Wearing Kimono in Japan is a Must
One of the reasons why we love to travel is to be able to experience and to understand one's society and their culture. This was our very first time to go to Japan. We knew we would love it, and we really love it. Everything there was literally amazing.
The first thing that came across to us was to experience wearing a kimono while we were in Japan. This could be an alternative way to experience their culture in a "traditional" way. The kimono we rented this time was so gorgeous and we just couldn't wait to try it on. We realised that we felt desperately regretted from what we had just thought...
The Differences between Kimono and Yukata
Let us tell you something if you are not sure about the differences between a yukata and a kimono. The one huge difference is a yukata is more casual and a lot lighter than a kimono which is specially made for summer and will only be available in summertime; while a kimono is a very glamorous traditional clothing which is more like a formal dress... basically the fabrics and materials are a lot thicker and heavier which it's not recommended for you to wear it in summertime; it could be a complete torture to yourself if you do so.
We rented a kimono each from Rental Kimono Okamoto, opens from 10am to 7pm. Our plan was to walk around Kyoto with our kimono outfit. However, it was boiling hot in summer and we literally wanted to take it off once we wore it on...
Read More: Yukata Experience in Osaka
Travelling around Kyoto in a Kimono
We finally managed to walk around in kimono and see loads of beautiful things in Kyoto. We went to Kiyomizu-dera but we didn't stay long as it was under construction. So we then moved to Sannen-zaka where we found lots of souvenir shops. It was full of people; the street was quite steep and we found it very difficult to walk, especially to all of us who were wearing those traditional Japanese wooden flip flops...
Other Japanese Cultural Experiences
Fushimi-Inari is only few metro stops away from the Kiyomizu-dera temple. Another way of experiencing Japanese culture is to visit their temples. Washing hands at the Purification Fountain before getting into the temple is definitely one of the experiences that you should do while you are in Japan.
And the best thing of the day was visiting the Senbon-Torii, here we called it a red wooden tunnels, which was the only way we went back to the kimono rental company to have the kimono returned...