We had 4 customers from the UK last month, and one of
WALIN staff covered their day with yukata closely!

[9:00a.m.] Arrival
From JR Kyoto Station, take the subway Karasuma Line and
get off at Gojo Station. WALIN is located about 5-minute walk
from the station.

At the reception, they filled in customer card.
We have one in English and also English speaking staff
are ready to help you!

After the reception, it’s time to choose yukata!
Our professional staffs help you to find one from
various patterns and designs.

When they made payment after choosing yukata, girls
started hair set/dressing first as it takes longer time than
men’s dressing. Boys were relaxed at the sofa while they
were waiting for their turns.

Finally, they are done!
It seems that the girls liked their hair style:)

[10:30a.m.] Making Wagashi at Kanshundo
In about 10 minutes from WALIN by taxi, they got arrived at
Kanshundo(甘春堂), which is a famous wagashi shop in Kyoto.
Wagashi means Japanese traditional confectionary, and this shop
has seasonal wagashi making workshop.

Kanshundo(甘春堂): http://www.kanshundo.co.jp/aboutus/shop/higashi/

Let’s get started! Never made wagashi before?
Don’t worry about it! This shop has English recipe
and the professional wagashi maker helps you.

They made 3 kinds of wagashi, and had one
with green tea which is served after the class.
Also, you can take the rest of wagashi you made
home as the staff pack them in a box.

[12:00p.m.] Kiyomizu Temple
After making wagashi, they headed for Kiyomizu temple, which
is one of the most popular places for sightseeing in Kyoto.
Although it is said that everywhere in Kyoto is quite hot and
humid in summer due to its geographic feature, this temple is
located up the mountain and humid heat is better than the flatland.

Kiyomizu temple(清水寺): http://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/

Why are they walking with their eyes closed?
Inside the temple area, there is a shrine called Jishujinjya(地主神社).
This shrine is famous for the god of matchmaking.
It is said that your wish for success of love would come
true if you could walk from a stone to the other stone
with your eyes closed.

There are a lot of slopes and steps everywhere in the temple area.
If you find difficulty about walking with wooden clogs, the best
way is to walk with short steps, and never be in a hurry!

After visiting Kiyomizu temple, it is fun to look around
souvenir shops along the street of San-nenzaka!

Wearing yukata, making wagashi, visiting temple and
enjoy at souvenir shop… what’s next?
It’s time for delicious sweets! They had mattcha parfait
and chesnut parfait at Rakushou(洛匠) near Kodaiji temple.
Also, this shop has a nice garden which you can see
some colorful carps swim in the pond.

Rakushou(洛匠): http://www.rakusyou.co.jp/

Before going back to WALIN, they went to Yasaka shrine(八坂神社).

Here’s their schedule for that day.

Kanshundo→Kiyomizu temple→Kodaiji temple area→Yasaka shrine

This is a standard sightseeing course in Kyoto and accessible from WALIN!

[4:00p.m.]
They back to the store to change their clothes.

Here are their comments about the experience this time!

・Everybody was very friendly and helpful. I felt welcome in the store.

・I loved the hair styling! Everything was extremely professional
and the staff were all very friendly!

・Very relaxed process, very simple and easy.
I was impressed at the cleanliness of the building and huge choice
of kimono. Staffs were extremely helpful, nice and fit the kimono
very well. The appearance of the kimono was what I was expecting,
mostly from films like ‘The Last Samurai’.

・The experience was great!
All staff were extremely welcoming and helpful. There was a big choice
of kimono to choose from, all of them very stylish. We had help choosing
which kimono to wear, and help with getting dressed.When wearing
the kimono I felt more Japanese and had a really good experience.

We would like to thank them so mcuh for coming
and we are happy to know that they enjoyed yukata and sightseeing!

Why not trying kimono/yukata at WALIN?
WALIN website: http://walin.jp/en/

WALIN staff