will shut off access to “paparazzi” tourists who harass and trouble the globally recognised Japanese women artists, starting April this year.

The historic Gion district’s local council has said it will now ban sightseers and tourists into the alleys and streets housing geisha and maiko (teenager trainee geisha) after facing years of complaints over growing buzz of photography.

15 comments

Good. It's a historical aspect of Japanese culture of immense significance in a city that is roughly one millennium older than the British Empire, not a theme park attraction.
- It's a historical aspect of Japanese culture of immense significance in a city that is roughly one millennium older than the British Empire, not a theme park attraction
  Yeah why on Earth would anyone want to take pictures of themselves visiting something like that
  ^s
  
  The issue, as stated above, is female working professionals (some teenaged) being followed around. The geisha houses have been filing complaints with the city government for years.
  
  It's just a shame that normal tourists end up being cliche tourists and ruin the history for everyone else.
Fucking influencers.
Not to mention the wack ass pranksters who treat Japan as a playground and fuck with the population, because Japanese police aren't brutal assholes.
For some reason I thought geisha was some feudal Japan concept that didn't exist anymore and now that I know that is wrong I realized that I actually have no idea what geisha are and never really put any thought in the topic.
- I honestly thought it was a high class escort for nobles.
  Edit: looked it up. Basically they're dancers and entertainers who also flirt with men. But sex isn't permitted at all so I wasn't totally off.
Bad tourists seems to be a worldwide trend these last 10 years or so.
- Nah, it’s people are legit a-holes to women walking down the street. They’re harassing maiko who are literally just walking to work. People are grabbing them, pulling out their hair ornaments, getting in their way, etc. it’s been a problem since even before the covid lockdowns.
  
  You're feeding a "both sides" troll who conveniently only defends right wing conspiracy theorists. It's good that you put the information out there for anyone wandering into this thread, just don't expect it to do anything for the pile of shit you're replying to.

15 comments