The question visitors ask
'Is she real?' is the most common question about a figure in maiko dress on a Kyoto street, and this note exists to say that it is the wrong question. There is no dress code that separates a working maiko from a visitor in costume, and studios are good at what they do. Own hair or wig, one lip or two, a seasonal or an off-season kanzashi: every 'sign' has exceptions, and senior maiko, geiko and costumed visitors can all contradict them. Anyone who inspects a passer-by to decide is doing exactly what the kagai asks visitors not to do.
Time of day is a weak hint, not a test
The official description of a maiko's day puts lessons in the late morning and ozashiki from about six, so full dress at one in the afternoon on a busy street is more often a makeover customer. But public ceremonies, photo sessions and errands happen at other hours. It is a probability, not a verdict, and it changes nothing about how to behave.
Why the confusion is not harmless
When visitors treat every costumed figure as an object to verify, two people lose. The visitor in costume is chased and photographed as if she were on display, which spoils her afternoon; and the working maiko, later, is chased by people who have learned that this is normal. Residents of Gion-machi Minamigawa put up their signs in 2019 and closed their private lanes in 2024 because of the second.
What to check instead
If it matters to you whether a maiko is present, look at the product, not the person. Public performances and Gion Corner are staged by the kagai themselves. Dinners and talks should state whether the performer is an active (geneki) maiko or geiko or a former one; ask if they do not. A makeover studio is a legitimate, often beautifully run business and a genuinely happy memory for many visitors; it simply contains no maiko, and its customers deserve the same courtesy on the street as anyone else.
What we will report
After the September 2026 visit this note will add what the listings we booked actually said, and whether it matched.