My Kimono Experience

I love seeing people in kimono. This traditional Japanese garment is elegant, feminine and pretty. So while planning my Japan trip, I decided that I must have this once in a lifetime experience of wearing a kimono.  

After much research on the internet, I settle on renting kimono from Sakura Photo Studio in Asakusa. The place is located less than 5 minutes walking distance away from Sensō-ji which is great as I am able to visit the shrine in the kimono. Also, the price they offered is the cheapest I could find. 

The shop is actually a small room located on the 3^rd floor of the building. The lady owner is very nice and sweet. She is able to speak Japanese, Korean, English and some Mandarin so communication is not a problem there. There is a lot of certificated displaying in the room and she explained that those are from the kimono courses she took. She is really quick and efficient. I got dressed in kimono and my hair styled within 45 minutes.

She did explain what was she doing on every steps but I couldn’t remember anything by now. With the help of this wikihow, I can roughly explain what was going on. 

After putting on a pair of white tabi socks, I was dressed in juban which are the “kimono underwear”. It has a white cotton shirt, a skirt and another outer shirt with white collar.

I was wearing Uniqlo’s heattech top and bottom underneath as it was really cold and windy that day.

After putting on juban, she styled my hair with Japanese hair style. Hair styling services is included in the package but she does not provide make up services. 

I took the “simple plan” offered on the website which is the cheapest package. The only difference between “simple plan” and “basic plan” is the type of obi and accessories used in basic plan is nicer. The “luxury plan” has another type of kimono with long sleeves which is really nice but it was out of my budget range so the cheapest plan will do.

I chose a white kimono with pink flowers which I think is really sweet.

The dark pink cloth at the middle is the obi. Underneath it was layers and layers of cloths/towels which were tied quite tightly. Do be prepared that you are not able to relax your stomach/breathe deeply/eat well/walk quickly when you put on your kimono.

TA-DAH!! After choosing hair piece, bags and shoes, and we are done! The shoe I was wearing in the photo is for photo shoot use only. It was quite high with unstable base which I think it’s impossible for first timer to wear it and walk around.  

I am able walk around freely with the kimono and only need to return it before 5pm. I was also given kimono coat at it was really COLD.I was planning to visit the Sensō-ji and Tokyo Skytree in the kimono but the Tokyo Skytree plan got slashed off as I couldn't bare the cold anymore. You can’t blame a person from a country with summer all year long for feeling extremely cold. 

We dropped by a convenience store to buy breakfast while on the way to Sensō-ji. We settled our breakfast in convenience stores everyday for our trip as it is much cheaper and I really love the food varieties in the convenience store. I enjoy trying different types of origini and beverages every day. And I think it’s really brilliant to have warm canned coffee available as it doubled up to be a heating pack too! I just love holding on it.

Sakura PhotoStudio

sakuraphotokimono@gmail.com

東京都台東区雷門2-9-8

ふなきビル306

Tokyo Taitoku Kaminarimon2-9-8

funaki Bld 306

Price

Simple plan: ¥ 3600 (¥2400 each for 2 pax and above)

Basic plan: ¥5000

Luxury plan: ¥10000

Ippudo 一風堂 @ Roppongi

After visiting the Seaside top observatory, we took a subway from Daimon station to Roppongi station. Roppongi is famous for its night life. The area features numerous bars, nightclubs, restaurants and other forms of entertainment. However, we are not a club person and the main reason we were there was to have dinner in Ippudo Roppongi. 

Ippudo is a chain ramen restaurant in Japan. It is quite a big thing in Malaysia and Singapore so I thought to myself that I must try the original ones from Japan.

This is the dining area of the restaurant. It is quite a small shop as it can only fit about 20 pax. In fact, most of the shops in Tokyo are rather small.

Most restaurants will have English menu available. So do ask for English menu if you do not understand Japanese instead of order blindly. 

We ordered the Shiromaru Motoaji (白丸元味) which is Ippudo’s original tonkotsu broth (pork bone broth) served with thin noodles, bara chashu (pork belly), cabbage, kikurage and spring onions. It is a classic Hakata-style ramen. You can always choose to add additional ingredients with a small fee. We added an extra soft boiled egg.

We were quite full from all the snacking before dinner so we ordered a small rice (明太子ごはん温玉のせ) instead of another bowl of ramen. The rice comes with mentaiko, onsen tamago and seaweed. 

People are recommending their gyoza on the internet. So we ordered 5 pieces to try and it was THE BOMB. Juicy delicious gyoza. Best gyoza ever! I would list this as the must order item in Ippudo. 

Check out their website for full list of location and operating hours.

World Trade Center Observatory (Seaside Top)

World trade Center Observatory is also known as Seaside Top because of its fantastic view of the Tokyo Bay area. This is the only observatory deck I went to during my trip to Tokyo.

After much research and consideration, I decided that I rather view the Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree from other observatory decks than going up the observatory of Tokyo tower/skytree without seeing the building itself. Price wise, seaside top is rather cheap compared to Tokyo tower/skytree.

World trade Center Observatory provides 360 degree panoramic view of the Tokyo city. If you are a fan of Tokyo Tower like me, this is the observatory to go to as Tokyo Tower is only 1km away from the observatory. Other landmarks that can be seen from the observatory are Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Bay area, Rainbow Bridge, Japanese garden, Zojoji temple and more. Mt Fuji can also be seen on a clear day.

The best time to visit an observatory deck is about half an hour before sunset as you get to view the city in day light, sunset and night lights. Do check the time for sunset as the time varies with season.

The sunset on that day wasn’t spectacular as it was quite a cloudy day. However, the view of Tokyo city from the observatory was really good and totally worth the money I paid for. Another plus point of Seaside Top is that it is less well known hence less crowded. There are plenty of seats available for you to rest and enjoy the view after you got bored or tired of walking round and round around the observatory.

  

Seaside top is located near JR Hamamatsucho station and Daimon subway station.  It is also accessible from JR Takeshiba station (800m/10mins walk). 

The entrance fee for an adult is ￥620. Click here for discount coupon for a discount rate of ￥500 per adult.

World Trade Center Building Observatory Deck Office

2-4-1 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6140

Tel: 81-3-3435-6026

Open daily from 10 am to 8:30 pm

Tokyo Bay Area

After checking in and leaving our luggage at the hostel, we took a JR train to Shinbashi station. We bought a One-day pass (￥800) and took the New Trainsit Yurikamome to Daiba station. I decided to visit Tokyo Bay area as i was attracted to the modern buildings in the area and to view the rainbow bridge, statue of liberty and gundam.

Fuji Tv Building can be seen right outside Daiba Station. Admission is free but it cost ￥500 to get up the observation deck. We did not enter it as we had plans to visit the WTC seaside top observatory.

Turn left from Daiba station and walk towards the park and you can see the rainbow bridge with tiny Tokyo Tower at the background and the replica of Statue of Liberty.

It was cold and windy that morning, so we skipped the park and beach and went straight to Divercity for Gundam. We shopped a little in Divercity while waiting to meet up with my friend for lunch.

Telecom Center 

 Walked to Venus Fort to meet up with my friend for lunch. (Aomi station) There is a Ferris wheel in Palette town which offers views of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba.

Complete revolution takes about 15 mintues and admission is ￥900.

Venus Fort is a shopping mall in the style of 18th century South European town. There are winter illuminations everywhere during winter. We were lucky to enjoy the illuminations show at the fountain in Venus Fort. The show lasted for about 10 minutes with illuminations and music.

The last stop for Tokyo bay area is to visit the Tokyo Big Sight, also known as Tokyo International Exhibition Center. I was not interested to visit any exhibition but i was attracted by the design by the building. Took a Yurikamome train from Aomi station to Kokusai-tenjijio-seimon station.

A big saw outside the station

Tokyo Big Sight

I only get to about 10 minutes at the Tokyo Big Sight as I have to rush back to the city before the sunset (about 4.45pm in winter) for WTC seaside top observatory.

Click Here for the map of Yurikamome railway and a brief introduction of the attractions.