yukata.

What a poor correspondent I am! Another busy week has come and gone. For those of you fortunate enough to be my Facebook friend, you will have seen some pictures of the highlight of my week – dressing up in traditional Japanese clothes. I was wearing a yukata, which is a lightweight form of kimono for the summer. Today, these are rarely worn on a day-to-day basis, although they are used for special occasions or festivals.

The women wrapping us up into these dresses where amazing. No two yukatas were the same, each bow was tied in a different way, and there were a myriad of accessories and shoes to add flair to the already extravagant outfits.

After getting frocked up (which was quite the process), we partook in some traditional Japanese dance. I think the dances we learnt are ones similar to those used at Gujo Odori (a big summer festival dance). Whilst the moves weren’t so complex, manoeuvring in the yukata was the true struggle.

Despite yukatas supposedly being designed for summer-wear, by the end of the afternoon I was feeling so hot and uncomfortable. Nonetheless, it was well worth it and a delightful afternoon of playing dress-ups!

hakubutsukan.

Following our frolicking in the garden, it was still a little early, so Julie and I decided that for 300yen, the historical museum at the entrance of the park couldn’t be so bad. I’m a bit of a sucker for museums, but even so I thought it was quite the bargain. A very friendly curator took us around a section telling us what I’m sure were a number of very interesting facts. Even Julie said she didn't understand half of what he said, so I felt better about my ignorance, but he gave us candy so I was pre-disposed to think well of him. There are artefacts stemming back to the pre-historic era all the way through to modern times. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of the older things, but I got one of this gorgeous Datsun.

There were even things for people who think staring at old stuff is boring. There was an incredible to-scale model of the Gifu area in medieval times (complete with binoculars so you could appreciate the intricacy) and a number of activities to do. I chose to try my hand at some traditional ink artwork where you layer colours to make a picture.

Best of all, Julie and I got to go into an imitation Japanese house and try on traditional Japanese clothing. I was devastated that the lighting was so poor and I only had my phone, but you get the idea of me in my faux-Japanese form.

After tearing ourselves from the museum, Julie and I finished our day in the way we always do – udon and purikura.