So, sometimes life imitates the movies. There I was a few weeks back living like a condemned man for 48 hours.

I get the assignment from my paper, go to Kyoto and do a geisha story, spend money on expenses they said, hire a maiko girl, drink beers, have fun, cause merriment, your last evening assignment of freedom, because the next morning when you awake, we want you to go further south and report to prison, turn yourself in, report at 11am at the prison gates. Do time. Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect 200 pounds.

Hey, who was I to object ?

You’ve hopefully seen and read the prison article (linked via blog entry below), and now here is the geisha/ maiko article and slideshow.

Suggested listening: The Guardian podcast