Secondhand-chuuko(中古）

One of things I always wanted to buy in Japan is a Yukata. Online they say you can you can buy Yukata in Kyoto but they really don't tell you where. You can of course buy them a UNIQLO in Japan but they are plain. I want one with color. So I went to Kyoto with a friend in search of a Yukata.

Before Kyoto, I wanted to go to Uji, Kyoto. Which is famous for green tea and the setting of the Tale of Genji which I have read in English...all 1000+ pages. We really didn't spend a much time as I wanted in Uji but I got green tea as o miyage and something nice for my mom. Uji has beautiful scenery. I really wanted to visit a tea farm but I didn't have the time. I really love drinking tea by the way.

(Mushu!)

If you want to buy a yukata in Kyoto. Gion-shijo is a good place to go. Teramachi dori and the street next to it Kawaramachi dori are long shopping districts. They have touristy stuff as well. I manage to find a few kimono shops that also sell yukata as well. For new ones I saw that it ranged from $30 to $110. If you want to go cheaper then buying a used or old one is a better bet.

Some things I learned about buying a yukata is know your height in cm. If you are taller than 165 it is harder to find a yukata to properly fit you. I'm short (around 153cm or 5'0'') so I didn't have a problem but my friend did. Find a pattern you like and a color that fits your skin tone. I have medium brown skin so I was told that lighter colors look better on me because of the contrast. On the other hand if you are on the lighter side, darker colors look better because of again the contrast.

I looked around for awhile but I ended up buying a used yukata at an antique store called アンテイーク井和井（Antique Iwai.) It was the first one I liked. It might be old but I liked the color a lot which is a light purplish blue. The pattern has fireflies and pinkish flowers. The yukata was on sale so I bought is for 3,150 yen.

(Antique Iwai for $31.50)

Next important thing to buy was the Yukata Obi. I bought this too second hand at a store called Harajuku Chicago which also sells second hand kimono at very good prices starting from 3,000 yen. This is also in the Gion-Shijo district somewhere along Teramachidori. They also have amazing beautiful kimono obi starting at 20,000 yen. Just to let you know, a yukata obi is differnt then a kimono obi because it is thinner and less elaborate. A rule of thumb that the color of the obi should contrast to the color of your yukata. Anyways, I bought dark purple obi to match the color scheme. Rope thing is actually for a kimono...I bought for no reason. It was cheap though real silk for 500 yen.

(Harajuku Chicago. Obi for $20)

The last things I had to buy was koshi-himo and obi-ita. Koshi-homo is the robe you need to keep your yukata on your body. It is just a piece of cloth. The obi-ita is used to help keep the shape of the obi everytime you sit down in stuff. It is just a board with a pocket in it to keep your wallet. You can buy this anywhere.

(Ai-Kimono-kan. koshi-himo for $3. Obi-ita for $14)

I haven't tried on the Yukata yet with the obi. I simply, don't have enough time to with finals coming up.

Below are a map of the places I went to in Kyoto. I'll translate them later.