Miyakodori
Your Ozashiki Begins Here.
Not a show, but a shared evening.
English interpreter included on every private plan · Since 1950
A Promise
Miyakodori has kept its doors open in historic Asakusa since 1950. The okami who runs it entered this world at fifteen, and has never left it.
“Even now, I do not think I have mastered it. This work — and the language to share it — is a lifetime of training, a lifetime of study.”
— Okami Chikage
When the okami, who has spent a lifetime in this world, speaks of “beautiful play”, it is worth taking her at her word. That is the spirit of an evening here. The geisha who join you that night will pour for you, teach you a game, share the meal and the hours — graceful, unhurried, never merely transactional. For the okami, kirei na asobi is not about knowing every rule. It is about sharing the evening with an open, graceful spirit.
Plans
Three private plans, and one shared 75-minute introduction. An English interpreter is included on every private plan.
2-Hour Signature · Two Geisha
Two geisha as standard. A third (+¥60,000) adds a second dancer, so two can dance together. The games of the tatami room, music and conversation. A kaiseki course can be added.
From ¥45,000 per person · +¥60,000 for a third geisha
3-Hour Full Course
A seasonal kaiseki course served through the evening, at a slower pace. Three geisha as standard; with five (+¥75,000 each) two play and sing while three dance. There is time for conversation, music, games, and stretches where you just sit and talk. For anniversaries, celebrations, or a guest you especially wish to honor.
From ¥106,000 per person · +¥75,000 per additional geisha
1-Hour Private
The briefest private plan — an afternoon in a private room with two geisha, music and a game or two. Additional geisha can be arranged for a fuller hour.
From ¥34,000 per person · +¥65,000 per additional geisha
Final pricing depends on group size and selected options. An English interpreter is included on every private plan.
The 75-minute Tea House is an introductory option — a brief, shared first glimpse, with three geisha, the konpira-fune-fune game, and shared seating. It is bookable instantly. Both feature working geisha from Asakusa. The difference is privacy and time. A private plan is your group only, in your own room, with time to stay after the games are done.
From ¥17,600 per person · 75 minutes, shared seating
Larger parties, corporate evenings, or an occasion that fits no standard plan — tell us what you have in mind.
Each plan can be enriched with additional geisha — 1H +¥65,000 / 2H +¥60,000 / 3H +¥75,000 per geisha. Please ask at booking.
Extensions are available in 60-minute increments per geisha. See the Pricing page for current rates.
An English interpreter is included on private plans.
The Evening
This is one private evening at Miyakodori — told the way it is lived.
You leave your shoes at the entrance and sit down in your private tatami room. A few minutes later, the geisha join you there — not on a stage, but in the same room, just a few feet away.
The jikata draws the first notes from her shamisen and begins to sing — and in the same breath, the tachikata rises and dances. The music and the dance are one performance, side by side, at arm’s length.
You are taught konpira-fune-fune — a tatami-room game played to the song. The loser takes a playful forfeit — and everyone laughs. Lose, and you laugh. Win, and you laugh more. Some guests say the losing is the better half. Between rounds the conversation gets easier. By the end of the game, most guests have stopped worrying about doing it right.
What you have just read is a private evening — the room, the geisha, and the pace, yours alone. The 2-hour Signature is the okami’s recommendation for a first visit; the 3-hour Full Course adds the kaiseki meal and a third geisha.
The geisha who were dancing a moment ago are soon sitting with you for the games.
The People
Born and raised in Asakusa, Chikage entered the geisha world in 1969 and has run Miyakodori as its okami for thirty years. A shihandai (master-instructor) in the Hanayagi school of classical dance — and still, she will tell you, she is studying.
The geisha who join an evening here are independent artists of the Asakusa hanamachi, registered with the local kenban. Miyakodori invites them. Many of them have told us how they came to this life — every one of them by a different path.
Geisha come in two roles — the tachikata, who dances in white makeup and traditional hair, and the jikata, who plays shamisen and sings, with her hair styled in her own way and her face unpainted. Both will be in the room with you.
On rare evenings a taiko-mochi joins them — a male entertainer of the geisha world. Six of them are registered with the Asakusa kenban, and Asakusa is the only hanamachi in Japan where they still work. Meet our taiko-mochi →
Voices
The evenings here are private, but some guests have shared theirs.
“This wasn’t a staged or ‘tourist’ version of geisha culture. This was the real thing — traditional instruments, graceful movement, live singing and dancing. They were true artists.”
— Guest, 2025 · via Google Reviews
“A wonderful way to experience the geisha story, told by practicing geisha ladies and their retired geisha support. The music was played live, the hosts were so kind.”
— Guest, 2025 · via Google Reviews
“I highly recommend this experience. I really wanted to photograph a Geisha and this opportunity fulfilled all my wishes. Photography was allowed all throughout the programme and the Geisha and staff were so welcoming and accommodating. I also learned a great deal about the Geisha lifestyle and culture. Loved every moment!”
— Guest, 2025 · via Google Reviews
A machiai-chaya in Old Asakusa, founded 1950 — privately run by Okami Chikage for thirty years.
The geisha are independent artists of the Asakusa hanamachi, registered with the local kenban.
English interpretation is included on every private plan.
I don’t speak Japanese. Will that be a problem?
No. An English interpreter is included on private plans. Our private plans are built for first-time guests from abroad.
Do I need to know the etiquette beforehand?
Not at all. The geisha and the okami guide you through everything — how to sit, how to play, how to pour. The okami says a “beautiful evening” is not about money or knowing the rules; it is about sharing the time with an open, easy spirit.
Is this a show I watch, or something I take part in?
You take part. You will be taught a game, you will pour and be poured for, you will talk with the geisha.
Can I take photographs?
On private plans, photos and video are welcome at any time (live-streaming is the only exception).
Which plan should I choose?
For a first private experience, the okami recommends the 2-hour Signature. For a kaiseki meal through the evening, the 3-hour Full Course. The 75-minute tea house is shared seating with three geisha; the private plans are your group only, in your own room.
Select your preferred date and plan through our online reservation form. We will reply in English.
You have read the evening. Now plan one of your own — the room, the geisha, and the pace, all yours. You will be inside the ozashiki, not watching it from the outside.
Miyakodori — 3-23-10 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tokyo 111-0032
About a 13-minute walk from Asakusa Station (Ginza Line / Tobu Skytree Line / Tsukuba Express), or 15 minutes from the Toei Asakusa Line — the way passes through the Sensō-ji grounds, and we are three minutes beyond them. About 4 minutes by taxi · View on Google Maps →
Reservations 14:00–20:00 (last reservation) · Closed weekends & holidays
English support available.
