Blast from the Past

During my scanning project on this rainy weekend I came across some 'old' photos taken during my first overseas teaching experience. Here friend Tara and I are in all our Japanese glory after spending the morning been pulled and tugged and preened for our Maiko photo shoot at Studio Mon Katsura in Harajuku, Tokyo. 

It would have been in about 2004 or 2005 and memories from the day include:

• Lots of laughter!
• Very tight fitting underwear, overwear and makeup.
• Patient and friendly ladies who dressed us.
• Feeling slightly silly as we posed :)
• Overcast weather? But I may be imagining this.
• Our friend Yuko coming to help take photos on our own cameras.
• A lovely garden downstairs.
• Worth every yen!

I love experiences where you can honestly say, "There is nowhere else in the world I can do this." In this case, dressing as a Maiko as authentically as you can as a gaijin!