Yukata Party!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and thriving despite everything going on in the world right now. I am very sorry it has taken me so long to post another update but hopefully I will make up for it with another post soon!

Today I am going to talk about a yukata party I went to the first weekend in August! (I know, I'm very behind schedule!) When I ordered my kimono a few months back, I had been attending classes to practice wearing kimono. I.E. Putting it on properly, tying my obi in different ways, wearing hakama, etc.

When I ordered my yukata, I signed up for a membership card at the shop. Doing this gave me access to a lot of nice additions I otherwise wouldn't have. For example, it gave me a discount on my first order (the yukata and everything I bought with it), I get discounted kimono cleanings, and I get to attend the kimono parties the shop holds throughout the year!

Recently, I took a friend back to the shop to help her order a yukata as well. The staff at this shop (Suzunoki -すずのき) are amazingly friendly and helpful and they were all very excited to be able to help another foreigner pick out and wear kimono. If there is one thing you should know about Japanese people, it is that they are the kindest people you will ever meet and they love when foreigners wear kimono/yukata. Just be sure that you are doing it properly and respectfully. While we were there,the staff reminded me that there was a yukata party on August 1st and they extended the invitation to my friend as well since she was returning to America on the 6th.

Getting Ready

The staff at the shop held my friend's yukata after it was finished until we went to get ready for the party. They helped us to get ready since it was her first time wearing yukata. The staff and kimono teachers that were helping members dress were exceedingly efficient and wonderful. The woman dressing me took such care in thinking of the perfect obi style for me and I could tell she was excited to share this part of her culture with me. She kept commenting on how my legs and arms were longer than the average Japanese woman's and she found it to be a nice challenge to make sure everything was perfect. 

The first thing she did was look closely at my obi. It is double sided with two different colors and patterns so she was deciding which side she would use. In the end, she chose to do a color-change style with the deep pink/purple being the main color. I was very happy that she did it without my asking her because color-change is my favorite style! 

She wrapped it around me tightly and I felt her tugging and pulling on it behind me. I was thinking about how many times these women have done this for others while she worked because they were so quick and efficient and it was tied in tighter than I could ever do for myself! Since I was distracted though, I was a bit surprised when she suddenly pulled out rubber bands! Never once had my teacher shown me any obi styles with rubber bands and since I couldn't see what she was doing, I was very curious. It took her a few minutes and when my friend Anna (a staff member) came back into the room, I could see her face light up. She told me that the design was so beautiful and that I was going to love it.

Finally, I was able to turn around and take a look in the mirror and my jaw dropped. This talented woman had tied my obi as a rose! It was amazing and so cute! 

I bowed and thanked her profusely and it was just so sweet because she bowed and took my hand in both of hers, thanking me for letting her dress me. Truly, the Japanese people are such warm-hearted people.

Ashley was waiting for me outside the room, dressed in her very own yukata for the first time and looking wonderful! I have added a picture of her (with her permission of course) so you can see her beautiful coordination as well!

The Party

After we were all dressed, we rode together with my friend Anna to a hotel venue that was close to the shop. We met my friend Maya and her husband there and took our seats. The room was amazing with a high ceiling and this amazing chandelier piece lighting the venue. 

The food was delicious as well. There were many courses: salad, sushi, a tiny pickled vegetable/pilaf cup, a salmon patte, chicken, grilled tuna, soba, and a wonderfully perfect pineapple sorbet with a baked merangue for dessert. Plus all the drinks we could handle! We were definitely fully by the time we left! Here's a small glimpse!

Near the end of the courses, the staff announced that it was time to start the games! This year's game? Get all the toilet paper off the roll before the others. Of course, they wanted to get their foreign friends involved so Ashley and myself were pulled on stage for the second round (which my friend Maya won! She's a very lucky person and wins these things often.) After our defeat, we went back to our seats and watched Maya and the first round winner go head to head. She lost by just a couple of seconds!

Before the end of the party, we took a group photo, Ashley and I at the top and right in the center! (Sorry for the quality. I only got printed versions of the photo and didn't have a chance to scan it.)

Overall, it was a wonderful experience with many wonderful people. Anna told me recently that, after the party, they received calls from some of the older store members saying how happy they were to see foreigners wearing traditional Japanese clothes and taking part in parties with them while doing our best to interact! I look forward to many more kimono parties before I leave!