In a coup for the region, Jill Clay and Katie Chaplin have arranged for the public to meet two geisha for the first time. Sarah Foster has her own rather strange encounter with them.

PERHAPS I should have known from the press release that this was not to be the easiest of interviews.

"Geisha are treated as celebrities in Japan, and demand regular days off on full pay, with spending money, " it boldly declares. And yet when I ring to arrange a meeting, I'm slightly thrown by the reply. "There's a photocall on Sunday but they're not doing interviews, " comes the response.

"It's their day off, and they'll be tired from the flight. How about Monday at 5.30?" I agree, as it's the best I'm going to get. I just hope they're worth the effort.

The conversation, with Jill Clay, comes before the big arrival of the two geisha. I say 'big' because for Jill, and her business partner Katie Chaplin, it truly is. It all started last year when, fulfilling a longheld dream, the pair travelled to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Their aim was simple: to meet a geisha, though this was easier said than done.

The high class tea houses where they entertain are strictly controlled, admitting only certain guests. To gain entry, you must be trusted by the geisha 'mother' or have someone vouch for your good name. In Jill and Katie's case, they befriended a local, and the rest, as Jill recalls, is treasured history. "Words can't describe what it was like, " says the 41year-old. "It was the best night of our lives."

I must admit that at this point, I'm starting to get confused. How these two women - both married, and living in sober North Yorkshire - can be so entranced by geisha is a bit beyond me.

When I learn the cost of their evening party - an eye-watering £600 - I'm even more surprised. It seems an awful lot of money for two and a half hours of entertainment, no matter how good it is. Yet Jill is unyielding. "If you want to see the best, you've got to pay the price, " she insists. "It was worth every single penny."

So it is that I arrive at Hambleton Forum, in Northallerton, to meet the geisha for myself. The rendezvous does not begin well. "I'm really sorry but we're running a bit late, " explains Jill. "The girls are having something to eat. Would you mind waiting for half an hour?" I'm less than keen but Jill suggests that in the meantime, she and Peter Macintosh, the geisha's escort, fill me in on their lives.

It's not quite what I had in mind, but it will have to do.

Dressed in what looks like a dressing gown, 35-year-old Peter, a blond Canadian, is winding down with a glass of beer.

Now based in Kyoto, it was he who introduced Jill and Katie to the geisha mother. The current visit by a geiko, or fully fledged geisha, and a maiko, or apprentice, is thanks to him. He explains his involvement with the women. "I run an events company and I'm a geisha customer myself, " he says. "I liaise between geisha and the West. I don't call myself an expert, but there's no one else who knows the world (of geisha) better than I do."

Peter is in the North-East for a Festival of Japan, designed by Jill and Katie to showcase the geisha. Based at Swinton Park, in Masham, it boasts things like kite making and origami, as well as performances by its stars. These comprise traditional geisha arts - the likes of tea ceremonies and dancing - and, one suspects, a large proportion of simply posing in white make-up and elaborate dress.

In any event, the whole thing has certainly caught on. I'm introduced to Kati, a young participant. What's pretty staggering is that she's come from Seattle, in the USA, for the sole purpose of seeing the geisha. "I've loved them ever since I read Memoirs of a Geisha, " she fondly recalls.

Perhaps noting my look of bafflement, Peter expounds on their allure. "For me, a geisha is like a flight attendant, a waitress and a prima ballerina all in one, " he says. "A flight attendant makes the customer feel relaxed and comfortable, a waitress gives you good service with a smile and a prima ballerina shows you perfection." As a frequent customer, Peter is an ideal advert, but what exactly draws him to these women - beyond the prospect of a good night out? "For me, being a foreigner and owning a bar, and being a businessman, I have to hire geisha, " he says simply. "If I'm with a geisha, people know it's not my girlfriend and even if it is, it doesn't matter. They can be used as business tools. Let's say you're a businessman and you want to impress some clients. You bring them to a geisha show and some beautiful geisha entertain them. That's how you impress them."

ICAN understand the status thing - that consorting with attractive, high priced women can only boost your image - but it can't be just this. I suggest that sex must be involved, and Peter starts off denying this. "They've never ever been prostitutes, " he says. "It's not a sexual thing but to say that they don't fall in love would be insane. I don't think Western men are mature enough to pay hundreds of dollars and not expect to be repaid for that. I think that's the wonderful thing about geisha and Japanese culture. If you wanted to get lucky, you wouldn't hire a geisha." Surely he's not trying to tell me that there's no attraction. "To say that I've never flirted would be a lie, " he admits.

While all this might be fine if he were single, I'm slightly perturbed when Peter tells me he has a wife - who's also a geisha. Doesn't she mind his night time visits? He makes it sound like every man's dream. "If my wife and I are going to the theatre, I hire a geisha to come with us, " he says. "It's not an entertainment just for men - women hire geisha all the time these days." A recent booking involved Peter taking Fumiyu and Miehina, his current charges, to see the film Memoirs of a Geisha. I'm keen to hear their reaction. "They said first of all 'that's not our world', " he says. "They said the cinematography and effects were wonderful but that the kimono was on the wrong way. The geisha (Fumiyu) said she was disappointed about how the geisha behaved in the movie. She said they were not classy. She said 'that's why people hire us, because we're classy'."

Peter gives me a brief rundown on his two companions. Miehina, the apprentice, is 18 and lives in a geisha house, while Fumiyu, 39, is independent. They're both from the Miyagawa-cho district of Kyoto and are among about 1,000 true geisha left in Japan. When I ask about their backgrounds, things become sketchy. "The only things we know about them (geisha in general) are their name and their age, " says Jill. "We wouldn't know where they were born or anything about their family."

And then the moment arrives. I'm finally to meet the hallowed geisha - but by now, my allotted time has shrunk to a mere ten minutes. Perhaps because of the huge build-up, or because I've waited nearly an hour, I'm distinctly underwhelmed. Miehina, with her chalk-white face and silk-robed body, seems nice enough, and Fumiyu perfectly pleasant, but neither blows me away. I've been expecting magic - an air of mystery and great charisma - and what I get, or so it seems to me, are two shy women in Japanese dress.

I ask some questions and receive perfunctory replies: "Has Fumiyu ever had a bad experience?" "She tries to forget them." "Will she demonstrate her craft?"

"She only does so for paying customers."

Eventually, I give up. I'm sure the geisha have much to tell, but to me, a mere journalist, their painted lips remain closed.

Perhaps their secrets, like their fascination, are things I simply wouldn't understand.

The Festival of Japan runs at Swinton Park until tonight (thur). For more details, ring Jill and Katie's company, Geisha Events, on 07871 486011.