Dozens of young residents of Mukojima, a traditional Tokyo geisha district, have been gearing up to entertain tourists from around the world ahead of the official May 22 opening of Tokyo Sky Tree, the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower.
The 634-meter tower is located near the Mukojima district in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, which is famous for its exclusive Japanese-style restaurants, entertainment, and of course geishas. Sixteen high-end restaurants and about 100 geishas comprise the district, and they traditionally serve only regular customers and their guests. Young Mukojima residents, however, are trying to change that, opening the cloistered world of geisha entertainments to a wider range of customers.
Hiroyuki Okuma, 47, who heads the youth division of the neighborhood assembly, was asked by a friend from a neighboring assembly in July 2007 to join a team project to revitalize Mukojima and promote local tourism on the occasion of the opening of Tokyo Sky Tree. The project team consists of about 30 people in their 30s and 40s from the Mukojima district and the geisha world. Okuma happily accepted the offer and joined the project team as vice chairman, saying, "I want to return the favors given to me by this community where I was born and raised." He became chairman of the project in June last year.
Since childhood, Okuma has seen kimono-clad geishas and big black cars driving right up to the fancy Japanese restaurants. But he has never been to those restaurants himself. "They are close to me but at the same time they are very far away," he said.
The project team meets once a month with representatives of the neighborhood assembly and the restaurants to exchange views and plot policy. The group has already held geisha performances for non-regular customers, and published and distributed a quarterly newspaper to introduce local events to local households. It has also made sign boards to explain the history of "hidden" tourist spots in the district.
While working for the project team, Okuma has been impressed with the way the people from the geisha world skillfully entertain customers. "They even greeted a customer who forgot their ticket to a performance with smiles on their faces. They truly are professional entertainers.
"There are arguments both for and against Tokyo Sky Tree in the local community," Okuma continued. "But it is true that the residents here came to know of the world of geisha thanks to Sky Tree. If the number of tourists is definitely going to increase, we want to show them the traditional culture of Mukojima and offer them warm hospitality," he said.
