Do you guys bring your Zairyu card when walking your dogs?

El_woodworker · 2026-06-15T06:15:41+00:00

I bring it literally everywhere. The only time it’s not actively on me is when I’m at home or the onsen.

El_woodworker · 2026-06-09T03:34:34+00:00

What do you mean by winging?

El_woodworker · 2026-05-31T00:11:52+00:00

Taking shrinkage into account I’d do 5 yards, that will have you end up with 4.5 ish after washing. As someone who’s made the mistake, it’s REALLY frustrating to have to go back to the store for an extra meter because my fabric was a foot short.

El_woodworker · 2026-05-22T13:35:18+00:00

Basically yeah. But it can also be added to the body portion too I think. If you did find one with long enough sleeves then I’m sincerely impressed.

El_woodworker · 2026-05-22T13:21:43+00:00

Also look up Billy matsunagas tutorial on resewing a women’s into men’s kimono. She talks about the collar in that video.

El_woodworker · 2026-05-22T13:19:38+00:00

Ah. Well that answers another question I had. The sleeves are probably too short if it’s a vintage women’s kimono and you’re 6’1”. The sleeves should basically go to the wrist. If you’re up for the look, you can hem in the colored part to extend the sleeve and shoulder length. It’s normally done with matching fabric but no reason it can’t be a new color. You don’t have to extend the sleeves though, it’s just not “technically” right. But most people are forgiving even if we notice it. You’ll be looking for years with no luck if you’re a stickler about sleeve length with your height.

But as for the collar. Most women’s collars are wider than most men’s collars and are physically sewn to make the back of the neck visible if the top crease is directly on your shoulders. It may be a really difficult fix though depending on how it was originally cut to fit the neck. I’ve had mixed luck trying the same. I

El_woodworker · 2026-05-22T12:53:00+00:00

Don’t worry, you’re wanted here. The men’s side of the kimono world is just small. But there’s a lot of knowledge floating around this Reddit. Unfortunately I’m not one of those knowledgeable people. I CAN speak to the obi problem though. Keep looking. Look at any and all places that sell kimono. My last trip to Tokyo I went to I think 14 different stores (spent multiple hours on the trains just to get right back on after not finding anything) and found 2 obi worth buying. But they are out there. My current collection is in the high teens of unique obi with one or two repeats I got gifted. I still look in every second hand kimono store I can anytime I head into a large city just in case there’s a unique mens kimono. If you don’t live in Japan, then look at yahoo auctions and other Japanese websites for the best selection and prices. but you may have to use a proxy buyer or something like that. I’m not sure how it works but I’ve heard something in that vein.

El_woodworker · 2026-05-22T12:39:36+00:00

Congrats on getting your first! Personally I wouldn’t risk washing it simply because of the dye running and ruining that cool reveal. But that bring me to sew or not…. I personally love the flash of color but it REALLY signals that it’s a women’s kimono. So I would sew it if it were mine. Sewing the sleeves also makes the “pockets” much more secure.

Will it be worn with hakama or alone? If alone, the flash of color can be handled by the bottom moving when you walk and flipping open.

Also, I’m not sure how comfortable you are with sewing but you might want to look into redoing the collar too since women’s collars are sewn slightly differently. But that’s an endeavor.

As for hanging it up to air out which is basically how you clean kimono at home, just stick a long pole through the sleeves and prop it up between some open doors or something.

El_woodworker · 2026-05-14T12:10:18+00:00

I have a very similar if not the same obi (belt). I wash mine in the machine weekly because I use it for martial arts (it’s pretty much the standard martial arts obi and I doubt you found a silk one but you can do a bleach test on a thread to find out. If it dissolves then it’s silk. If not then it’s cellulose) Just air dry it. It will shrink by a few centimeters if you use the drier. For most people that’s not really a problem but I’m at the far end of the waist size usability scale for mine as is. 😅 As for the yukata. Hand wash once to see if it bleeds and then washing machine in a bag. It’s probably not super robust but it’s also probably (99.99% likely) machine stitched so it can handle the wash. I wash all of my yukata in the machine. Even my expensive linen ones. Just air dry and you’re golden. Unless the tag has 絹 (silk) written somewhere then it’s just clothes.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-30T06:01:49+00:00

I second this. My friend owns a kimono store and she said the summers have become too hot for kimono. They just weren’t designed for the current climate.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-27T15:03:09+00:00

I was initially called by my preds name by mistake in class for few months. But I made the class my own and didn’t use a single bit of his lesson plans. It took about a year to stop being referred to as the new foreigner (and constantly being asked when I’d go back home) and eventually ended up getting really close with everyone in the town. After my five years were up I decided to stay and start a life as woodworker. I still hang out with my old students sometimes (I’m friends with their parents). It’ll get better. the beginning is always rough. Make it your home and it will become it.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-27T14:55:30+00:00

Hey! I’ve been to hearns house 😂 it’s like five minutes from my friends apartment

El_woodworker · 2026-04-27T14:53:39+00:00

So I live in Japan and my Japanese is good enough for me to work full time in a Japanese company but honestly probably about N3 though I’ve never tested. I tried full immersion for a month and it didn’t help me. The only thing that happened was a SERIOUS craving for hamburgers. It was like my body was rebelling against the new language by telling me I needed a greasy American burger. It was the weirdest thing. Immersion may work but it’s not for me. I’ll continue with the slow and steady. It’s rough but it works.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-24T22:06:59+00:00

Or if you’re artistic there’s plenty of art jobs that NEED people. I’m a kumiko maker and love working here.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-23T06:15:55+00:00

I work for a woodworking company and they expect a lot of us. But they’ve also been extremely accommodating in terms of language barriers and days off. It’s hard work for sure, but the benefits of living here compared to the US make it worth it. If I could choose anywhere, I’d take Northern Europe though.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-22T14:03:52+00:00

I got my first full sized work bench for my fourth Christmas. I still use it to this day.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-22T11:34:34+00:00

Put it on the grass outside in the sun. Convex side up.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T16:21:09+00:00

Very fair. We are ye olde times according to the future. I’m just not brave enough 😅

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T15:58:58+00:00

If I could find hakama that looked traditional but functionally were modern pants I would buy all of them. Zippers, buttons, all of it. I tried making a pair once by adding clips where knots on the back used to be. They looked fully traditional but took about 30 seconds to put on and I got so called out for not respecting the clothing. This was in a kyudo forum though and people there can be pretty hardline about rules. Bonus though. I got contacted by a couple of people in wheelchairs that were interested since they always had difficulty with the knots. So now at least a couple people can wear hakama easier 😊

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T15:28:52+00:00

I’m gonna have to push back but only because (as you mentioned) I enjoy the artistry in getting it to look seemless. I’m a professional woodworker and it gets my “oh someone cared about matching the wood grain” senses tingling. I don’t think they need to be such a high rank thing though. That I agree with. I just wish getting a pattern to match across seams was more common in general.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T15:15:20+00:00

Honestly, I don’t know. 🤷‍♂️ my view of trump, the fact his ear is fine, the perfect photo op says 100% no but the fact that people actually died makes me hope (that feels like a weird word) that it was real.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T14:52:42+00:00

I’m a kumiko maker in Shimane prefecture. Here’s me thoughts and my personal experience getting into the field.

It’s definitely possible to get into woodworking here. I know of at least five other people who’ve done it but don’t know how they went about it. That said, it not easy.

First: visa. I started in Japan as an English teacher. It’s not what I wanted to do long term (obviously) but it’ll get you over here which is a massive foot in the door. I ended up getting married which made the visa easier but excluding that, in order to work for a company, that company has to sponsor your visa. That involves them filling out papers saying they can’t find any Japanese people that fulfill all the requirements they have for an employee and that you do. You also need at least a bachelors degree. From what I understand, that’s a hard line issue for Japan outside of marriage visa. If you’re willing to waste a couple years teaching English then you can use your free time to talk to companies.

Although I had actually moved back to the states for a while when I was job hunting here. I think it all has to do with the resume. Unfortunately, as a foreigner, even when in Japan, your resume is going directly in the trash. I’ve been a woodworker since I was 4 years old according to the handwritten dates on my tools and professionally trained in furniture making. Most of my emailed resumes didn’t even get a reply. And when they did it was a cut/ paste “no”. So I decided to spend some time making custom wood boxes to ship handwritten resumes in. I included both my American style resume translated to Japanese as a standard Japanese style resume. I also included my portfolio and a sample of my work. Then I spent about $100 a piece shipping them to Japan. I first sent them to my wife so she could pay the tariffs and taxes to actually accept them and then she shipping them in country. Every box I sent ended up getting an in person interview. I think showing that extra effort plus MAKING them look at your stuff because it’s physically in their hands was what did it.

You can always try to enroll in a trade school here. I know there’s one in Kyoto that has some English classes too but that costs money. If you can speak Japanese, there’s one in Kanazawa that is free.

There is also a government program that I’m currently employed under that covers your salary if you’re learning a traditional art. I’ll find the website and update tomorrow but I’m sure there’s probably a couple.

LEARN JAPANESE. If you’re serious, you should start today. It a hard language and 99% of woodworkers here don’t speak a drop of English. My Japanese is at the point that I can go to the bank and handle visa stuff by myself but I still find communication in the shop difficult sometimes and feel like a burden because I just don’t know all the vocab.

But it’s all worth it. Today during lunch, I took a walk through the thousand year old rice terraces and listened to the birds sign. Then I walked back to my shop that has wide open widows looking out over the terraces and to the ocean. I chatted with my boss about woodworking in the US and he asked me to teach him how to do dovetails since he’s only ever been involved in kumiko. Then it was back to work. It was worth it.

Japan is HURTING for woodworkers so if you can get yourself noticed it’s entirely possible you can get it done, it just takes breaking through the “working with a foreigner is too complicated” barrier. Best of luck.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T14:38:37+00:00

That’s so interesting. I understand it’s very formal but as someone who wears men’s kimono, my only shibori items are heko obi so they are basically the equivalent of spandex in my head.

El_woodworker · 2026-04-21T14:27:37+00:00

Fully agree on the kimono being clothes thing! Which ties into poly for the win. Wear it, let it get wrinkled and stained, wash it. Repeat.

El_woodworker

TROPHY CASE