Yukata Kimono

We had another kimono event, the first time was during Hina Matsuri, or Girls Day, we tried on the "winter kimono" and this time we tried on the "summer kimono" or Yukata kimono.  It was MUCH lighter and thinner and more comfortable to move around in, although the traditional sandals were not!  My favorite part of the kimono was the Obi, these ladies tied the most beautiful bows, I loved them!

My pretty Obi bow :)

E and I in our Yukata Kimono's!

This is Akie-San, she leads all of our cultural trips and is such a treasure!  She is the sweetest lady, and as it turns out our boys were both born on the exact same day! 

Hinami

Haven't updated in a couple of months, so I'm going to go back to the first week of April, when the Sakura bloomed!  This year the cherry blossom's came in the last week of March through the second week of April.  It is customary during Sakura Matsuri to have a Hinami, which is when you go on a picnic to view the cherry blossoms.  I love that the Japanese basically have a word and a holiday that is just for getting outside and smelling the flowers, literally!  How cool is that?  So on a Thursday A and I decided to get lunch and head to the Kintai Bridge for Hinami. 

It was pretty crowded considering it was the middle of the week!

 

Showing Kyle the cherry blossoms

 

 

  We really had a good time, there is nothing like sitting next to a picturesque river under beautiful flowers and enjoying the sunshine and friends.