Rainy Day, Kyoto, Japan, 2010

Added 1535046581 by Dave Rudin.

Hanamikoji-dori (Hanamikoji Street) may be my favorite street in Japan. Located in the Gion district of Kyoto, both the roadway and the sidewalk are paved with stones as you see here, and it is lined with traditional tea houses where (as I was told) men go to drink more than just tea. ;-) These are also the places where "geiko" (the word used for "geisha" in Kyoto) and "maiko" (junior geikos) go to work as entertainers (dancing, singing, telling stories - they are not prostitutes as some may believe), so it is a very good place to go looking to see them as they make their way around, dressed in their traditional outfits. The women pictured here on this rainy day are not geikos or maikos, but they are wearing the traditional Japanese kimono.