Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan".

So, here is a picture of me and two friends as we were heading off to the Koenji Awaodori Festival back in August.  Summer festivals in Japan are an excellent excuse to air out your summer yukata, wield a fan and shuffle about drinking beer and chew upon street food on sticks. 

I went to a "one week only" shop in Asagaya with Akiko(l) and Sonomi(r) where I tracked down a yukata for 5000yen.  The older lady running the shop took umbrance at my having a bosom, and was trying to gently flatten my boobs into a straight line with the rest of me (though given my experience with old ladies in Japan, she was probably just copping a feel).

(Alas, LJ doesn't seem to like this photo, because despite this image being really large in terms of pixels, I can't get it much bigger than this.  You can find a clearer image here)








I thought it would be interesting for you to see how a yukata is put on, as it requires someone to dress you, just like the princess you are.  So here you go:


First you need a vest and decent pants as that's all you'll be wearing underneath, though I opted for leggings to maintain some modesty on the stairs.  The yukata is really long, so once you've worked out how much material you need for the waist you kind of pull up the excess to create a sort of double-layer of material about you mid-section.






 

The yukata is fasrened with lengths of cotton and then once your neckline  and material are all hanging correctly, your servant can begin tying your obi (belt).



Finally, you're ready to go and can then berate the boys you invited along (on the phone here) for forgetting their own male version of the yukata.


(better image here)