[Japan] Kimono Rental in Kyoto

Kimono by Kyoto Kimono Rental Sakura 

Still talking about my last trip to Japan, this time I gonna write about kimono rental in Kyoto. If you've read my previous post about sakura hunting, you'd see that Aurelia and my family wore kimono while taking picture with sakura. Kimono is a Japanese traditional clothes. This "clothes" has colorful pattern and it looks beautiful to be worn, especially when you're at traditional places in Japan. For this reason, I'd say Kyoto a perfect place where you can wear kimono for a whole day.

To be honest, I always want to try this kimono experience while strolling in Kyoto. However, the first time I visited Kyoto was in winter and I couldn't stand the cold weather without wearing my complete winter outfit at that time. It made us cancelled our plan to rent kimono. The second time I visited Kyoto (which is the last March), I couldn't do that again because this time there's Winston, and I need to keep running and "catch" him because he is a very active toddler. But my family and Aurelia had a chance to rent kimono, and exploring Kyoto in this traditional outfit.

Where to rent kimono in Kyoto?
The answer is : everywhere! You can find many places to rent kimono in Kyoto, especially when you're at tourist area such as Gion. However, I suggest you to book online through their official website or maybe other "travel agent" such as Klook. If you book it online in advance, you'll get a cheaper price than on the spot. Actually, our first plan was also book it online. But we saw the weather forecast that gonna be rain on that day. We thought it was too risky to book it online and pay in advance. We don't know how's the weather gonna be. We were afraid if it's rainning all the day, and the kimono will become such a "waste".

At the last day in Kyoto, I saw the forecast and it's written the rain is only gonna be in the morning. So I decided to find a place to rent kimono around the hotel where we stayed (Grids Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi). After a search, I found Kyoto Kimono Rental Sakura which has a lot of good reviews. Well, it was the place that we chose, and I gonna write a complete yet honest review about this place.

It was March 21 which is a National holiday in Japan. Some rental places open late at 10AM. But Kyoto Kimono Rental Sakura still open at 9AM. We arrived there at 9AM, and there's only 1 helper. She said it's because of the holiday so she just work alone. This situation made her work longer. Usually it only takes about 1 hour. But this time she need 2 hours to dress up everyone in our group.

About the price, there are 2 options available. First, you only rent it for a while, and take pictures at the studio. As I remember, it costs around ¥1500 - ¥2000. But if you want to rent it for a whole day, you can choose the second option which costs ¥5000. If you choose this option, you can wear the kimono to everywhere, as long as you return it at 6PM.

Actually, ¥5000 is too expensive for kimono rental price. Before we arrived in Japan, I've tried to book it online and it only cost ¥2800 for each person. However, they have a special offer if you help them to write a review on google maps and make a video. If you write review of their rental place at google maps, you'll get ¥500 discount for each person. And if you want to be recorded to give a review of this rental place, you'll get more discount which is ¥1000. It's such a good deal..

Despite the expensive rental price, this place has a very good service. Even though the staff just worked alone, but she was really helpful . She could make all the process done very fast, starts from choosing the right kimono, until made a hairdo. If you stay at Kawaramachi area, you can go to this place to rent kimono. However, if you stay at other places, you don't need to go far only to rent kimono in here. You can find kimono rental places everywhere in Kyoto, and perhaps you also can get cheaper price there.