It really wasn't that bad actually; my kimono was $5, the obi also $5, obijime $8, obiage $5.25, juban $3
First kitsuke practice in Japan: priceless
Answering the door to the NHK man in kimono: priceless
It was totally surreal when the NHK guy showed up...
Anyway, here are the pics:


I love my hakata fukuro obi!!!!

I just liked my silly pose.

Not my best taiko musubi.

My ama coat!!!! I look like a mess, but I just managed to mumble my way through an all-japanese conversation with said NHK man.  :(

I look so cranky, but I'm just tired. Please not the rockin' asanoha!

Wow what great prices for such cute kimono items! What does NHK stand for?

NHK is a television network (it stands for Nippon something). The dreaded NHK man comes around usually on weekends (today's a holiday so he surprised me) and makes you pay for using the channel. I've been told not to open the door, but I did. Oh well.

NHK stands for Nippon HÃ…Â

so cute! i wonder if they would have those in green and black.......

Thank you!

Love your outfit! How nicely coordinated! Stunning! And inexpensive too, where did you manage to find it!

It is too bad you paid the NHK man, very responsible of you however. Now you are stuck with it, you could have just told him you don't have a TV. Maybe next time you can tell him you got rid of the TV because it was interrupting your studies.

They used to overcharge me for BS (cable) which I don't even have, and I got mad and just stopped paying all together, through the no-TV ruse. Very irresponsible of me!

I suppose I shouldn't encourage others to be irresponsible.

I almost didn't answer the door! But he realized I didn't have BS (what a name!) so I guess he didn't charge me for it. It sucks because I hate the television here and I don't want to pay for it! I mean sometimes it's funny, but most of the time it's mind-numbing! <sigh>

I'm a huge fan of red and black! That kitsuke is beautiful and your jacket is the best part! Nice job on the coordination - you look great!

Personally, I'd go even more monochromatic with this outfit! Got a red obiage and obijime? I like the pops of blue, though, very cool.
Your kitsuke looks great! Those hakata obi can be sort of thin and stiff sometimes, so it's easy for them to look a little "crumpled." I wore one the other day and had the same problem. I was constantly checking it.
If you wanted to make your ohashori longer, you might tie it lower on your hips? That way it won't want to escape under the edge of your obi, haha.

Wow, you look great! I'm not the biggest fan of blue and red together, but this looks really nice! And I'm jealous how cheap you got your things for

I love red and black, so this outfit is to die for!

I also answered the door in strange outfits for the NHK man... though I couldn't do the "no TV" thing - it could be seen from my front door! I think I did end up paying him, though, but it was only once in my 3 years there. My bf's boss had his set up through automatic debit, so he couldn't get out of it.

Thanks for explaining!

a) You look adorable and stylish!

b) You need to give me that outfit in full!

I'm so envious that you get to do nice and cheap kimono shopping over there!  I'm also lusting after the asanoha you've got going on!

I've got a very monochromatic red and black outfit I'm currently working on pulling together.  I had been considering wearing my turquoise obiage/obijime with it for some pop.  It's nice to see the blue work so well.

Thanks everybody for the compliments!!! I was so happy to try my new outfit! I've been having a bit of an adjustment moving here so it feels great to hear all your comments/compliments and also to be actually practicing kitsuke while in Japan.
I also  just wanted to add that you should see the looks on these ladies' faces when I can talk about komono and all the stuff required for kitsuke, etc and I owe it all to IG!
I hope it makes you smile, Naomi, since you've created this nice community.  :content:

What's asanoha?

Asanoha is the pattern on her michiyuki--hemp leaves. It's very geometric; all triangles.