さかえ屋呉服店

There are too many Kimono rental shops to choose from in Tokyo. However this is the ONLY one I would recommend to foreigners after I rented 3 different kimono in 3 different shops (and different cities) including this one.
1. Long history: This shop has been in business for over 50 years. The current owner is the daughter of the first owner, both mother and daughter are very passionate about kimono and they treated every customer nicely. They did everything to make sure we wore the kimono right and pose right for the photo. Besides, they know Kimono so much that they are highly willing to answer any question you have regarding Kimono. Also, they sell used Kimono if you are interested. Kimono to them is ART and Japanese culture rather than a piece of products which tourists love buying.
2. Small business: Since the shop is basically max. two people team (depends on Harajunku or Omiya locations), they never rush you to put on your Kimono and push you to leave their shop ASAP like other places. Besides, since it is so small we didn’t need to worry about leaving our valuables behind/​around while trying on clothes. The kimono (and other accessories) is higher quality and a lot cleaner than other ones I rented same as hair accessories.
3. Hair & Makeup: Many high volume kimono shops will not provide any of hair and makeup service. Some of them may provide hair up-​do but the choice is very limited that I just felt like being a ‘product’ on the factory line. Sakaeya partnered with talented hair/​makeup artist, she will do the hair the way I wanted and even put on fake eyelashes for me to make me look cute.
4. Flexibility: The owner speaks good English and is very responsive on emails. I can’t remember how many silly questions I asked her in those 10+ emails such as sizing, what was included in the package, sales tax, etc. but she answered them all.
5. Rental Plan: Their plans are very simple, either 5,000 or 8,000 yen depends on whether you want to walk around outside the shop. We rented Furisode (long shelves kimono) for myself and my husband for $ 70,000 yen. This plan sounds expensive but this is actually not. It included both makeup/​hair for me + photography around the shrine by professional + furisode is way more expensive kimono than the regular ones. Since we used these prints as engagement pics and it costs $ 300 – 400 USD for engagement picture session easily in Seattle, I think the furisode plan is well worth the price. I got so many compliments about those pictures whenever I show them to others.