One after another, they round the corner and shuffle into the room swiftly and quietly, only creating the slightest of sound as their tiny steps meet the tatami mat. The moment they enter, the atmosphere changes; their presence raises hairs on arms, and everyone immediately goes quiet, in awe of the beauty that has just arrived. On this particular evening, we are honored with the presence of two geiko and one maiko.

In Kyoto dialect, geisha are referred to as geiko (gei means “art” while sha translates to “person” and ko to “child”) or maiko. The former must be older than 20 while the latter is between the ages of 15 and 20. Some even go through the stage of shikomi for about six months to a year prior to ascending to maiko status, in which training begins only after completing junior high school. There are five hanamachi or kagai (geisha districts) in the Ancient City—Gion Kobu (the largest), Miyagawa-chō, Ponto-chō, Kamishichiken (the oldest), and Gion Higashi. These are home to what is currently estimated to be around 73 maiko, 186 geiko, and 132 ochaya (teahouses used for entertainment by geisha), according to the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation. To clear the air before we dive in a little deeper, the misconception that geishas are the equivalent to prostitutes should be immediately thrown out. When the culture first came into existence in the Edo period, women in “pleasure quarters” called themselves geishas, but those behaviors are no longer practiced—this includes the concept of selling one’s virginity for a maiko’s mizuage ceremony.

Traditionally, one is unable to enter an ochaya to be entertained by geiko or maiko unless an existing client has referred them and they’ve built up a rapport with the okaasan (meaning “mother,” but which also refers to the owner of an ochaya or okiya, a lodging house for geisha). It was previously unheard of for foreigners to enter an ochaya unaccompanied, but due to economic difficulties some establishments have loosened their restrictions for the sake of keeping their business alive.

If you’ve ever had friends travel to Japan, you’ve probably heard their laments of how impossible it was to secure dinner reservations at sought-after restaurants. So imagine trying to break into the guarded, secret society of geiko. A mystery to even the Japanese, here, the ultimate form of currency is not how much you have, but rather who you know, and making the acquaintance of an ochaya patron is like hitting the jackpot. Lucky for me, I was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, a property that’s just as breathtaking as it is connected. The staff eventually put me in touch with Kenji Sawada, the CEO of Exclusive Kyoto, who is a patron of Man and visits ochaya three to four times a month in the summer and winter and two to three times a week during spring and fall.