A Kimono Date for Two: A Half-Day Model Course in Asakusa

If you want to wear kimono on a date in Asakusa, half a day is plenty. Here is a model course based on how our customers actually spend the day.

Model course (4 to 5 hours)

10:00 arrive and choose your kimono, 11:00 dressing done, off to Sensoji (about 5 minutes on foot), snacks along Nakamise, 13:00 photos in Sumida Park with Tokyo Skytree behind you, 15:00 a break at a Japanese sweets shop, return by 17:30. That still leaves your evening free.

Why the couple plan is good value

The value couple kimono plan is a komon (casual patterned kimono) with hair styling for her plus a men’s kimono, at ¥13,200 (tax included). It costs less than renting separately, and couples also get 10% off on eligible plans. Add a photo plan with a professional photographer for an hour (couple shoots from ¥35,000) and you end up with a much better record of the day.

How to take couple photos yourselves without messing them up

Even without a professional, three things change the result. 1. Shoot vertically. A kimono lives on its vertical lines. 2. Stand back a little for full-length shots. That stops wide-angle distortion stretching the hem. 3. Put an action in the frame, holding hands or carrying a parasol. It turns a stiff souvenir photo into an actual picture.

Japanese parasols are free to borrow (except on the basic plan), so make use of them. Two people under one parasol makes a picture on its own.

Where the couple discount and the photo plan break even

Couples get 10% off eligible plans. If you also want a professional to take the photos, the casual couple photo plan (¥35,000) includes outfits for two, an hour with the photographer and at least 100 images. It is clearly cheaper than booking those separately, and it is the plan people choose for anniversaries and proposals.

If you are planning a proposal, talk to us beforehand and we can work the moment naturally into the flow of the shoot. Call us quietly about it.

Plan B for a rainy date

Rain is no reason to cancel. Borrow a Japanese parasol and string together the covered route: Nakamise, then Denboin-dori, then the Asakusa underground shopping street, with a stop at a sweets shop on the way. Asakusa in the evening, with lanterns reflected in wet stone, gives you photos you cannot get on a clear day. There is more in our rainy day article.