I'll be in Tokyo Sunday Dec 15th and would like to hire a Geisha in
Tokyo for an hour or two. Where can I call and make reservation with
pricing information.

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Request for Question Clarification by tar_heel_v-ga on 13 Dec 2002 06:18 PST

willikh...

Might I recommend you visit "What is a Geisha/Maiko?" at
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/tours/geisha/what.htm.  From that page:

"The world of the geisha is closed to the general public. It is not
possible for anyone to hire a geisha for entertainment. You must have
a special introduction in order to be entertained by a geisha. Geishas
are a select elite, and they hold a lot of prestige and status in
Japanese society. It is a secret, hidden world where only a few people
can gain access"

Regards,

-THV

Here's a little more info on what is going on in the geisha world:
http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/geisha.txt

The bad news is that true geisha entertainment is becoming much more
rare and harder to find. The good news is that, if you are just
looking for sex services, that is now much easier to obtain (and was
never really a part of geisha entertainment to begin with, despite
what you may have learned from the movie Shogun).

If you're looking for the latter, just walk around Yoshiwara or the
Kabukicho area of Shinjuku and prepare to be approached...

willikh,

the best i know of the professional Geisha service in Japan is they
only serve restricted clientelle (i.e. you have to be introduced to
them from established client base).

The price varies depending on what kinds of services and performance
you expect and what level (i.e. the student Maiko-sans) or the
particular Geisha (they have varying skill sets).  All business is
conducted with Geisha houses (yes they are run like a company).

But the general thing is this, if you ask them for a quote they would
not take your business 8-) i.e. IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE, if you need to
work within a budget, they are not interested in doing business with
you.  They would only serve folks who fall into the category where
"Money-is-never-a-problem".

One thing you have to be clear though, they are not whores and would
never provide the kinky type of services that some demented folks
dream about.  What they do offer are intelligent conversation (great
listening skills), personalized attention and doting (and pampering),
cultural performances and display of skills.  They also have strict
professional ethics and codes of practice i.e. what goes on behind the
doors stay inside the rooms i.e. they would not divulge any secrets,
so a lot of company deals happen within Geisha functions in Japan.