Kimono Rental in Kyoto: The Full Experience

Renting a kimono and a professional photographer in Kyoto for the afternoon? Totally worth it. Florentyna Leow explains what to expect when you try on a kimono and take photos with a pro photographer in Kyoto’s streets.

If you’re travelling to Kyoto for the first time, you might be thinking about what it’s like to wear a kimono, or how you might look in one. Strolling around the streets of Kyoto dressed in gorgeously patterned silk from head to toe while visiting beautiful temples — it’s a dreamy, picture-perfect way to spend an afternoon in the city.

Fortunately, there’s no need to buy before you try. Renting a kimono for the day is an ideal way to experience what it‘s like to wear one without having to commit to owning all the accessories and under-garments that kimono-wearing entails.

Here’s our in-depth review on the kimono rental experience in Kyoto, and how you can book one on your next visit to Japan. We tried this out in early November with our friend J, who volunteered her time for this activity. Spoiler: It was really fun! You can purchase this experience on Klook.

You can also find similar Kyoto kimono rentals and photo shoots on Get Your Guide. As always, be sure to read the offer carefully and browse through previous customer reviews to get a sense of what to expect from the experience.

Why Rent a Kimono?

Why bother renting a kimono, you might think, when secondhand ones are so inexpensive? The answer is that even putting on a kimono is a complicated affair. Back when kimono used to be daily wear for the regular Japanese person, everyone knew how to dress themselves correctly in one, from the under-garments to the obi (sash). That’s not the case now. These days, even people who choose to wear kimono regularly are likely to have attended a few kitsuke (kimono-dressing) classes.

In other words, you’re going to need help if you want to wear a kimono properly. With a rental service, someone will help you put one on the right way — layers and all — and make sure you look good at the end of it. You also get to choose from a wide variety of colours and patterns.

Some of you, especially if you’re based in North America, might wonder whether wearing kimono constitutes cultural appropriation. We’re not going to speculate on circumstances where people might choose to wear kimono in Western contexts — that’s a whole other debate altogether — but the fact of the matter is that most Japanese people in Japan appreciate foreigners trying on kimono. Indeed, the word “kimono” literally means “thing to wear.” If you’re travelling to Kyoto and paying someone local to help you choose, style, and wear one the correct way, we’d consider that cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation.

Okay, but Why Add On the Photography Service?

Besides booking the standard One Day Kimono Rental experience along with hairstyling, we also decided to add on a photo shoot where a professional photographer takes photographs of you for a few hours. It’s entirely optional, obviously, but we found it a worthwhile addition to the whole experience.

If you happen to be photogenic, comfortable with cameras, or lucky enough to have an Instagram Boyfriend (or partner) take photos of you in kimono, more power to you. For the rest of us mere mortals who aren’t great at photography, having someone who knows what they’re doing with a camera is a real investment in creating beautiful memories of the day.

With this photo service, a professional photographer takes you around an area like Higashiyama or Arashiyama and takes beautiful shots of you. They know where to go for the best images, and can also tell you how to pose and where to stand. How often will you wear a kimono in your life? It’s a cliche, but the memories and photographs you’ll get really are priceless.

Things to Know Before You Go

• To book the kimono photo shoot, you must first book the one-day kimono rental experience — you can’t just book their photographer! See links below.
• Makeup services are not included. Put on your own makeup before going, or bring your own.
• Don’t smoke or wear strong perfumes on the day, as silk kimono tend to pick up strong odours very easily. You’ll be fined ¥11,000.
• Transportation costs aren’t included in the photo service. For example, if you choose the Higashiyama course, you will have to cover the taxi fare for yourself and the photographer, from the kimono studio in Gojo to Higashiyama. Make sure you include room in your budget for this.
• On the day before the experience, Klook will send you an email with information about the start time and directions to the studio.
• The staff are kept quite busy — especially the one English-speaking member of staff who has to interpret for everyone — so a little patience goes a long way. They are generally very friendly, though!
• Booking through Klook is useful for those with changeable plans: if for whatever reason you want to cancel the kimono rental experience, you’ll receive a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours beforehand. However, there are no refunds or amendments for late arrivals or no-shows.

The Actual Experience

The kimono rental experience is — unsurprisingly — popular with visitors to Kyoto, and it’s a well-oiled operation from start to finish. It almost feels like an assembly line from the moment you walk into the studio. Once you take off your shoes and check in with the staff, you’re whisked from one designated area to another, and before you know it, you’re fully dressed and ready to go.

First, J chose her kimono and an obi (sash) to match. The studio has over 500 different kimono to choose from — racks upon racks of all colours and patterns. Think seasonal motifs like cherry blossoms and maple leaves; hues from electric blue to sober lavender; some even feature teacups and fish.

The staff member helping us that day was happy to recommend something if we insisted, but she assured us that anything our hearts fancied was fine. Anything? Anything, she said, except pairing red and green. We didn’t want to look like a Christmas tree, did we? We did? Well, she couldn’t really recommend it. Were we sure?

After some thought, J decided not to go for a Christmassy look, and chose a vivid red kimono paired with a greenish-yellow and silvery-white obi with geometric patterns. We were then led to the dressing room, where another staff member dressed J with an almost alarming efficiency, helping her into under-robes, layering and tying a seemingly endless array of pads and fabric strips around her torso to secure these garments in place.

After this, we went back down to the first floor (via yet another elevator at the back of the building) to do J’s hair. The hairstylists are kind and efficient; all you have to do is pick one of the eight styles in the photo book as well as an accessory. and they’ll recreate it for you.

After her hair had been swept up, bobby pinned, and hairsprayed into place, J was directed to choose a handbag and a pair of geta to match. We left our bags with the staff, who stored them in the studio for the duration of our outing.

Our photographer for the afternoon was Mr. O, a local resident who was originally from Slovakia. He’d lived in Kyoto for over a decade now, and was a wedding photographer by trade. He was friendly, easygoing, and professional, and the afternoon with him flew by. You’re not guaranteed to get the same photographer, but by all accounts, they’re generally good at what they do.

We spent a few hours walking around the Higashiyama with Mr. O. He would direct J to stand in front of specific walls or buildings, adjusting the way she posed or held the umbrella, with a lot of attention paid to mid-afternoon sunlight and shadows.

There are certain areas with traditional buildings where laypeople aren’t allowed to take photographs; however, as a local professional photographer, he held a special license from Kyoto City which gave him permission to freely photograph in these areas.

This being the Higashiyama area, unintentional photobombing from other visitors was unavoidable, but Mr. O made the best of the situation, and ended up capturing some truly lovely photographs of J.

We spent around an hour with him walking around the area before heading back to the studio in a taxi. The staff then directed us to the dressing area on the second floor, where J was efficiently divested of the kimono and its various accoutrements, and back in her regular clothes.

One week later, the staff at the studio sent us a link to an online album. You receive all images taken during the shoot. That’s anywhere from 200 to 300 high-resolution photographs. Not every single photo provided will be perfect, which we thought was fine for the service. Most were decent, with a few great ones that you see here in this post.

We had a great time with J, and the photographs are now a permanent memento of our afternoon out in Kyoto. If you’ve ever wondered about what it would be like to wear a kimono, we’d definitely suggest renting one.

Kimono Rental and Photo Shoot Service

Admission:
One Day Kimono Rental from ¥4,000: purchase online
Kimono Photo Shoot in Kyoto from ¥20,000, per person: purchase online

Nearest Hotels:
:: Check availability and pricing for hotels near to Kyoto Kimono Rental Yumeyakata Gojo on Booking.com or Agoda.com.

Telephone: 
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Website: Klook

Near To Here:
Kyoto Kimono Rental Yumeyakata Gojo is located in Kyoto’s Southern Higashiyama district. See our complete list of things to do in Southern Higashiyama, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.

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