Kimonos, Emperors, and Street Fashion

Sorry for the long gap between posts, life here has been pretty crazy. I’ll make up for it today though with lots of new pictures.

So let’s rewind to new year’s day and recount our adventures in kimono-wearing. Tara, Maiko, Michael, and I got all dressed up in our kimonos to go to a temple and have lunch with Maiko’s mom in Kamakura. It took us almost two hours to get dressed because Maiko was the only one who knew what they were doing and well, kimono are complicated. It was really cool to learn how to put one on though and I look forward to using the knowledge to do some more kimono-themed photoshoots in the future.

Actually wearing the kimono out though was definitly an experience I won’t soon forget. Normally the Japanese don’t give a second look to foreigners but put those foreigners in kimono and wow, suddenly it feels like everyone is staring at you. It also probably didn’t help that Kamakura is on the beach and was incredibly windy the day we were there. Wind + Kimono = very cold legs and an intense desire for a safety pin to keep the bottom part closed.

After lunch we went to go see one of the largest outdoor Buddahs in Japan. The statue it self was quite impressive but the coolest part was getting to go inside. The interior walls are scatterd with coins that people have lodged there with prayers for good luck and good health. The rest of the temple complex was pretty but nothing overly special except for the fact that it was out of the wind.

Our next stop was going to be a garden in Kamakura but it was getting dark and after a warm, tasty stop at a Mister Donut, we decided that it was time to call it a day. We even splurged and took the green car (quieter cars with nice comfy seats and fewer people) for the train ride back to Maiko’s apartment. The expense was totally worth it and made for a pleasant end to a very fun but very cold day.

The next day was the emperor’s new year’s address to the people and is one of the two days a year that the Imperial Palace is open to visitors. So of course we went. The palace is beautiful once you get past the incredible amount of security (bag checks, pat downs, and a large number of what I can only guess were Japanese federal service agents). We then got to stand in another large, non-moving crowd (felt like new year’s eve all over again, only warmer). When the imperial family came out you could barely see them for all the flags that the crowds were waving. Makes me glad that I’m taller than most Japanese people. The emperor is a tiny, frail-looking old man but he stood up there and waved and waved before giving his address, which was short and entirely in Japanese so we have no idea what he said but the crowd seemed to like it so it must have been good. We just thought it was cool that we got to go into the palace and see the imperial family really, how many people can say that they’ve gotten to do that?

The rest of the was spent wandering around Ginza and Shibuya, window-shopping and people-watching. Ginza was amazing simply due to the buildings and the names on them. How about a Gucci skyscraper? Or a two-building Hermes skyscraper made out of translucent glass blocks? Or the 8-story Sony building complete with 3-d movie theater? Shibuya was amazing in a different way. We ventured into Shibuya 109, which is one of the biggest department stores for young, trendy fashion, on January 2, which is the biggest shopping day of the year. The place was packed and in front of every store there was a girl with a bullhorn yelling about their new year’s sale. Total sensation overload. We made it out alive though and sat on the second floor of Starbucks to enjoy a chai and watch the sea of people cross the largest crosswalk in the world.

Sunday found us in Harajuku in search of street fashion on the bridge in front of Meiji Shrine. When we arrived there were only two people dressed up among the masses that were making their way to the shrine. So we abandoned our original plan of exploring Meiji (we decided that next weekend would be a better time to do that once the new year’s celebrations were over) and went for a walk around Yoyogi park, which was pretty but not very interesting. Then we went in search of the architectually-interesting Prada building, which was cool but alot further away than we thought. The walk back took us past an absolutely amazing cake shop so we stopped in for a snack and to give our feet a break before continuing on to La Foret (another young, trendy department store) and Takeshita-Dori (the alternative fashion street of Tokyo) for some more window-shopping and people-watching. Dinner was street food from the vendors that set up shop for the week after new year’s followed by Harajuku crepes (which I’ve determined are among the most amazing foods known to man).

That’s all for now, we’re off to hike Fushimi-Inari today so stay tuned for the next update, which will be all about Kyoto and Hiroshima.