My Best Shot: Kyoto, Japan

EVERYONE wants to see a Geiko when they go to the Gion district in Kyoto. Our tour guide was explaining that it’d be unlikely we’d see any because they work at night. But then, one stepped out from a teahouse.

We all turned.

She was dressed in her beautiful kimono with her full white face, red bow lips and set against the traditional wooden teahouse, it was a great picture. She gave us about a minute to take our photos before she stepped back while she waited for a taxi.

I like this shot, because it’s an unguarded moment where she thinks she’s hidden. This turns it from a portrait of a confident geisha to shy young woman.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BenKpI2gEw7/

Natalie Chalk

Natalie Chalk is a journalist and travel writer who has worked on the news desks of the MailOnline and the Daily Express. She has also contributed articles to The Mail on Sunday, Guardian, Daily Express, Sunday Mirror, Women’s Health, TNT Magazine, Wanderlust, Daily Star, Touring Bird, Travel Bulletin and others. In 2017, chalkmarks.co.uk was named a Top 10 UK Travel Blogger and in 2018 Natalie won The Sunday Times Big Shot Competition. She has lived in Peru, Nigeria and Portugal and recently returned to London after travelling the world for 14 months, visiting 50 cities.