Asakusa Miyakodori · Est. 1950
For more than seven decades, Asakusa Miyakodori has hosted the ozashiki — a private geisha banquet in a traditional tatami room.
Asakusa Miyakodori is a third-generation machiai-chaya (geisha teahouse) founded in 1950 — the only one in Asakusa. No introduction is needed.
Last updated September 25, 2026
Okami Chikage — proprietress and former geisha, Asakusa Miyakodori.
Miyakodori’s Proprietress
Born and raised in Asakusa, Chikage grew up surrounded by the performing arts. Her grandfather was a shinpa actor — performing in the modern theatrical tradition that took shape in late-19th-century Japan as a counterpart to classical kabuki. Her mother was a geisha. She grew up surrounded by the world she now leads.
Began training in classical Japanese dance and kiyomoto chant on the sixth day of the sixth month of her sixth year (counted age — actual age five). This day, roku-no-roku-gatsu-muika, has been considered the auspicious moment for beginning the arts since the Edo period — believed to bring lasting commitment and skill. Drums and percussion (narimono) were added by elementary school second grade.
Entered the hanamachi as a hangyoku (young geisha) — already a geisha, though still in training. She spent three and a half years as a hangyoku before her ippon-hirome.
By her hangyoku years she was practicing five to six disciplines daily — classical dance, narimono (drums), tea ceremony (the three essentials), plus nagauta shamisen, kiyomoto chant, and kouta singing.
Advanced to full geisha (ippon) through the ippon-hirome ceremony. Across a geisha career spanning twenty-seven years, she performed Japanese classical dance (nihon buyo) at major stages including the Kabukiza Theatre, the National Theatre’s Large and Small Halls, and the Meijiza Theatre — appearances earned through years of rigorous training.
Became okami (proprietress) of Miyakodori — the machiai-chaya teahouse where Asakusa geisha are welcomed for each ozashiki. Alongside her work as proprietress, she has personally supported and encouraged younger geisha, several of whom are active in Asakusa today.
Her work in the arts now spans more than five decades, beginning with her debut in 1969. She continues to run Miyakodori as proprietress and to guide working geisha in passing on the tradition.
Today, Chikage holds a shihandai — a master instructor’s license — in the Hanayagi school of classical Japanese dance, the central school of Asakusa hanamachi.
She is also recognized as a master of nihongami makeup — the traditional art of styling and painting the face for the classical Japanese hairstyle, including techniques like mitsu-eri (the painted nape that defines a geisha’s silhouette).
Chikage spent 27 years working as a geisha before becoming okami at 42.
“I want Miyakodori to be a place where guests and hosts truly find each other — a house that people remember with longing.”
— Okami Chikage, Proprietress
Her Philosophy
Two principles Chikage works by.
01
Chikage’s approach to traditional makeup is one of restraint. She does not add fashionable elements like false eyelashes or contemporary eye makeup. Instead, she preserves the minimal, deliberate aesthetic that complements nihongami hair and kimono — finding beauty through what is taken away.
02
After more than fifty years in the geisha world, Chikage still describes her work as a lifetime of study. “This work and English are both a lifetime of study.”
The Working Geisha
The okami runs the house, where the geisha perform. Three working geisha at Miyakodori explain why they became geisha and why they continue this work.
Komaaki
Jikata — Shamisen and Vocals
“As a child I admired the maiko of Kyoto, but I didn’t know Tokyo had a geisha world of its own. One day, on a Tokyo street, I happened to see geisha walking in their formal black kuro-no-de. That was the moment I realized this world existed here too — and that I wanted in.”
Chino
Geisha
“People often imagine the training is hard. For me, it wasn’t. I had wanted this since I watched the older girls dance at our preschool recital. When the chance came at eighteen, the seed I had carried for years just opened. There was so much to learn, but I never felt it as a burden — I had wanted it for too long.”
Chizuru
Geisha
“What stays with me are the guests who have supported me from my very first days — the ones who chose me as their o-hiki, their preferred geisha, before I had any reputation to offer. I practice every day hoping they will look back and feel: I’m glad I cheered for this one.”
Our Philosophy
Once, to sit with geisha required a personal introduction from an existing patron — a tradition that kept this world closed for centuries. Most people in Japan have never attended an ozashiki (geisha banquet). For most of the world, the very possibility was unimaginable. That is the world Miyakodori was born into, and for decades it operated by the same rules.
But the hanamachi — the flower districts where geisha culture lives — had changed. Fewer geisha were active in Asakusa than in earlier decades, and many of the intimate teahouses that once lined the neighbourhood were no longer in operation. The okami believed that a culture kept closed to newcomers would be far harder to carry forward into the next generation.
Chikage decided to accept reservations without a personal introduction so she could welcome newcomers without turning the ozashiki into a spectacle. International visitors could then book directly with Miyakodori, without an introduction or an intermediary.
Today, Miyakodori opens that world to international guests — with direct reservations, English support, and no personal introduction required.
Traditional sunken-table seating. Table-and-chair rooms are also available for your comfort.
Press
In August 2026, Australia’s national broadcaster filmed an ozashiki at Miyakodori.
“The Geisha of Tokyo” — broadcast 4 August 2026. The programme filmed an evening at our machiai-chaya, where three geisha performed dance and shamisen and played Konpira Fune Fune with guests who had travelled from Mexico, Germany, Singapore, Australia and the United States. Programme and full transcript
“Inside the closed world of Japan’s geisha” — 8 August 2026. What the reporting singled out about Miyakodori is what this page describes: reservations taken without an introduction, taken online, with an English interpreter in the room. Read the article
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Direct online booking · No introduction required
Key facts
Only at Miyakodori
Six things worth knowing before you book.
Every geisha at Miyakodori is a professionally trained artist registered with the Asakusa geisha guild. In recent years, tourist-oriented “geisha experiences” performed by costumed entertainers have multiplied in Asakusa. At Miyakodori, you sit with real geisha who have trained for years in dance, music, and the art of hospitality.
As a machiai-chaya (geisha teahouse), Miyakodori sources cuisine from trusted partner restaurants in Asakusa. With advance notice, this allows us to accommodate many dietary needs, including vegan, halal, and gluten-free requests.
Miyakodori can arrange a taiko-mochi — a rare traditional entertainer skilled in wit, improvisation, and comic art, preserved within Asakusa’s Hakuyu-kai association. Six hōkan are currently registered with the Asakusa kenban.
An English-speaking interpreter is seated with you throughout the evening, helping you understand the performances, ask questions, and speak naturally with the geisha. Every plan includes this service — no request necessary.
Traditionally, attending an ozashiki required a personal introduction from an existing patron. Miyakodori is among the very few places in Asakusa where international visitors can book directly online — no connections, no intermediary needed.
Photography and video are welcome throughout the evening, including the dance, games, and final photo session. The geisha and staff are welcoming and accommodating throughout. These are memories worth keeping.
Our Heritage
The two theatres pictured here are stages where Okami Chikage danced during her years as a geisha.
She performed Japanese classical dance at the Kabukiza Theatre, the National Theatre, and the Meijiza Theatre during her years as a geisha.
Guest Voices
From Google Reviews — guests who attended an ozashiki at Miyakodori.
“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. Highly recommend.”
“This wasn’t a staged or ‘tourist’ version of geisha culture. This was the real thing. … They were true artists!”
“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.”
“An incredible experience of Japanese culture. My wife and I agree that it is something we will never, ever forget.”
Next: what actually happens during an evening here.
Asakusa Miyakodori · Private Geisha Experience
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