July 19, 2026: After the morning tour, we treated ourselves to the best unagi of the trip at Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa — the name literally means “fourth generation,” reflecting nearly 90 years in the eel business. They spent decades supplying prized eel to Japan’s top unagi restaurants before finally opening their own doors to diners in 2017. Since then they’ve exploded to 30+ locations worldwide, including one in Haneda Airport. It was so good we circled back for round two at Kyoto Station before catching our train to Tokyo.
The afternoon was ours to wander. We hit a secondhand shop, a ceramic shop where Jason nabbed a flower vase, and a bookstore where he scored a print over a century old.
From 5:30 to 8:45, we dove into Gion’s hidden world on a geisha tour, wandering moonlit streets, temples, and shrines while our guide unpacked centuries of tradition. Before WWII, geisha numbered in the thousands; postwar survivors mostly regrouped in Kyoto, which still has five geisha districts today. The path is no joke: girls start at 15 or 16 and train for six rigorous years, climbing from shikomi (year one) to maiko (years two through six) before finally earning the title of geisha. Only about 300 remain in Kyoto now — and the top earners pull in millions. We passed several mama-san-run houses, some sheltering up to ten girls, where wealthy patrons pay $400–500 for an evening of entertainment with two or three geisha. Pro tip for telling them apart: maiko go bold with flashy kimonos and paint just their lower lip; geisha keep it simpler, with understated kimonos and full lipstick.
Next trip, we’re booking an actual geisha show!
