James and I have been in Tokyo for nearly one week now, and we both love this city. It is old and new all at the same time. It is familiar yet foreign. Bustling yet quiet. There are so many fascinating juxtapositions in this city, and we have just barely begun to explore them.

We have been welcomed into this new city by the people of Tokyo Union Church in such warm and loving hands. Everyone we have met thus far has been so excited to share this new place with us, and our time working at the church thus far has been very good. There are so many things to say and share that James and I will have to do it bit by bit, focusing on one thing at a time.

Today’s special feature: Kimonos. James and I had the opportunity of a life-time to be dressed in Kimonos yesterday by the Women’s Society at Tokyo Union Church (TUC). This society has been a part of the church for years and years, and is composed of a broad variety of women – some from the US, some from Europe, some from other parts of Asia, and many women from Japan. One of the things this group does is to share various elements of Japanese culture, and yesterday’s session  was all about the art of dressing in Kimonos. There were several Japanese women who volunteered to dress us in their beloved robes, many of them family heirlooms. And James and I were chosen to be dressed as the bride and groom, which was quite an ordeal. We learned about the various types of Kimonos, varying degrees of formality, kimonos for different seasons of the year, kimono styles from different eras of Japanese history, and more. Dressing in Kimonos is very complicated, and takes a very skilled women to put the robe on just right. There are no buttons or Velcro or zippers – it is all put together by ropes and cords and string. And the obi (the beautiful garment tied around the waist) is like putting a finishing touch of origami on the robe. Apparently if a woman wants to get dressed in a kimono for her wedding, and her mother is not very skilled at dressing in Kimonos, it costs over $100.00 at a beauty salon to be dressed properly in one. So James and I feel quite fortunate that these Japanese women were willing to share their time and skills with us.