All Reviews for Cultural Experiences

Given the price, I didn't expect much from the atmosphere of the place, but the setup in the shared building was just as I thought it would be. The performance by the maiko was a great experience, as it's something you don't get to do often. However, it was disappointing that a group of 5 or 6 people arrived 30 minutes late, and we had to wait while the staff attended to them. Moreover, they spent time allowing that group to participate and take photos, which made me wonder about the fairness for those of us who were waiting. If it were just a 5-minute delay, it would be one thing, but since they emphasized "punctuality, please arrive 10 minutes early," shouldn't those arriving 30 minutes late be excluded?

値段が値段だけに場所の雰囲気などは期待していませんでしが、雑居ビル内の１室で思った通りのセットアップ。
舞妓さんのパフォーマンスなどは、普段なかなか経験出来ないことだけに、良い体験をさせていただけたと思います。
ただ、5、6人のグループ参加の方々が30分遅れで入場してきて、スタッフの方々が対応している間待たされたのが残念です。しかもそのグループの方々を参加させ、写真撮影などに時間を費やし、待ってる側としてはどうかな？と思いました。5分遅れならともかく、「時間厳守、10分前までに到着願います」と歌っていれば、30分遅れの方は不参加とするべきでは？

This is the best way to see Japanese Traditional dance/drama, An hour program fully packed with Thrill.I enjoyed with my family and would recommend to my family circle and friends
Thanks very much Veltra team

I enjoyed the maiko's dance, chatting, taking photos, and playing games. There was also dinner included, but I had so much fun that I didn't have time to eat. Next time, I want to go with my friends.

舞妓さんの踊り、お喋り、写真撮影、ゲームなど楽しませて頂きました。
ディナーもついてましたが食べる時間が無いほど楽しかった。
次回は友人と行きたいと思います。

I had a wonderful time experiencing the Maiko dance, the Q&A session, traditional games, and photo opportunities. The dinner included was also reasonably priced.

I had mistakenly thought the event would be held in a more traditional Japanese dining setting, but it was actually on the second floor of a building (with a cleaning shop on the first floor), resembling a rental kimono shop.

Upgrading to the S seats was about 500 yen, which I opted for, but it seemed that almost everyone chose to upgrade. Out of the six rows, the first five rows were S seats, and there were no designated seats, which was first-come, first-served. I think it would be better for those who want to see or take photos from the front to wait at the bottom of the stairs to enter early.

I attended with my university student son, and we had a very enjoyable time. Next time I come to Kyoto, I would like to experience a more authentic traditional setting, so I recommend this as a great introductory experience.

　舞妓さんの踊り、質問コーナー、お座敷遊び、写真撮影などが出来、楽しい一時を過ごせました。夕食付きで、お値段的にもお安いです。
　私も勝手に思い込んでいたのですが場所がたぶん、食事処のような和風な感じのところでの開催かと思っていましたがビルの2階（１Ｆクリーニング店）
レンタル着物屋さんのような店舗です。
座席のＳ席へのランクアップが500円くらいなので私も付けましたが参加の方はほぼ付けるようで全6列の内、前から5列目くらいまでＳ席で席は指定されておらず早いもの順なのは如何なものかと思いました。
前のほうで見たい方、撮りたい方はＳ席＋早く入場できるように階段の下で待機された方が良いかと。
　大学生の息子と共に参加しましたが、とっても楽しい時間を過ごせました。
今度、京都に来た際には本格的なお座敷を体験してみたくなったので、今回の参加は導入体験として良かったのでお勧めです。

If you are in Kyoto during the Festival, I highly recommend going to see the Maiko dance. Because we gave them a little money for a cause, we also got our picture with 2 maikos. We really enjoyed listening to the music and seeing the delicate dances. The tea before the show was rushed and we could have skipped that but definitely go the show.

It's good if you like historical and traditional performance. But for foreigner who does not understand the language. It is just mere some repetitive songs and dance. Some of the dance quite okay and colorful while other is not that interesting.

Loved Gion Odori experience.
When I purchased the ticket was not sure how will work.You don't have an assigned a seat, so you don't know where they are going to put you, but the site was good, at the top, so I could enjoy the show. It is a pity that no photographs can be taken at any time. I would have liked to keep a graphic memory, even if there could be only in a final part of the show.
Upon arrival you must enter directly through the great door and show the paper of the purchase, inside they have your ticket prepared with your name in an envelope. If you only have the show ticket, you don't have to stand in line, just enter the room and wait for a worker to take you to your seat.

Initially, I had booked the Saturday show but it was unavailable. Veltra was able to let me know and gave me a couple of different options to choose from as an alternative. I was able to change my reservation to the Sunday lunch. I would recommend paying extra for the front row and for the lunch. The lunch was a nice selection of Kyoto cuisine. Also, if you get sake, the Maiko will serve it to you. The Maiko was lovely and charming. Her performances were breathtaking and she was very thorough with her answers to out questions. It was also fun playing games with her. I had a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend it if you have a couple of hours to spare.

A privilege to watch such a beautiful traditional performance. We were given a warm welcome by English speaking hosts and had excellent seats.

This was a lovely performance by the Gion Geiko and Maiko. Keep in mind this isn't a traditional performing art; in Japan Geisha usually "perform" in private settings for very wealthy individuals. You could book a geisha dinner for several hundred dollars per person, or you could go to one of these shows if you are lucky enough to be in town while one of these performances is going on and get a taste of Geisha art in a theater setting. It was a beautiful performance!

We welcomed customers from Taiwan and had a wonderful experience with Japanese culture. They were very pleased. Thank you very much.

台湾からのお客様をお迎えし楽しい日本文化体験が出来ました。大変喜ばれていました。ありがとうございました。

Maiko is cute, and I was happy to have enough time to enjoy a fun time. It's not often that I get the chance to talk with Maiko, so I was really happy to do so while having a meal, especially since she poured me some drinks. However, I arrived more than 30 minutes early and waited outside, but since there was no line, I ended up getting the last seat in section A. I recommend that those who arrive early line up in front of the stairs.

マイコさんはかわいいし　時間も十分あって楽しい時を過ごす事が出来て幸せでした。
なかなか、マイコさんとお話しする機会もないですし、それを食事しながら　しかもお酒も注いでもらえてハッピーでした。
しかし、30分以上早く行って外で待っていたが並んでなかったためA席のラストでした。早く行った方は階段前で並ぶ事をオススメします。

This event was all in all a great insight in traditional Japanese Geiko and Maiko art. Singers, dancers and artists were awesome and let to some moments of getting goose pimples ;-)
Unfortunately the previous tea ceremony was a bit disappointing as the room was quite small and not everybody could observe the women preparing tea. Additionally you had to rush as the next group of people was already waiting outside.

The performance was very authentic and a wonderful experience. Exchanging Veltra voucher for tickets was incredibly easy. Highly recommend.

I feel it goes without saying that this was a truly magical experience. I feel privileged to have been visiting Kyoto at the time of the Gion Odori and thank VELTRA for making the experience of organising tickets pain-free.

When in Kyoto, tourists walk the streets of Gion, in the hope of spotting Maiko and Geisha. Some will try and take photos inconspicuously of them as they walk by, while others will pay over $200 for a dinner in order to see a Maiko perform 1 dance. This experience which is only available each year for about 10 days in November, will give you everything you need when it comes to seeing true geisha. It’s affordable, you get to see many geisha and maiko and they perform 10 acts during the 1 hour show. You can even take a photo with 2 maiko for a small donation.
There is also a tea ceremony you can be apart of if you turn up at 1pm. It’s a rush job and really confusing because of the language barrier, but basically you sit down, put the pink ticket on the table in front of you and they give you something to eat (little glutenous bun with red bean paste inside) and some matcha tea. You also get to keep the little pink plate the treat is served on. According to the kids (who were trying to be funny), you get to keep the plate because it saves on washing. It was a bit of a production line so we just folded up our treat to go, sipped our tea quickly and left to make room for the next groups of people waiting.
Thanks to Veltra, getting our tickets was super easy and our 7 seats were in the front row. Initially we were worried we might be too close but the seats were great.

I was very happy to find a facility where I could interact closely with maiko, who usually feel like they belong to a distant world. I believe it's because of the moderate number of participants. The flow of activities, including food, dance, talk (Q&A time), games, and photos, kept everyone engaged. Most of the guests were foreigners, but I think anyone, regardless of age, who has even a slight interest in maiko would be satisfied.

普段遠い世界の舞妓さんと、このような形で身近に触れ合える施設があるのはとても嬉しく感じました。程良い人数の参加者だからこそではないでしょうか。
料理、踊り、トーク(質問タイム)、遊び、写真が飽きない流れで展開し、ほとんどの客は外国人でしたが、舞妓さんにちょっとだけ興味のある人なら年齢問わず誰でも満足出来るのではと思います。

Seeing a maiko dance live was always one of my lifehood dreams. This dream came true that night with a magnificent performance! Accompanied by a traditional Japanese dinner of high quality, it was a pleasure having been able to attend this evening. The garden walk and the mountain view were stunning as well!

The geisha was so amateur, she was shaking while dancing. Nobody explained the way we should eat the traditional food.
On the way back, the tour leader was just speaking Japanese and didn’t care about foreigners attendants. She was speaking Japanese all the way back, and sometimes they were laughing or clapping and we as foreigners just waiting for some explanations but nothing.
In my idea it was a dishonor to non-Japanese guest. The tour provider company should provide the same Facilities for all guests. In General it was an expensive activity with poor facilities!

It's a valuable experience where you can choose from lunch and dinner options and immerse yourself in the high culture of maiko. Foreign visitors are very pleased, and I always visit with foreign guests.

ランチや夕食の選択が出来、敷居が高い舞妓さんの文化に触れられる貴重な体験です。外国人の方々にもとても喜ばれ、外国人のお客様といつも訪問させていただいております。

The maiko were adorable, and it was a fun experience where I could ask various questions and play games, rather than just watching. As for the food, I think there might be some differences from the photos, so it might be better not to have too high expectations!

舞妓さんも可愛らしくて、質問でいろいろ聞けたり、ゲームなどができ、ただ見るだけのものより、楽しい体験でした。料理は、写真とは、違う事もあると思うので、あまり期待しすぎないほうがいいかも！

Even though we can still feel the summer heat... I had the chance to meet a maiko, often referred to as a moving traditional craft (or perhaps an art piece?).

In Kyoto, there are five districts where maiko can be found: Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi, Pontocho, Miyagawacho, and Kamishichiken. This time, I met Kanohisa from Gion Higashi.

The guests were quite diverse, coming from Chinese-speaking, English-speaking, and Japanese-speaking backgrounds (laughs). The emcee spoke in both Japanese and English, but there was a middle school girl from Shanghai at our table who was fluent in Japanese. She was interpreting the emcee's comments and Kanohisa's responses for everyone, completely overshadowing the group’s Chinese guide! It was surprising! But it’s wonderful that foreign guests can feel interest and familiarity with the Japanese language and traditional culture, right!?

While enjoying our meal, we were treated to two dance performances, explanations about the maiko, a Q&A session, and traditional games (like Konpira Funafuna). Of course, we could take two-shot photos as long as we weren't bothering others, so it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

While there are many activities like this at night, daytime options are limited, making this activity a low-threshold and reasonably priced recommendation for first-timers! ^ ^

まだまだ夏の暑さを感じる中・・・動く伝統工芸品（美術品か？）とも呼ばれる舞妓さんに逢ってきました～。
京都に舞妓さんの居る街は五つ（祇園甲部・祇園東・先斗町・宮川町・上七軒）ありますが、今回は祇園東・叶家の叶久（かのひさ）さんでした。

お客さんも中国語圏・英語圏＆日本語圏（笑）と多彩でした。
司会は日本語と英語なのですが、同テーブルの上海からって言う中学生くらいの女の子が日本語が流暢で、グループの中国人ガイドさん？そっちのけで司会の方や叶久さんの返答を皆に通訳してました～・・・ビックリ！
でも、外国の方たちにも日本語や伝統文化に興味や親しみを感じてもらえるって嬉しい事ですよね！？

食事をしながら踊りも二曲舞ってもらえて、舞妓さんの説明やQ&Aやお座敷遊び（金毘羅舟々）や、そしてそして2ショットはもちろん他の方の迷惑に無らなければ写真撮影も終始OKと至れり尽くせりです。
夜にこう言うアクティビティーは多いのですが昼ってのは少ないので、初めてって方にも敷居が低く且つリーズナブルなこのアクティビティーはお薦めで～す♪ ^ ^

We had a wonderful time at this event. The beer was cold, the hotpot was tasty, and the maiko was very nice. I very much recommend this!

beautiful experience, very funny fir the kids as well, not too long snd adeguate for family . Il pranzo con la maiko è stata una bellissima esperienza che ha coinvolto anche i bimbi con il gioco , durato un ora e mezzo tempo adeguato per i bimbi per carpire il loro interesse , è stato veramente molto interessante

This was a great activity. The food and beer was delicious and filling and the entertainment was fantastic. We were able to talk with our Maiko for a few minutes and take a picture with her after her performance. We did not speak very much Japanese (only the very basics), but that did not diminish our experience. We had a great time, and it was nice we didn't have to spend a ton of money on one dinner like some other activities that are available with maiko. I would definitely recommend this if you'd like to meet a maiko and see her perform.

dinner was great, super good service. Make sure to wear mosquitos repellent

I was satisfied as my purpose was to photograph the maiko. I used the 500 yen optional seat, but since I couldn't sit in the front, I would like to sit in the front for the next time to take photos.

舞妓さんの撮影が目的でしたので満足しています。
500円のオプション座席を利用しましたが
正面に座れなかったので、次回は正面に座って
撮影したいです。

My first experience with a maiko.
With seven participants, we were able to fully enjoy the traditional parlor games. Since there were many attendees, I was able to ask the maiko various questions without feeling nervous.

初めての舞妓さん
7人参加で御座敷遊びもしっかり楽しめましたよ。出席者の人数が多いので、舞妓さんにも緊張せずにいろいろお聞きできました。

great unique experience! I lived in Japan for 4 years and this was something I never got to do.

Maiko spoke good English, which was a huge relief and surprise. Dance was cool, food was good, and the all you can drink alcohol was too much fun.

Very convient pick up/drop off spot! Affordable Maiko experience, we chose this experience over parlor games/tea time because we wouldn’t know what to ask a geisha or if language barrier would be a problem. My sister and I enjoyed the performance very much. When we did it it was a small group and the tour leader was the best. One thing to take note is the experience is probably enhanced if you do speak Japanese or have someone that does so you can compliment the performance or ask the Maiko questions, but we knew this going in. Also the bus tour around town showing shrines and temples isn’t necessarily scenic, but rather a quick pass by of all the places (very easy to miss some spots if you don’t turn around quick enough) , but the view at the top of Osaka is worthwhile