Hello, this is Suguru from Borderless House. "Kimono dressing & Tea party" event was held at Kyoto Kamigamo House on 13th of May. Dressing of kimonos is a valuable experience, so it generally costs around 4000 yen a day per person. However, this time, thanks to the cooperation of Kyoto Kimono Kikaku-san, the participation fee was 500 yen! We really appreciate Kyoto Kimono Kikaku-san! As such a wonderful event, gathering 21 tenants in total from all 5 Borderless Houses in Osaka and Kyoto! There was also an exchange with local people in the Tea party after the Kimono dressing. 12 neighbors of the Kyoto Kamigamo House took part in it. It was an exciting event from the beginning to the end. I will introduce the whole Kimono dressing & Tea party event with photographs!

What I find the struggle point of wearing Kimono

Male tenants who came from overseas were struggling very hard on the Tabi(socks) to be worn for the first time. It was a funny story that one of tenants said "Where is my ring finger, where?!" On the other hand, female tenants tried to make Obi(sash belt) by themselves! There are various shapes of Kimono Obi like ribbon.

Thanks to the guidance of the Kyoto Kimono Kikaku-san, everyone was able to dress in the kimono beautifully!

In fact, some neighbors participated the event as a "Kimono dressing" volunteer!

One of our lovely neighbors is O-san often come to Kyoto Kamigamo House. She remember all tenant' names and nicknames. And then she participated as a volunteer this time because she wanted to become a power even a little for the tenants.

Let's take a picture!

It was the first time for most of tenants to wear kimonos by themselves, so after the dressing they were excited and took a lot of photos

It was a "Natto pose" thought by a foreign tenant who loves natto too much and eats it in the morning, afternoon and evening!

Walking around "Kamigamo Shrine", one of the world cultural heritage

After dressing, we divided into 3 teams and looked around Kamigamo Shrine. This shrine is located 3 minutes on foot from the Kyoto Kamigamo House.

Everyone (the participants and the staff) took a commemorative photo in front of the gateway of the shrine!

This place for ritual cleaning of hands and mouth with water when visiting shrines.

Tea party was a great success!The beginning of a conversation is Korean dramas!?

After the walking around, 12 neighbors welcomed the tenants at the Kamigamo House! At the beginning, thee neighbors were nervous and had the following feelings of uneasiness. “I do not know how to start a talking” ”I can not speak English”  However, It started a talking with a casual word! For example, one neighbor said to a Korean tenant, "I love Korean dramas!" "Oh! Which drama do you like!?" the tenant asked her. "I think that drama ..." In this way, good communication at the tea party was born one after another. Those who told the tenants his history of the Kamigamo area that he was born and raised, while using gesture hand gestures. Some girls also positively visited the tenants to learn English and Korean. The fun time went by quickly. To the announcement of the end time, I got a lot of regretful words such as "It's too early one hour." And then, some of participants asked us "When is the next event? Please tell me as soon as you decided" We received a lot of voices that are looking forward to the next event as well. We would like to plan an event like this one again! The photo with a big smile! Thank you very much for all neighbors who came this time!

Many pleasant comments from the participants!

It was fulfilling for the first time to have a Kimono dressing experience. I learned a lot about Kamigamo area from the neighbors, so I want to know more Kamigamo while continuing to interact with them. W-san from Japan It was a lot of fun to talk with the other houses tenants. I hope to participate if such a collaborative event is next time. R-san from Japan I would like you to organize Japanese culture events. I want to learn more about how to tie belts(Obi), please teach me! A-san from Germany We received many pleasant comments from tenants who participated in this event. As feeling with traditional Japanese culture here, there is a good environment that Kamigamo House can do international exchange × local community exchange. Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo wants to grow with the community while cooperating with tenants and local residents! Finally, for the success of this event, thank you very much for the Kyoto Kimono Kikaku-san from Kyoto University. Thank you for reading our blog, well then see you next time! If you are interested in Borderless House, please contact us! ＜Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo＞ http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kamigamo/ <Borderless House Kyoto Hanazono> http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kyoto-hanazono1/