着(ki)- means to wear 物(mono)- a thing. Kimono translates literally into something to wear. And guess what, I got to wear one!! I do not claim to be an expert on kimono but I would love to become one! The kimono is the traditional clothing in Japan and while most people now wear silly western clothes, I have still seen many women and even some men wearing kimono in and around Tokyo in the past two months. Kimono, as far as I know, are still commonly hand-made fabrics some with extremely rich and beautiful fabric and exquisite designs. Therefore kimono are also very expensive.
Another style of kimono is a yukata. This is a much thinner clothing article worn in summer to help keep cool and in most onsen areas (but NOT in the onsen, but I guess I will be getting to that in my next post). This may be the variety of kimono that I end up buying for myself due to being a much lower price. So if I do, you will get pictures of it when I do so. For now, here are group shots of Cincinnati students wearing kimono (not all are pictured at any given time).
I know there are other varieties, but I do not know enough about them to share here. The kimono I wore was what I believe to be a typical one and had MANY layers. It probably took about 15 minutes for a professional to dress me in it and then I also needed help getting out of the kimono afterwards (due to the number of belts tied around my waist).
The guys in the pictures here were in what we were told are typically wedding kimono for men. The next two slideshows are photoboming small group photos and candids thanks to Tamura-senpai, respectively.
After donning kimono and taking them off, the group headed back to Shibuya station where most students headed home but Anthony and I decided to go wander around Shinjuku a bit because we were so close. While there we went up in the Metropolitan Building. This is one of the only or the only free place to be high in a building and look out over Tokyo. We were very fortunate and made it up in time to catch Mount Fuji in the sunset.
Afterwards we walked through a few department stores and markets before calling it a night. See pictures below.
Afterwards we walked through a few department stores and markets before calling it a night. See pictures below.