How to get a full Kimono experience in Nagasaki

Japan is well known for its amazing traditional attire. One of the most popular pieces is a kimono which roughly translates as "thing to wear". The colourful textiles are usually worn for special occasions such as festivals, weddings or funerals and their complexity can range from five pieces to ten making it sometimes difficult to wear.

As a tourist in Japan, there are numerous opportunities for trying on a kimono, walking around the city and even have a complimentary photo shoot. These experiences are usually set up at the main attraction sites of a city but they are often quite expensive. In big cities, a kimono rental for a couple of hours can reach up to 50 euros per person. As students, this can often be out of our budget and that is why I will tell you about a method of benefiting from the kimono experience for free. 

I learned this trick in Nagasaki but I believe it is easy to replicate in other cities as well. First, we went to one of the largest malls in Nagasaki which is called "Mirai Nagasaki Cocowalk" and there, at the 3rd floor we found this amazing shop called "Furisode MODE wedding box". This store specializes in sophisticated kimonos for weddings or for Coming of Age events which celebrate young people who reached the age of maturity (20 years old). The prices for any kimono piece are out of this world but the best part is that you can have a free try-on and you can choose from an extremely wide variety. This works best for students since they are perceived as looking for the right kimono for their Coming of Age ceremony and do not worry because foreign students are also warmly welcomed to try the pieces on. Unfortunately, this store only specializes in Kimono dresses for women so only girls can try out the attire. 

The experience starts with you choosing which piece you would like to wear and as you can see from the pictures there are a lot. The shop assistants can guide you towards which colours would best match your complexion but for that, you would need a few Japanese language skills. Next, the assistants will invite you to the fitting area. The best way of having a comfortable fitting is to bring light clothes and definitely wear socks because the kimono will be placed over your clothes and if you would like to try the traditional shoes as well your feet need to be covered. The additional parts of the kimono and the supplementary accessories will be chosen by the assistant in order to match the biggest piece of the attire. Soon enough you will feel like a princess but also like you can hardly breathe as the kimono needs to be tight and stable on your body. 

The best part (if you are lucky) the in-built studio will be available and you can take pictures with your friends in an artificial but Japanese-inspired setting. The experience is amazing and we ever did it a couple of times during our stay trying on different colours every time. Sometimes the ladies from the store are very nice and will let you go around the entire mall while wearing the kimono. This one the best way for us to get accustomed to the traditional clothes in a free and welcoming way.