Shozan Resort Kyoto — Hotel in Kyoto

An absolutely memorable and magnificent experience with this Maiko Dance with dinner and Kyoto night view. We were escorted to a beautiful and charming dining hall at Shozan Resort Kyoto. It is an incredibly lovely resort with a beautiful Japanese garden. The garden is famous for cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, irises and maple leaves (I bet the garden will be even gorgeous during cherry blossoms and autumn leaves seasons.)

A traditional and exquisite Kyoto dinner (Kaiseki Style Kyoto Cuisine) was served. (Menu: 1. Saki dzuke “appetizer”, 2. Ha sun: “ha-sun assortment”, 3. Otsukuri “sliced raw fish”, 4. Ipoin “a dish”, 5. Konami “small saucepan”, 6. Agemono “fried food”, 7. Gohan “rice”, 8. Kounomono “pickle” , 9. Mizumono “dessert”.

While we were enjoying our dinner, a stunningly beautiful Maiko (her name is Kimisora (Japanese writing : 君宙）the meaning of her name is dream) came out onto the stage and performed a brief yet aesthetically beautiful dance. Kimosora-san talked about geisha history and her own stories of how and why she becomes a Maiko. Kimosora-san was fascinated about geisha and their stories when she was a kid and determined to become a geisha ehen she grew up. She is an extremely friendly, sweet and elegant lady. Her English is excellent. She also showed us her extraordinary glamorous kimono and explained in details about her kimono, special makeup and hairdo. Surprisingly we were given an extra long Q and A time (at least 30 mins or so) with her and we could ask her any questions. She answered each question attentively and precisely. At the end we could all take several photos with her. (A reminder to myself : never touch the geisha hands or their clothes and this is an absolute respect to a geisha). During the whole meeting I could also take many photos and videos freely. Kimisora-san gave us her personalized business card (senja-fuda) at the end of the dinner. It was an absolutely marvelous and memorable evening. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who would like to meet a maiko in an extremely relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere. If I ever visit Kyoto in the future I would join this tour again. A tremendous and joyful life experience. In fact I was always fascinated with geisha and their stories when I was young (like Makio Kimisora!) By joining this tour I got my dream fulfilled.

My best wishes to Kimisora-san and thank you for making my dream come true.

One thing I regret though that I did not have time to visit the newly opened KYOTO GEISHA & MAIKO EXPERIENCE GION MAIKOYA. The museum has a number exhibitions, artifacts and explanations on the history and culture of geisha. There are guided tours which last for about 30 minutes but the visitors can also walk inside the museum on their own. The museum collection is limited to geisha musical instruments, geisha hair accessories and geisha kimono. The museum has simple and easy-to-understand visual aids on the differences between maiko and geisha and the geisha training phases. The museum also hosts various geisha shows and geisha experiences everyday. Don’t miss this when you...

If you’re getting married in Kyoto, Shozan Resort is such an awesome wedding venue. 🌿It is located outside of the city, a the bottom of Mr Takagamine. 🌿It features sprawling Japanese gardens, traditional architecture, and tea houses. 🌿There are several wedding chapels to choose from for the ceremony. 🌿 The hotel rooms are lovely, with tatami areas, and the restaurant’s cuisine is high end.

When Yoko approached me about her wedding, I knew I was facing a unique challenge. A Japanese Architect living in New York marrying an American and planning a destination wedding in Kyoto, the town where her grandmother lived. How could my Art incorporate all that?

I thought about this intensively as I was preparing for Yoko and Blaine’s wedding. My approach was to connect each element of their story to a different aspect of my images. 🌿 I chose backgrounds that reflected the Kyoto location - Japanese gardens, Kyoto machiya (wooden townhouse) backdrops. 🌿 I posed my couple and composed the images as minimalist as possible. (Read, the architect). 🌿 And I edited the images with an extra touch of depth and contrast, adding a hint of that New York street photography vibe.

I have such wonderful memories of photographing Yoko and Blaine's Japanese-American wedding at Shozan Resort and I look forward to experiencing more celebrations here.

Maria...

** Shozan Resort Garden しょうざんリゾート

Shozan Resort is located in Takagamine area of Kita-ku area. There are 2 ways to access this place. One is from Takagamine Kaido street and another way is from Kagamiishi Street which is west side of the property near the mountains.The place sits in some 110,000 square meters of land in the middle of a small mountain hill. The resort was developed as a complex facility by a prestagious kimono industry. Their garden offers seasonal views of natural beauty with flowers and autumn leaves and snow. The seasonal flowers add special atmosphere that of described in classic Japanese landscape drawings. The garden space spreads right in a location where it can provide a view of Takagamine Sanzan mountain in the background.

Access : City Bus No. 6 from Hankyu Shijo-Omiya Sta. " 土天井町" Alight and destination is there City Bus No. 1 from Kitaoji Subway Sta. " Dotenjo-cho" Alight and destination is there

[ Charge ] Entry: Free, Japanese garden: ¥480 (¥280 if you dine in the facility)

** Workshops of Yuzen style dyeing technique

Inside the garden there are workshops of Yuzen style dyeing technique of textile gallery and a craft hall.

Great spot to enjoy during summer tiome and autumn!

( English Information provided by Trans-word+ : TGM...