Walking through Kyoto’s historic Gion district feels exactly like stepping out of a time machine. The beautifully preserved wooden machiya townhouses, narrow stone-paved lanes, and softly glowing paper lanterns transport you straight back into the romantic Edo period. This neighborhood is the historic heart of the Karyukai (the flower and willow world), where Geiko (Kyoto's fully licensed geisha) and Maiko (apprentice geisha) continue to preserve and practice century-old trad