It happened when we were attending a huge get-together and got to meet lots of people there, there I met an elderly Japanese lady who asked me if I had tried a kimono to which I said no, I didn’t get a chance yet, though there were so many one  day kimono trial shops while I was traveling in Kyoto as I was alone and had camera and bag and it was difficult to carry it. She immediately offered me to try her kimono and I didn’t have words, we were total strangers.

A few days later we went to her place, she came to pick us near our hotel which was 15 km from her place, and she displayed all her kimonos to me and let me select the one I liked the most, the one with long sleeves is worn usually by unmarried girls and is called “Hurisode” and the one with short sleeves is for married ones and is called ”Kimono”.There are also cotton kimonos which are worn in summer and are called Yukatas. I loved the long sleeved ones and so I chose. It takes more than an hour to wear the complete dress. Okaa-san is expert in dressing kimono and she has an entire range of kimonos. She also showed me some dresses which were 50 years old and one couldn’t believe it as they were looking brand new. Kimonos are very expensive mostly since they are made of silk and are embroidered with gold threads.

We call them Otou-san and Okaa-san as in Japanese you use these words for father and mother, respectively. They live in a very beautiful place in Nomi city. Their house was so beautiful with some part being modern style and some part traditional Japanese style. I have become a  huge fan of the traditional Japanese house, after that visit, which is equipped with tatami mat (woven-straw flooring mats), wooden sliding door with paper sheets, a low table in the center; a minimalistic’s dream cherry popped with a garden.

I was flabbergasted how active Okaa-san is, I have never seen a woman as active as in her age (mid-60s), I want to be like her :). She did so much work dressing me in Kimono, a beautiful hairdo, and till the time I was getting dressed, Otou-san took Sidd to show their vegetables in their small farm, which I missed, though I had crispy fresh veggies from the fields in lunch. After she dressed me, Okaa-san gave me so many accessories like a traditional Japanese umbrella which I saw a many times in Japanese shops but couldn’t buy as they were overpriced for me (around 30000 yen) but I am thankful to Okaasan for giving me all her precious accessories, she gave me a fan and a beautiful set of hand bag and foot wear. She then taught me how to pose, how to stand and keep your feet, and sit while wearing a kimono. Thanks to Sidd for taking so many pictures of me.

After the photo session, I went to change my clothes and our superfast Okaa-san made the lunch and promptly refused for any help and asked to sit at the table 🙂  Otou-san is also very loving and we kept talking at the table, then we had delicious lunch together and said a prayer before eating. After lunch, Okaa-san had to go to an old age home, where she teaches elderly people as old as 90’s, we accompanied her there, and Otou-san went to play golf during that time. We felt so happy meeting these people. After that, Okaa-san asked us about our plans for the rest of the day,  to which we told he about our shopping plans as we needed to buy gifts for our family, she offered us to take us there to which we initially declined as she already had done so much for us and the weather was also not good but she didn’t agree with us and said she also needs to buy some grocery, she waited for around 2 hours for us at grocery section, while we purchased some gifts. (she didn’t buy any grocery, she said it just to make it easy for us). 🙂

Then she dropped us at a station and we didn’t want to leave her. She is such a beautiful personality. I wish i could spend more time with her and I am waiting to meet them again. I love Japan for people I met there, whom I cannot forget and it is a very special thing when you get love unexpectedly from unknown people. I have all the memories kept in my heart forever for all these special people.

I feel fortunate that I didn’t try kimono earlier and got a chance to spend time with them in name of trying kimono. When I travel to new places I am attracted to their culture and people, more than anything.

I hope you liked it, I just felt to share this experience and I had many more such experiences, I will be sharing soon.

Lots of Love

Yogu ♥