We hosted a special event at BORDERLESS HOUSE Kyoto Kamigamo—a “Kimono Dressing & Tea Party” that brought tenants and locals together in the most beautiful and cultural way!
Wearing a kimono is a truly special experience, and it usually costs around 4,000 yen per person per day. But thanks to the generous support of Kyoto Kimono Kikaku, tenants were able to join for just 500 yen! A huge thank you to Kyoto Kimono Kikaku-san for making this possible!
This time, we had 21 tenants join us from all five Borderless Houses in Osaka and Kyoto, creating a vibrant and international gathering. After everyone dressed up in stunning kimonos, we enjoyed a tea party and cultural exchange with 12 local residents from the Kyoto Kamigamo neighborhood.
From start to finish, the event was full of smiles, great conversation, and unforgettable moments. I’ll be sharing lots of photos below so you can feel the atmosphere too!
Also… I’ll share a little behind-the-scenes story about the challenges of putting on a kimono—it’s definitely not as easy as it looks!
The Fun (and Struggle!) of Kimono Dressing
One of the most memorable parts of the day was watching everyone try on kimonos—especially for those experiencing it for the first time!
For many of our male tenants from overseas, wearing traditional tabi socks was a brand-new challenge. One of them even joked,
“Where’s my ring toe? Where?!”
It gave everyone a good laugh!
Meanwhile, the female tenants took on the task of tying their own obi (kimono sashes). There are so many different obi styles—like ribbon shapes—and it takes quite a bit of technique to get it just right.
Luckily, with kind and careful guidance from the team at Kyoto Kimono Kikaku, everyone managed to dress beautifully in their kimonos. We’re so grateful for their support!
We were also touched to have some of our local neighbors join as volunteers for the kimono dressing. One of them, O-san, is a familiar face at Kyoto Kamigamo House.
She always remembers everyone’s names and nicknames, and this time, she joined us because she wanted to help—even just a little—to make the experience more special for the tenants.
For many of our tenants, this was their very first time wearing a kimono by themselves—and once they were dressed, they couldn’t stop smiling! Excited by how they looked, everyone started snapping tons of photos together.
One of the most unforgettable moments? A tenant who loves natto (fermented soybeans) so much—he eats it morning, noon, and night—came up with a special “Natto Pose” for the photos!
A Walk Through Cultural Heritage – Kamigamo Shrine
After getting dressed, we split into three teams and strolled over to Kamigamo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just a 3-minute walk from Kyoto Kamigamo House.
We visited the temizuya, the traditional water basin for cleansing hands and mouth before entering the shrine. Then, all of us—tenants and staff alike—gathered in front of the torii gate for a group photo to remember the moment!
Tea Party Success! A Surprise Icebreaker: Korean Dramas!?
After the shrine walk, we returned to the house, where 12 local neighbors warmly welcomed the tenants for a tea party. At first, some neighbors were a bit nervous and unsure how to start a conversation:
“I’m not sure how to begin talking…”
“I don’t speak English well…”
But the ice melted quickly with a simple comment from one of them:
“I love Korean dramas!”
One of the Korean tenants immediately responded:
“Oh really? Which drama do you like?”
And just like that, the conversations started to bloom.
Some neighbors even shared stories about growing up in the Kamigamo area, using hand gestures to communicate across language barriers.
A few of the local girls also took the opportunity to practice their English and Korean by chatting with the tenants. The whole tea party turned into a heartwarming exchange of cultures, languages, and laughter.
As the event came to a close, many tenants couldn’t hide their disappointment.
We heard comments like: “Already? That hour went by way too fast!”
Some even asked: “When is the next event? Please let us know as soon as you decide!”
We were thrilled to receive so many warm voices eager for the next gathering, and we’re already looking forward to planning more events like this one!
Heartwarming feedback from tenants
“This was my first time experiencing kimono dressing, and it was so fulfilling. I also learned so much about the Kamigamo area from the neighbors—I’d love to continue engaging with them and learn more!”
— W-san (Japan)
“It was so much fun chatting with tenants from other houses! I’d love to join again if there’s another cross-house event.”
— R-san (Japan)
“Please keep organizing events focused on Japanese culture! I really want to learn more about how to tie obi belts—please teach me next time!”
— A-san (Germany)
It was clear from everyone’s smiles and kind words that this event wasn’t just a fun cultural experience—it was a true moment of connection between international residents and the local community.
Borderless House × Local Community
At Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo, we’re committed to creating a space where cultural exchange and local connection go hand in hand. We hope to continue growing alongside our tenants and neighbors, building meaningful ties with the Kamigamo community.
Thank you for reading our blog! We hope to see you at our next event.
If you’re interested in living at Borderless House and joining our vibrant, multicultural community, feel free to reach out!
▶️ Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo
▶️ Borderless House Kyoto Hanazono
Thanks again to all the neighbors who joined us—and to everyone who smiled for the camera!
This time our staff Daniel was the guide of the hike (The one in bright blue jacket). The tenants who took part in were from France, Korea and Taiwan. Though the number of participants were not so many, a team with fewer people was also more flexible and you wouldn’t be left alone.
It was so exciting and inspiring to get to the top!!! We also met other hikers and took pictures together, and quiet atmosphere of the mountain became so lively~
On the top, you can overlook the whole Taipei city, and the horizon is very wide. Being far away from the busy life of city temporarily and making new friends as well seems great, doesn’t it? (Smile)
(Picture in the mountain.)
(He joined the language program and practiced Chinese with his Taiwanese partner Michelle.)
Thanks Philipp for sharing his experiences!! We had good time chatting with him and hope that he can achieve his goal on learning Chinese 🙂
Check BORDERLESS HOUSE in Taipei>>
We had the dinner and enjoyed getting to know each other.
Hope everyone got a nice gift.
We also prepared some gift for the winners of Bingo!
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After the games, it was free time for you guys to talk with anyone!
Let’s take pictures, exchange contact information and keep in touch! ^_<
Took happy group photos with all participants!
Thanks for join us! Hope everyone enjoyed it and join us at our next event!
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Please check our fanpage on Facebook for more photos!
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(Ran is a left one ^^ with Fuji Mountain and his new roommates)
Q1. How was your exchange?
My trip was great. Last time I was in Japan I was mostly limited to one area. This time I used the money saved on housing to purchase a JR Pass. I started my trip in Sapporo Hokkaido. I stayed there for a couple of nights before taking a sleeper bus to Hakodate. The next morning my JR Pass started and I took the Shinkansen to Tokyo to start my stay in the share house. From Tokyo I was able to travel to Nikko, Kiso Valley, Kofu, Kyoto/Nara, Kaurizawa, Niigata, and Fujigoko mostly to go hiking. Coming from the sweaty jungles of Taiwan, It was really refreshing to be able to breathe the cool air and see all the autumn colors.
Q2.What is the most memorable episode?
Going up Mt. Mitutouge/Kinashiyama with my housemates. From the side we started on the hike was supposed to be around 3-4 km to the top with an ascent of 1700m. It was an exhausting few hours to make it to the top. But the view of Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area was worth it. By the time we made it down the other side the sun was setting.
Q3. Do you have any comments who consider?
My housemates were a fun bunch to talk to and made my trip more enjoyable. I really do wish I was able to stay longer than the week and a half I was there.
Let’s see photos he shared below!!
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(Hakodate)
(Sapporo)
(Tokyo Dome)
(Nara with cute deer)
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He went to so many places during his trip in Japan! And which also make us feel very happy and very enjoyable when we read his wonderful sharing!
He used the money saved on housing to purchase a JR Pass which makes us feel very glad that we could support our tenants’ trip.
Free House Exchange program can provide more opportunities for our tenants to meet and stay with local people in the country and have a real cultural experience!!
Since our houses are in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea, you can stay one of our houses for FREE!!
✫ If you are interested in our program, please don’t feel hesitate to join the program!
http://www.borderless-house.com/houseexchange/houseexchange_form/
✫ You can check the details of this program on our website blow.
http://www.borderless-house.com/houseexchange/ 
There are many types of houses in Taipei.
※We will upload regarding the house type later.
If you would like to live by yourself, it would cost around 8,000 NTD-15,000 NTD in general. You can find the house which would cost around 5,000 NTD/month but I recommend you the house over 8,000 NTD thinking about the cleaness and difficulties of negotiation with Taiwanese landlord.
About the rent for living in BORDERLESS HOUSE, the information is as below 😉
-Private room: 12,500~15,000 NTD
-2 Females room: 9,000~9,500 NTD
-2 Males room: 9,000~9,500 NTD
-3 Females room: 7,900~8,800 NTD
-3 Males room: 7,900~8,800 NTD
-4 Females room: 6,900~7,900 NTD
-6 Females room: 6,700 NTD
You can get more information by setting 
The electricity fee is expensive in Taipei. It exceeds 1,000 NTD/month in summer period.
Water is cheaper and it costs around 200-300 NTD/month.
If your house has a kitchen, gas fee costs around 200-300 NTD/month.
In Borderless House, utility fee is 800 NTD/month including electricity, water, TV, gas and internet fee! (The electric power consumption in summer period would be high, so utility fee for May. to Oct. will be 1,200 NTD.)
If you install the internet in your house, it costs around 1,000 NTD/month. (Some landlords kindly include internet fee into the rent.)
You can use tethering by your cell phone and it costs around 800 NTD/month. But some tenants just buy a prepaid card in order to save money and you can get it in around 300NTD.
The tansportation system in Taipei is very convenient and cheap. An one-way metro ticket for the Taipei Metro (MRT) within Taipei City costs about 20NTD. There are also rental bikes (called “U-bikes”)
provided by the city where the first 30min costs 5NTD. As you can see you won’t spend much money on transportation.
Initial costs for daily toiletries such as toilet paper, hair shampoo and hair conditioner might be high but once you have them you will get along with the above mentioned amount of money.
Moreover, in some drug stores there are special offers where you get two products for a price of one, so again, sharing with your housemate will help you safe money!
■Leisure Activities
