Have you ever heard of the geisha or have you seen the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha"?

Did you know that geisha refers to the ones who are in Tokyo, and geiko refers to the ones who are in Kyoto.

Yesterday I had the chance to see live performances by geisha (aka. geiko in Kyoto). It was absolutely an amazing experience and I have learned a lot about the culture of geiko.

If a girl wishes to become a geiko, she has to start learning and step into the geiko world by the age of 15. Although they only train with the masters one hour a day, they spend countless hours practicing by themselves. They practice all kinds of performances including dance and instruments. They also have to learn how to social with the customers and make the customers happy so the customers will come back again.

It is certainly very difficult to become a geiko but seeing the girls working so hard to become a real geiko, it reminds me that we should all learn the spirit and work hard towards our dreams.

Photo: I was lucky enough to get a shot with the geiko!