I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone to know that I did another fabulous makeover photoshoot in Japan. This time I did the maiko experience at
Gion Aya along with Del and Andii, and since we chose the walking course that allowed us to wander around Gion for an hour not only did I get photos from the studio but photos from James as well! Here comes a big blow-by-blow review of the experience so buckle up and get ready!
Booking online was fairly simple. I did get an email back saying they were unavailable for my first choice of time and confirming if my second choice was okay, which it was. They also ask you to tell them if you are larger than a certain set of measurements, which I did, and when they replied to my email they indicated that if I didn’t fit any of their regular kimonos they did have a large size kimono. I was a little bummed because it was a very dark blue, which is not my colour at all, but in the end I did get to wear my kimono of choice so no biggie!
On the day itself it was easy to find the place via Google Maps and we were immediately welcomed into a waiting room by a staff member. In the waiting room they confirmed our chosen course and had us fill out an information form, including our selection of poses. I’ve come to learn that this is a typical thing for this kind of photoshoot in Japan, and honestly I think it’s a great idea. Having set poses allows them to take the photos very quickly with consistent results, it’s brilliant!
After this was all done, we
(with the exception of James, who was told to come back in half an hour...though we did take closer to an hour to get ready) were taken through to the changing room. Here we stowed our clothes, bags and all jewellery into lockers, donned a wraparound undergarment and thick tabi socks, put out phones in little bags provided, and went into the make-up room.
My make-up artist was called Mariko, and she was amazing. They were all amazing! It was fascinating to see the traditional make-up go on, and we could choose from a “cute” or “elegant” variation. I went with the cute one, of course, while the others chose elegant instead. Then it was time for the wigs! Andii and I both got given half wigs, with our natural hair combed over the front and sprayed black. Del, who has an undercut and a whole lotta hair on top, was fitted with a full wig.
Once we were all prettied up, it was up the stairs to the dressing room. I only wanged my wig on a doorframe once, and I’m proud of myself for that. Warning for tall people - watch your height in those wigs!
Since I was half expecting to just be given their large size kimono to wear, I was surprised to be shown to the giant rack of gorgeous kimonos and told to take my pick. Fortunately James and I had spent some time discussing it beforehand so I went straight for the section of pink ones...and was stumped. They were all so beautiful! After a bit of debating I finally chose this one.
Then the dressing began! Due to my size it took Mariko a few tries to get the folds right
(or maybe she’s just a perfectionist) but once the first tie held my kimono in place she rapidly wrapped me up in all the required layers, then it was time to choose my obi. She presented me with three options, but the green one was a clear winner for me.
I was the last to finish dressing and hurried over to the photo studio, because I could hear James’s voice and wanted to show him how amazing my outfit was. He was suitably complementary and we all went straight into photo taking. The photographer took us through one pose each then repeated the order, rather than shooting all four poses for each person at once, and he had an assistant who helped pose us and move us around. Though neither of them spoke much English gestures and a few words were really all that was needed.
We did have a bit of an issue, since Del and Andii wanted a photo together and we also wanted one of all three of us and there was some confusion. I’m honestly still not sure what the issue was...possibly that we had to pay for the additional photos? Who knows!
After the shoot, they asked us to decorate this print out of our group photo for their international visitors book
Then as we finished up, the assistant explained that she was learning to be a photographer, and asked if we’d be okay with her taking our photos. We all said yes, and gave her free reign to pick the pose. In the end we received a complimentary copy of that photo, which was nice.
During our time in the studio we were also free to take selfies and stuff of our own as long as we didn’t disturb the photographer. So, of course, we did. And James took some awesome Instax shots of me and Del!
After all the official photo taking was done we had a bit of confusion, as they were trying to tell us we could now have our ten minutes of free photo time. But when I explained we were doing the walking course instead the photographer and assistant both got to work tying our kimonos up shorter and equipping us with basket bags for our things. Though I heartily recommend either picking a package that includes walking time, or buying it as an extra, I think every package you book includes free selfie time in either the courtyard or studio. That’s definitely enough to allow you to get some good selfies and even proper photos if you have someone with you.
Down the stairs, into some very precarious shoes, and onto the street we went! James took a moment to get his camera out and ready to shoot and then we started our photography walk. Being the excellent man he is, James had already scouted out some cool locations nearby, so we just followed him and many awesome photos ensued.
I love how these outfits looked amazing from in front or from behind!
We also took some more Instax’s but they were blown out since we hadn’t learnt the settings properly yet, oops. But they’re still pretty cool despite that! We did not use our full hour of time, but the thirty or forty minutes we spent wandering was still more than adequate.
Once back at the studio we were taken back up to the dressing room to be rapidly de-robed
(my Sailor Moon tattoo was noticed and admired ^__^), then down to the make-up room to have our wigs taken off. One of the staff then took us to the changing room and talked us through the products and process of removing our make-up and temporary hair colouring. Before too long we looked like our usual selves again...which was a bit disconcerting!
Then we sat in the waiting room, waited a little, and then received our photos. I do have to say I’m not really happy with mine from the studio, but that’s purely because of my size. With how they work from a series of set poses there’s no flexibility to account for body differences. Sure, maybe I just picked bad poses, but it’s hard to know exactly how you’ll look when the model in the sample photos is a typically sized Japanese lady. So I was extra glad that I had the walking time, because James got some epic and flattering photos which were even more appreciated since I didn’t like these ones much.
We had the opportunity to buy all the data from the shoot
(around 30 photos each) for around 3k yen extra, which we did. I opted for the CD, which was the cheapest option, but you could have them sent to you on Facebook
(or other social media) or get a USB. I’m very glad I did this, as I preferred different photos to the ones that the photographer chose to be printed for me. So in the end I got three shots I liked from them, which is okay.
Selfie time!
Despite that slightly negative note, overall I loved this experience! It is mesmerising to see yourself so transformed, and the kimono and everything else you get to wear are just gorgeous. The staff were all very kind and knowledgeable and it was just really great. If, like me, you want to get lots and lots of photos I really recommend doing the walking course and buying all the photo data. The only downside is something entirely beyond the studio’s control and that is that if you are plus-size this will probably not be as flattering for you as it would be for a smaller person. I’m not saying don’t do it! Just be aware that you won’t look quite the same as their sample models.
PS I haven’t included all of the photos in this post, so if you’d like to see the rest please
visit my Facebook page! There are a
lot more there ^__^
