Explore Kiyomizu-Dera Temple Area + Kimono Rental Experience

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During our visit to Kyoto we decided to rent Kimonos to experience a bit of Japanese culture and to explore the Kiyomizu-dera temple area. We made a reservation for Rental Kimono Okamoto located in Kiyomizu.

Note, just about everything in Japan requires a reservation so make sure to book your experience.

What drew me to this kimono rental was the location near the temple and the fact that they offered tall and larger size kimonos! This is important if you’re a size 10 and up or over 5’7″ 🙂 We paid about $45 USD per person for the rentals.

We made an appointment for 9am and from start to finish it took about an hour. First, we picked out our kimono, belt, and purse and, since we opted for a hairstyle, we picked from one of about six styles. Trust me, pay for the hairstyle, it’s so cute and really completes the outfit.

After we had all the components for the kimono we went to the building next door to be dressed. In the entrance of the building we removed our shoes and were given a large tote bag. We then walked upstairs to a ladies only community dressing area.

We had worn a thin t-shirt layer which we left on under our kimono and we left our pants on until they got the first skirt layer on us which means we were never naked while being dressed by strangers. Because of the dressing situation we were not allowed to take any photos or videos so hopefully we can aptly describe the process.

As we were being dressed we put our clothes and purse (after removing important items) in the tote bag which was secured in a safe place until our return. The ladies that help you get your kimono on don’t speak much English, but they have translation cards that they show you if they need to share information with you. Honestly, the ladies are so efficient while getting you in the kimono but be prepared that there are many layers to the kimono and they cinch it tight! I kept on joking with my mom that corsets have nothing on Kimonos. About halfway through the kimono dressing we stopped to have our hair done.

Once our hair was styled all fancy, they finished getting the rest of the kimono components on us. The last step is to find a pair of sandals(flip flop style) that fit. We have large feet (size 9/10) so the sandals mostly fit but were a bit short, we made it work.

I can’t recommend this place enough! The ladies working there were so nice and helpful.

This location is so very close to the temple. It was simply a matter of walking down the alleyway to the main street then hanging a left. We then walked, uphill, less than a city block.

There are lots of places to take photos around the temple and we were fortunate to be there during the fall color change to have that added pop of colors. We didn’t walk all the way to the top of the temple because our shoes were not easy to walk in. We decided to play it safe and take photos at the base of the temple and not tempt the gods with the potential for a twisted ankle.

After we were done exploring the temple, we went in search of the matcha cloud cakes I kept on hearing about. As fate, or Japan, would have it, the cloud cakes were located half way down a very steep hill with, guess what, stairs. There is just no escaping the stairs in Japan so the best thing to do is embrace it with good shoes on or, in our case, Zori sandals.

Seating is a bit limited at kumonochi but we made our way up a narrow, steep staircase to the upstairs seating where we enjoyed a tasty cake, matcha tea, and a refreshing fruit drink.

After our matcha break it was back up the hill to the kimono rental to change back into our street clothes. Technically, we had until 6pm before we had to return our Kimonos but between the tightly cinched clothing and the uncomfortable shoes we decided our curiosity about what it’s like to wear a kimono was appeased.