There are a lot of tourists wearing kimonos in Asakusa. Of course, foreigners also come to try on kimonos. However, some people say that even after putting on a kimono, they can't take good photos, or they don't know where to take photos in the first place. It would be a waste to just take a photo at a famous-looking place you happen to come across while wandering around Asakusa! This time, together with the Instagrammers, we will introduce you to some must-take photo spots in Asakusa.

 

・First, rent a kimono. There are various stores in Asakusa, but there are two Kimono Rental VASARA stores. One feature is that they have a call center, so you can check whether a reservation is possible and get directions. The number of kimonos available at the two stores combined is among the largest in Asakusa. Please consider it.

Kimono Rental VASARA Sensoji Store

Business hours: 9:00-22:00 (dressing reception until 17:00)

Address: 2-1-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo

An Italian restaurant is attached to the building, and the prestigious gate is eye-catching. Once inside, you will find a modern reception area and a space to choose your kimono on the second floor, where we offer the widest variety of kimono rentals VASARA in Tokyo. We are the only one of the 20 Basara stores in Japan that can return kimonos until 10:00 pm. (Additional fee 980 yen is required.) This is the perfect place to explore Asakusa at night.

 

Kimono Rental VASARA Asakusa Main Store

Business hours: 9:00-18:00 (dressing reception until 17:00)

Address: 1-1-11 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo

It takes less than 30 seconds to reach the store after turning left from Exit 6 of Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line. Exit 6 is in a covered arcade, so you don't have to worry about rain. The store is 4 stories tall and is divided into kimono storage, dressing space, and hair styling space, allowing for smooth flow of visitors.

 

・This is the sightseeing course

 

・Kaminarimon Gate

The starting point for all the Instagrammers was Kaminarimon. It welcomes tourists as a symbol of Asakusa. The trick to taking a photo is to take a photo at the same spot where the tourists are taking their commemorative photos. There will always be tourists with their cameras, so wait your turn. Once they leave, grab a spot and take a photo from there. This spot is not backlit at any time of day. If you have time, it is also a good time to take photos after 6:00 p.m. This is because the shops on Nakamise-dori Street start to close and there are fewer people passing by. Also, taking a close-up, low-angle photo of the Kaminarimon lantern, as in the photo, will make it look longer and increase the impact of the gate.

 

・Nakamise Shopping Street

 

Go straight through Kaminarimon and you will enter Nakamise-dori street. Nakamise-dori street itself is a great photo spot. During busy times such as mornings and lunchtime, both the subject and the photographer will move to one side or the other. Standing and holding the camera in front of your face will make it easier to see your surroundings even when it's crowded. If you are shooting after 6:00 p.m. when the stores start to close, you can take your time and it's less likely that people will be in the shot, so shoot from below in the middle of the street. This will make the surroundings appear larger and wider, and make your legs look longer.

 

・Five-story pagoda

To the left of the Hozomon Gate is the five-story pagoda. The recommended point is that you can get away from the crowds and take your time taking photos. In particular, if you frame the eaves of the Hozomon Gate with the pagoda in the background, the blue of the sky and the vermilion of the pagoda will stand out and make a beautiful photo. However, the light will be backlit after 3pm, so if you want to take a photo, it's best to do so in the morning or before noon. It is also lit up at night.

 

・Fortunes at the shrine office

If you come to the shrine for sightseeing, why not use the omikuji as a photo spot rather than a test of luck? The expression on your face when you draw the omikuji will be out of 100 points, whether the result is great luck or bad luck. By the way, 30% of the fortunes at Sensoji Temple are bad luck. This is a very high rate nationwide, but don't be discouraged if you get a bad luck. It is said that the bad luck omikuji at Sensoji Temple contains the message that if you persevere and continue to work hard, it will turn into good luck. I hope you enjoy it whether you get a good luck or bad luck. By the way, you can also draw an omikuji at the shrine office on the way to Sensoji Temple, but I recommend the omikuji sales counter where the above photo was taken. This is not the shrine office, but the fortune sales counter to the right of where the offerings at Sensoji Temple are placed.

 

・Asakusa Temple

It may not be an exaggeration to say that you came to Asakusa just to visit Sensoji Temple. The vivid vermilion color of the entire shrine is eye-catching, but what you should especially try to take is a photo of you praying to the left of the offering box. You'll even see the Tokyo Skytree reflected in the photo. At night, both the main hall and the Skytree are lit up, making for an even more fantastical photo.

 

・Kagetsudo windmill and Japanese umbrella

After visiting Sensoji Temple, if you go in the opposite direction from the Skytree, you will find Asakusa Kagetsudo Main Store. It is a restaurant that sells jumbo melon bread and shaved ice, but it is also a popular spot with colorful windmills decorated all over the wall, which are only on display during the summer. (In 2018, the period was extended to July to November.) From December, they plan to display Japanese umbrellas, so it's worth checking out in the future.

Kagetudou Official Twitter ⇒ https://twitter.com/kagetudou_meron

 

・Denpoin Street

This street features a shopping arcade that depicts the streets of Edo, with the shutters of the arcade decorated with ukiyo-e art. You can enjoy the arcade in two ways: by looking at the atmospheric buildings during the day, or by looking at the store shutters in the early morning or at night when the stores are closed.

 

・In front of the entrance to the VASARA Sensoji store

You can actually get a full view of Tokyo Skytree from here. There are far fewer people here than in Nakamise-dori, so you can take photos right in the middle of the street. There are also kabuki dolls set up, so if you rent a kimono at the Sensoji store, be sure to take a photo with the Skytree.

 

 

What did you think? It takes about an hour to put on the kimono, and about an hour to go around the sightseeing route. If you come to Asakusa for sightseeing or a date, why not try going around the photo spots wearing a kimono?

 

These are the Instagrammers who helped create this column.

Ai Nomoto Instagram account ⇒ https://www.instagram.com/himemode/

Juri Hashimoto Instagram account ⇒ https://www.instagram.com/juppy0622/

Mai Nanri Instagram account ⇒ https://www.instagram.com/environs31/

Chisato Instagram account ⇒ https://www.instagram.com/honey_me1997/

Thank you for your cooperation!