Unique Japan

The days are getting longer and everybody seems to be enjoying these summer days and nights. You’ll see salary-men heading off to nearby Beer Gardens after work, where they can enjoy a few cold beers outside with their colleagues. Or you’ll see kids playing with sparklers with their friends（under adults’ supervision, of course) or you might happen to see girls wearing a Yukata. When I see this it makes me really feel like summer is finally here. For those who don’t know what a Yukata is, simply put, it’s a summer Kimono.

Though I don’t own any Kimono myself, I have a few Yukatas for summer festivals and nights out. I think many Japanese girls would agree that modern ladies rarely have an occasion to wear a formal Kimono. We wear it once for our “Coming of Age” ceremony, but to be honest, I don’t even know how to wear a Kimono. It’s a very complicated task to put it on and is very cumbersome to wear. They are also heavy and uncomfortable. On the contrary, a Yukata is easy to wear, casual, and the summery festive patterns make them very pretty.

The followings are some pictures of Yukata.

The wonderful thing about a Yukata is that one size fits all. (well, most of the time…) In addition, there is a cornucopia of fabric styles that range from traditional Japanese patterns like flowers and butterflies to interesting patterns involving fruit and animals.

As summer stretches out before us, you might already have plans to visit a beer garden or draw your name in the night sky with sparkler, but maybe this year you can try on a Yukata. With so many styles of patterns, I’m sure you can find something that will fit your perfect summer night.