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Country Lifestyle in Kimono
Japanese people have worn kimonos as every-day garments for more than a thousand years.
The Japanese traditional kimono has remained the same basic construction for more than a thousand years. Until the beginning of Showa era, everyone in Japan was wearing kimono as daily garments, but it is not any longer. Since many people have done it for more than a thousand years, then it’s all the more fitting that we should be able to wear kimonos for all occasions. In addition to more formal occasions such as weddings, ceremonies and visiting shrines and temples, we should wear kimonos for simple walks, let’s say, or even enjoying a coffee at a café, or a stroll on embankments between rice fields and even at rugged coastlines. Let’s have a fun and exciting experience wearing traditional kimonos in the Japanese country side.
Kimono sustainability at Kawamichi Shoten
Long forgotten and unused kimono + Undiscovered Scenic Spots + People who love to travel and kimonos＝New connections to new places and values to long forgotten kimonos.
Our goal is to create a sustainable world by creating opportunities to use kimonos.
Plans for Activities
Enjoy wearing kimonos to sew handbags from recycled kimono fabrics
On this tour, you will wear traditional Japanese kimonos while learning how to sew handbags from recycled kimono fabrics. Then hopefully with your new beautiful handbags, you will walk through country roads in kimonos and have endless opportunities to take lots of photos! All Photos submitted to us will have the chance to be nominated and selected to be on the cover page of the monthly online magazine “Gekkan Iwa to Kimono”. Theme of Gekkan Iwa to Kimoto is rocks and kimonos. (*Photos are limited to images of kimonos and rocks.)
Tour schedule（Duration: 3 hours）
① Choose your favorite Kimono
Arrive at our Japanese traditional home built more than 80 years ago to choose your favorite Kimono.
② Dress yourself in Kimono
Our staff will assist you to dress in your chosen Kimono
③ Create your own handbag with recycled Kimono fabric
Learn to sew a handbag from recycled Kimono or Yukata (casual Kimono) fabrics (either hand-sewing or by machine)
④ Go for walk in countryside setting with your handbag for a photo shoot
With your newly created handbag, you will go for a walk in the countryside and take pictures.
⑤ Return to our traditional home for tea
Movie
Monthly online magazine Rocks and Kimonos: Iwa to Kimono (Rocks and Kimonos) is published on the 18th of each month.
If you haven’t subscribed to our monthly online magazine, Iwa to Kimono, please do. For those not familiar with Iwa to Kimono, it is the online community magazine where interesting content and photos of kimonos and rocky rugged coastlines are shared by readers and the community. We use photos submitted and those of our own to edit and polish them to cover-page quality to upload onto Iwa to Kimono. It is currently available only online for subscription. There are numerous quality photos on Iwa to Kimono at the moment and our fans truly enjoying them. Many fans have regarded Iwa to Kimono as legendary for the high quality content it provides. It is updated and published on the 18th of each month. Iwa to Kimono is meant to be all aspects of our traditional kimono, including ceremonial and serious, yet modern, entertaining and funny; and we hope everyone finds it enjoyable. At the same time, we love to share and introduce the wonderful sights and beautiful scenes of our town, through our traditional kimonos, to the world. In additional to our tours and visits, we also host regular photography events. (Participants need to bring their own Kimonos. Please check our Facebook page for more detail.)
Traditional parasols, skirts and other small items made of recycled antique Kimono fabrics are available for sale.
skirts and other small items
We also have for purchase household items made of recycled Kimono and Yukata Meisen silk in modern retro patterns. We hope once you visit us, you will find enjoyment in all our traditional products in your daily and modern lives.
Our daily life written by our Founder Kawamichi Shoten
Our founder, Ryoko, truly loves Kimono and the simple nature the countryside offers. And through our blog Ryoko shares her passions for kimonos, her daily countryside life and styles, in addition to the enjoyment of remaking and reinventing new works through photos. We will also be announcing events and activities on our blog, including photoshoot scenes of our monthly online magazine, Iwa to Kimono.