In a blink of an eye the year has reached its final month and in Japan, instead of sending greeting cards to wish family and friends Happy New Year, people here send postcards called Nengajos.

In late September the topic about what to do with this year’s Nengajos came up in the office. I dwelled on it longer than necessary I assure you. All sorts of ideas crossed my mind from dressing up as pirates to posing with monkeys in a zoo. And it didn’t help that Halloween was around the corner.

Thankfully after a month and a half, everything was set in stone. We were to dress up in Japanese traditional clothing and strut across Asakusa for a photoshoot!

So, on the 15th of November, we made our way to the Kimono Rental Store where we chose our own outfits and got dressed up. It took perhaps about 1 and a half hours to get everyone ready.

It was forecasted to be cloudy and rainy that day but thank goodness the sun was not having any of it and by the time we were ready to take our pictures, the sky was a clear expanse of blue.

That day we managed a couple of good shots and we finished off with Unagi-Don lunch in a nice cozy restaurant.

Here are some of the shots that we took.

Trying to find a good angle

The sky clearing up!

One of the best shots of the day!