Japan Blog 2 - Kimono in Kyoto
Hey Kitten
Feathers.
Welcome back
to my blog. Well, as promised, over the next few weeks I will be bringing you
the blogs about my Japan trip! I was going to do these in chronological order,
but I think it’ll be more fun to share with you in a different more Sarah-like
way!
I’ve always
wanted to get dressed and go exploring a Japanese city in a kimono, but I didn’t
exactly think I could, being plus-size, tall and busty. As many of you know,
shopping for garments of these natures in Australia can be bad enough, let
alone trying to rent an elaborate outfit in a country where you don’t speak the
language would be even harder. However, with some encouragement and a fair bit
of research, I was able to find a book with a company that could help me with
this little dream.
This of
course meant that whilst we were in Kyoto going to have one of the most amazing
experiences I could have imagined; getting to walk temples, shrines and Gion in
a kimono.
The shop I
rented in was located in the Higashiyama District leading up to the Kiyomizudera
Temple, which is on the way up a wonderfully steep hill! The whole area is
wonderfully persevered with heritage buildings and just an amazing place to
explore (and find ramune flavoured ice cream!). Even with all that, once you
are in the Higashiyama area, the Okamato store is rather easy to locate.
Now let me actually
run you all through how my whole experience worked from start to finish:
Firstly, I
did a lot of research; there are literally hundreds of kimono rental stores in
Kyoto, but I had to keep in mind that not all would cater to my body type. Remember,
much like here in the “western world”, Japan has its own ideal body shapes and
types, which can sometimes mean you may find that not all things in your normal
size will fit as the sizing is different. Also, even if you are reasonably
normal size-wise, height and bust size may change what you need to consider
when looking at kimonos. With me, even if I wasn’t so tall, I would still need
a plus-size kimono because of my bust. Don’t think badly of yourself for this, I
noticed while in Japan that even the more plus-sized girls tended to be more petite
in nature.
So after all
my research I found Okamoto (and best of all; the website has an English version). After browsing through
Okamoto’s website and reviews, I decided their approach to the experience of wearing
a kimono was the right fit for me. With their extensive list of plans it can
seem a bit overwhelming. However, after I browsed through their rental plans
about five times, I finally settled on the Special Size Plan as this plan caters to four groups; tall, plus size, tall & plus size and extra
small.
Okamato also
offers a hair service with the kimono rental which I chose to take up. All-up
the experience cost me ¥5,940 incl. tax (around $65.00 AUD) which is really
competitive in my opinion (kimono plan had a cost of ¥5,000 + tax, and hairstyling for ¥500
+ tax.) So having decided this, I picked one of the four days we were in
Kyoto and followed the website’s instructions to book. Easy peasy! :D
Let’s fast
forward to the day of the rental (there will be other blog about everything
that happened before and after this). On the morning of, I got up as usual and
did my make up so I looked something like this:
Unfortunately, I couldn’t film or take photographs in the shop, but
I will try and explain the experience as best I can. J Then, we made our
way across town by Kyoto City bus (which is another interesting blog…) and
walked up to the Kiyomuzudera Okamato shop. I had booked my appointment for 9am
when they opened… I learnt that this meant it would be very busy, with people
who had and did not have bookings, but because I was by myself I got through
faster, and it was good getting to have my Kimono on all day!
Once I got
to the door, it was like entering an actual Japanese house, so yes the shoes
came off, but they gave me a bag to keep them in. And one of the lovely shop assistants
took me through choosing all the parts of my Kimono. There are several items
you select are: the kimono, obi, Nagajuban, obi cord and bag
(this website is really helpful for explaining what all the layers of a kimono
are: https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/kimono-layers
After choosing all my items, I was taken into a change room given
my tabi socks and under-dress (which was kind of like a cotton night gown) and
told to change into them. As a side-note, it was quite chilly in Kyoto that day
so I left my singlet top and leggings on under the under dress to help keep me
a little warmer. Once changed, two kimono dressers got to work, now there were a
lot of steps and some very fast moving dressers so, I couldn’t really explain
how kitsuke (or kimono dressing) works, but I found this amazingly helpful playlist
that will explain what goes on: https://youtu.be/w4YqYG5ee1M
Dressing seemed to fly by and after about 20 minutes I was in a
seat waiting to have my hair done. As this shop specialises in having people
come in for dressing in kimono, Okamato have a set list of hair styles to
choose from for each hair length (although limited, they are all very pretty
and I highly recommend doing this with your package if you decide to try; for
the extra 20 minutes in getting ready it is well worth it plus there are
hundreds of hair ornaments to choose from and add to your look). So, after about 50 minutes I headed out from
the dressing room and got to choose my zori sandals as I was walking out the
door. These are cute and traditional shoes that look amazing with the kimono.
Well at this point I should make a note, that Okamato has a bag
that is part of the fee; I was able to leave all belongings there safely. So my
shoes, clothes and empty handbag stayed at the shop and I was free to wander
around free of any heavy burdens for the day.
After locating my partner, we headed off into the wilderness… Well,
not really. But, we explored all around Kiyomizudera Temple, went into
Gion, found an Owl and Bengal cat café, checked out the Kyoto Pokémon Centre,
visited Yasaka Shrine and had lunch at an amazingly cute udon noodle restaurant
(I will tell you all about the Shrines and temples in another blog).
Getting
dressed in this amazing kimono made me feel really beautiful; on the days I’ve
lacked self-confidence I look back at some of the pictures and feel really
good, not only about the combination I chose (which I hope looks as good as I
think it did) but also the comments from random strangers about me looking
pretty on that day. I know it sounds strange, but this experience was a real
passion-igniter for me and I hope to share this though my photographs (which my
partner too so many of; he is just amazing like that).
{Insert photographs here}
{Insert photographs here}
So when I
was ready to finish up in the kimono (it was about 4.00pm in Winter and I was
starting to feel the cold… Yes, even with all those layers). So, we wandered our way back up to the shop I
rented from. When we arrived, I was given my photoshoot items from the morning
and once back inside I was given my bag of belongings. Then, I was whisked away
back upstairs for another round of help to get changed. But this was not
rushed, once the staff have helped removed my hair ornaments, tied down layers
of kimono and obi, I was left at my own leisurely pace to remove the remaining
items, change back into my own clothes and swap my handbag over.
I am really
glad I chose to do this experience on my trip; looking back I would have really
regretted not doing it. Knowing that there are shops that cater to the less-petite
of us really made me feel like trying more experiences like this. The kimono
rental with Okamato was really easy, the staff really helpful (even if language
was sometimes a barrier), the overall selection was huge and beautiful and best
of all they made the experience fun. I
can wholeheartedly recommend this experience to anyone. Do try it if you have
the opportunity; it was an amazing body-positive thing to do and it has opened
me up to trying more things like this. Who I am shouldn’t stop me, and it shouldn’t
stop you!
WOW! I think
this might be my longest blog yet. But,
I love sharing with you all and I really hope you all enjoy reading about my
adventures. This kimono day was a really great day and sitting down to write
about it really has made me smile. Be sure to ask me any questions you’d like
to have answered, I always love hearing from you.
Thank you
for stopping by to read today, your support means everything to me! As always,
stay Kawaii and I’ll catch you next time.
Love
Miss
Nightfeathers xoxo
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Coming Soon xoxo
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