Kyoto Comes to Yokkaichi

While Sam slaved away at school on Friday afternoon Fiona jigged and went to the Kyoto festival at the department store in Yokkaichi. A Maiko had traveled all the way from the calm of Kyoto in a 20kg kimono to dance for 15 minutes for we suburbanites. For those of you not obsessed with Geisha, a Maiko is a trainee Geisha who hasn't done the business yet, so to speak. Maiko are the ones who wear the face makeup. Fully fledged Geisha don't have to. This Maiko was 17 and had been in training since she was 15. She said something about leaving her parents at the age of 4, but really I have no idea what she said. Bernadette, this is a wee preview for you: