On Saturday Martin, Debbie and I went to Gion to do maiko and samurai henshin, where you can pay people to dress you up like a maiko. Even white people can do this although it looks silly (see below).
For the girls, first we got dressed in these white robes and then they told us to go upstairs to get our makeup done. They put loads of white paint and powder on our faces and then began work on our eyes. They outlined the edges of the eyes in red and painted our upper lids black.
After the make up, which took about 20 minutes, was finished, we went to get dressed. The henshin place where we went had loads of kimono to choose from. Debbie went first and chose pink, so I chose red. After taking five minutes to dress us in our chosen kimono and obi, they put a wig on our heads. The wigs were really tight and heavy but from far away they looked like they could be real hair.
There was also a "half wig" option that we could have chosen for an extra price where they take your real hair and sort of meld it with the wig in the back so that things look more natural. For those white people that don't have black hair, they take the front part of your hair and paint it black. We chose the full wig option because it was cheaper.
When we were ready they took us into a room to have our photos taken. We couldn't go outside because it was pouring (and I think that costs extra anyways). Photos took all of five minutes each and then we were given free time to take photos on our own camera:
It was fun. I would do it again if I felt like paying the money.
After henshin we went out for lunch and it didn't stop pouring until early evening. I went out to Hub with Mayuka and three of her friends that she hadn't seen since middle school.
Tonight, Sunday, is the last night at my homestay. There's nothing special planned but still it's sad :(
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