One of five hanamachi, or flower towns as Kyoto's geisha districts are called, Gion has been famous since 1997, when Arthur Golden set his bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha there. Now it's a Hollywood movie.

But what of the modern-day geisha? The man to ask in Gion is the Canadian photographer Peter MacIntosh, who takes geisha-spotting tours around the district.

There is, of course, the tricky question of what exactly a geisha's customers are paying for. "We sell our skills, not our bodies, " states Gion's most famous geisha, Mameha, in the film. MacIntosh is a little more explicit. "They are having sex, " he says. "They're just not being paid for it."

But just as my dream of a white-faced, glossy-quiffed beauty is trampled on, a perfectly made-up geisha shuffles elegantly past with some customers, giggling. Her hair is decorated with flowers, she's cocooned in an exquisite silk kimono and in her hand she carries a delicate parasol. An adult geisha is correctly called a geiko, while a teenage trainee is a maiko. Maikos only become geikos after six years' dedicated study of manners, music and dance. With only two days off a month during that time, it's hard work.

To fast-track the process you can always book in at a geisha dressing-up parlour. At the Kurenai Sakkou studio, for example, MacIntosh's wife (a former geisha) will make you up as a maiko for 210. A cheaper option is to try a kimono-wearing lesson organised by the Women's Association of Kyoto.

There is one thing every budding geishaspotter must try before leaving Kyoto . . .

meeting a maiko. Gion's coquettishly named Only One bar offers a contrived version of the experience for visitors and tonight it's 18-year-old Sonoka's turn to perform a short dance to the pluckings of a three-stringed shamisen. Sweeping her trailing kimono sleeves artfully around the stage, offering just the right glimpse of painted neckline in the process, she looks every inch the coy and docile entertainer.

So, afterwards, when she sits down, laughs raucously and swigs beer like Charlotte Church at closing time, it comes as something of a shock.

What happened to the subservient geisha girl image we've all bought into?

"See this chipped tooth? You wouldn't call my wife subservient, " says MacIntosh.

The facts

Getting there Japan Airlines (www. jal. com), British Airways (www. ba. com), All Nippon Airways (www. anaskyweb. com) and Virgin Atlantic (www. virgin-atlantic. com) all fly to Tokyo direct from London Heathrow. Jaltour, the tour-operating branch of Japan Airlines, offers a five-night 'Memoirs of a Geisha' package, including three nights in Kyoto and two nights in Tokyo from around 1,400 per person (www. jaltour. co. uk).

While you're there A kimono-wearing experience can be organised by the Women's Association of Kyoto. Prices for half-day activities start at around 21 per person (00 81 75 212 9993; www. wakjapan. com).

Peter MacIntosh's walking tours start from 19, or from 275 if they include a teahouse experience (00 81 905 169 1654; www. kyotosightsandnights. com).