Celebrating Our First Wedding Anniversary: A Japanese-Inspired Photoshoot
Why Celebrate Your Anniversary?
Anniversaries are unique events that should not go unnoticed and should be marked with lots of fun and excitement. Since it was our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I decided to make the day memorable and culturally relevant. We wanted to do a Japanese-style photoshoot in yukata during the cherry blossom season. This experience not only helped us to enjoy the love but also to learn more about Japanese culture. Here’s a detailed account of our joyful day and some useful tips for those who want to have a photoshoot in Japan during Sakura season.
Hair and Outfit Preparation
Weeks ahead, my husband and I decided that we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a photoshoot under the cherry blossom trees. To achieve this, I made an appointment with one of the salons early in the morning around 9 AM close to Kita Kogane Station before our shoot at 11 AM. The staff at the salon was courteous and cheerful, thus making the preparation very enjoyable. The moment I entered the shop, I felt like the entire team was attending to me — one was applying make-up, the other was fixing my hair, and the third was fitting me into the yukata almost at the same time. There was so much going on all at once and I just burst out laughing because it was really crazy.
I had a beautiful pink yukata with flower prints on it and I also carried a small Japanese-style purse with me. My husband wore a grey yukata and he looked very fine for the occasion. Curiously enough, we had purchased these outfits sometime before during our shopping tour in Kamakura. We did not think about using them for our anniversary at that time, but we later realized that it was the best decision we made at that time.
The only difficulty I had was moving around in wooden clogs called geta, which felt like learning to walk again. It was so challenging to walk up the shrine because of the shoes and I tripped many times, nearly twisting my ankle. I am glad that my friend and husband were there to help me to avoid any embarrassing incidents.
The Location
For the photoshoot, we chose Tozenji shrine, which is close to Kita Kogane Station, as our photoshoot location. It was the most ideal time as it was spring and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The beauty of pink flowers against the background of the shrine left an unforgettable impression on all of us.
Also, one of the highlights of the day was meeting my friend, who had earlier agreed to be our photographer for a reasonable price and a meal at a nearby restaurant, just across the shrine. She isn’t a professional photographer, but she has a keen eye for catching the beauty of unguarded moments as shown in her Instagram feed.
The Day of the Shoot
At first, we didn’t know what to do, and we even felt a little uncomfortable as we were not used to this kind of thing, especially when there were so many people around. On top of that, walking in those wooden slippers did not improve the situation! But my friend was quite good at putting us at ease. I remember she was making us take many strange and funny poses that made us laugh, forgetting that we were nervous.
Quite unexpectedly, it began to rain lightly, and so we had to sit down for a while and wait for the rain to stop. We used the time to take more pictures around the area and also take more relaxed photos. This is most probably because it was rainy season and the beauty of holding hands and strolling around the shrine with the cherry blossoms falling around us seemed very romantic.
Though there was a slight problem with the weather it ended up being a beautiful day. We had such a lot of fun and it was wonderful to have been able to celebrate our anniversary in such a manner. My friend was able to get some nice shots that we will treasure forever.
Read the rest of the article:Celebrating Our First Wedding Anniversary: A Japanese-Inspired Photoshoot — Tokyo Room Finder Blog
Need help finding your perfect accommodation in Japan? Contact us!
https://www.tokyoroomfinder.com/