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90 Zombies appeared !!! Borderless House Presents :International Exchange Halloween Party !!

Trick or Treat !!

Hello everybody!! This is Yuya as House manager at Borderless House.

It is the Halloween season from last saturday, people are celebrating Halloween !!

Off course, we are not missing this BIG event.

 

 

 

Guess what!! We held Borderless Halloween Party last week !!

Today, we are going to tell you about Borderless House Halloween Party.

 

 

This is the Biggest International Event !! Borderless House Special Halloween party

It has been 2 years since we had a Halloween event, so we rent the special place called 『in the house 』to have private event!!

There were 90 people from 22 countries joined the Halloween Party including the staffs.

 

Also our staff wore the Halloween costume, but the tenants were wearing much nicer costumes!! They are so into the Halloween!!

 

The professional make up!! You can be the Halloween look. The make up was done by our tenant!!

The stage and foods are greeting ready …

But something is missing… SO there was not enough fear !!!

Halloween is known as the ghost festival, so We can not celebrate Halloween without Zombies .

But …. if you look at the corner of the hall, Someone is making zombies and they are increasing so fast !!!!

 

Yes !! This is the one of the highlight of Halloween Party is make up booth which you can have Halloween makeup on by Make-up artist.

 

Also, this booth is taken care of one of our Borderless House tenants named K kun!

He is a hair stylist and also has been doing make up to famous artists.  He will be studying abroad to get more skills in this winter.

He has been living in one of the Borderless House in Shinjuku form the beginning. So, we asked him if he wants to do something to make last great memory in the Halloween event ….

 

K  yeah but it was so much fun staying in Borderless House, I already miss that.
I will definitely want to live here when I come back to Japan.

S  We are glad to hear that!! By the way, K kun
Would you like to make last great memory in this event ??

K Halloween Party !? sounds great !! I would do makeup.

 

That is why he was doing make up for us!! You are the best K kun!!

And, surprisingly, his Teacher, who is a professional make-up artist came this event from LA!!! She did make up for us for a hour !!

 

There were a lot of Zombies in this Party.

 

There is no  language barrier !!  Borderless House Special contents

This Halloween event has not only the fancy patty hall or make up booth !!

Borderless House is multicultural shared house, so we had some special contents that give you opportunity to talk to other people.

 

Who are your neighbors?? Making Borderless House map and new friends around your house !!

The first trick is this !!

This game is that we make the event hall  as Tokyo map and people try to make Borderless house map there.

 

This is quite sudden, but

Everyday you go to school or work and come back to home……

Have you ever wish to have variety of friends and opportunity to make friends around Tokyo ???

This game is the great opportunity to get to know people from other Borderless House and also see which Borderless House they are coming from.

 

The rule is simple!! We gave everyone a name tag which has number on it, so you just  look for people who have the same number as you do.

At the beginning of the game, everyone was confused about this game, but after telling them that they are neighbors, they were surprised about it.

After this game, they try to make next plans with neighbors!!!

This is THE Borderless House, right ??

 

Communication is about your heart!! Let’s make mummy

Before we decided to do this game, Staff Takuya who wore Banana costume in Halloween Party said ……..

“Everyone wants to be a mummy at least once in his/ her life “

The next contents is this !!! Toilet paper mummy !!

 

Let’s make mummy!!!

The rule :  we are making some groups ( each group has 6 people ) and give the 2 toilet paper to the groups. After start sign, you just make mummy !!

The winner will be the group that makes 2 awesome mummies, and will get the special Prize !!

 

There are people who want to be mummies, and people who want to make mummies.

Language is no problem in this game !! All you need is trying to understand people’s mind and good communication with your team.

 

And ……  The winner was the group that has staff Riko!!!

NO  WAY　！！！！！

 

The first prize is a projector!? The best SNS award will be …….

The annual Borderless House SNS award, we choose the person for this award in this year as well !!

This year, we had two SNS prize !!

One is most like prize which is the persons who gets most like on instagram

Two is the best dresser prize that the person who wears the greatest costume in Halloween Party.

 

Most like prize will get projector, and the best dresser prize will get StarBucks card !!

So, we would like to show you the winners here

BUT, Please check out the Borderless Instagram below !!

[#borderlesshouse]

 

There were also a lot of people who wear great costumes and post photos on Instagram, so please check that out as well !!

 

Diversity of nationality and language !!  Borderless House is THE only House that give you the opportunity to get to know people from all over the world

The Halloween Party is finally coming to a close …

End of the party, we gathered everybody at  the stage and took a group photo !!

 

At beginning of the party, people are nervous about getting to know new people, but after the party, they became so close each other !!

We will have more parties which bring connections between tenants in the future!

We assure that you will learn not only language but also Japanese local culture with your Japanese housemates in Borderless House.

Why don’t you try us and make your stay more enjoyable？

We are looking forward to meeting you again at Christmas Party !!

 

■ Share House Search
https://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/

 

 

Happy Halloween !!

PS: After party, everybody made plan to go to Izakaya together or their house to continue the party !! THIS is also Borderless House, You can make a lot of friends in Borderless House event after !!

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Over 100 participants attended! We threw a Christmas Party on December 9th!

 

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer～ had a very shiny nose～♪

 

Hi all! This is Kohei from a marketing team!

Christmas is just around the corner!

We had a Christmas party with over 100 people from various Borderles Houses on December 9th and today we would like to share it with you!

 

Click here for the video and you can see what the party was like!

 

All the events Borderless House creates provide you an international environment! Multicultural party unique to Borderless House!

We hired the place in Shinjuku for the party.
Staffs look like they are enjoying setting up for the party.

 

Doors finally opened! The atmosphere is getting lively by tenants streaming into the party place.

 

A tenant who holds the paper with number has him taken. What is going to be started!?

 

The party has finally begun! Kenny and Riko from Borderless House is setting up the mood for the party!

 

Various events to give a chance to interact with other participants.

There are some twists to make participants get close during the party!

Find your partner! Number matching!

The wrist band with number is used to find your partner. You find a person who has the same number as yours, you and your partner will get one drink for free!

 

We found many ways to make friends at the party! Some people willingly talk to others, some write their number big on a paper and show it, etc..

‘Nice to meet you!’ ‘How are you?’ Everyone is talking each other and having fun!

You will never be alone at the party even there is no housemates around you! We are not just friends, but borderlessmates!

 

Bingo game for one month free rent!

All the participants are photographed with number which is going to be used for bingo game! First prize is a one-month-free-rent!

Everyone got so excited when either you or your housemates got a prize!!

 

Congrats for the first prize!

 

The award for today’s best dressed!

This award determines a best dressed tenants.

2 tenants were selected for the prize! It was too hard for us to pick one.

The one in a costume of Santa Clause and the other one was DJing during the party!

 

‘Like’ the picture! The award for the most liked picture!

We gave this award to a person who gets the most ‘like’ on a picture taken during the party on SNS such as Instagram and Facebook!

The prize is a pair thicket for Disneyland & Disneysea!
There is a designated point for taking pictures in the party place. Snap with housemates and new friends!

 

She got over 200 likes on Instagram and won the prize!!

Congratulation!!!

 

We all had a blast! We believe that only share house can create bond between residents!

We reaffirmed strong connections between housemates through the event.

As soon as one of their housemates went on the stage, the rest of them started screaming the name of their house!

 

Even though each of them lives in different Borderless Houses, they became friends through the party and also made some connections between houses.

 

This event made them have a wider circle of friends! (Some of our tenants sometimes have parties with friends from different Borderless Houses that met at our past events!)

 

The party brought ‘Borderless’ relationship between all the participants regardless of their language and nationality.

The party came to an end! We all took a picture together!

We will have more parties which bring connections between tenants in the future!

We assure that you will learn not only language but also Japanese local culture with your Japanese housemates in Borderless House!

Why don’t you try us and make your stay more enjoyable?

 

■ House Search
https://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/

 

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Great opportunity to meet global and local☆Borderless House KOBE-Motomachi-opening celebration party!

Hello, this is Yuria from Borderless House Kansai Office.

Now is the best time to see the autumn leaves in Kansai area. KOBE-Motomachi House have an autumn season for the first time.

We held the house party on November 25th.

Half of Guests were outsiders! Friendly house mates in KOBE-Motomachi House

Half of party guests were outsiders, such as Tenants from OSAKA-Tsuruhshi House and Osaka-Tamatsukuri House, customer who is looking for a share house in Kyoto, student who is interested in vegetables and friend of new tenant.

Although it was their first meeting, they became friends quickly. At the group photo, it is difficult for us to find who is our tenants or not 😀 Thanks for the super sociable housemates in KOBE-Motomachi House!

We are proud of all tenants in Kansai area, since they always talk to customers in a very friendly manner when we have a room-viewing, and help to repair our accommodations together!

Cooking with local fresh vegetables!

KOBE-Motomachi House is the only accommodation in Borderless House, delivered fresh vegetables every weeks by local farmer. In addition to international exchange, tenants can enjoy a connection with local farmers in this share house.

This time, we cooked dishes together with seasonal vegetables, the farmer delivered for the party!

Today’s main food ingredient is “sicilian-rouge”, voluminous red tomatoes. It can be delicious only with salt and olive oil, however, we used it luxurious way to eat

 

Good cook and members who don’t cook normally tried to cook by the farmer’s recommended easy recipe together. By using Japanese and English, they felt a life in an international exchange accommodation.

One of good points in KOBE-Motomachi House is that foreigners tenants and Japanese tenants try to new language each other, so they always have a chance to teach and learn it each other.

One day, Japanese told foreigners to how to use rice cooker with using Google translate!

Their communication skills are getting better and better through daily chatting.

 

Easy to over the border by having dinner together♪

At long last, time to eat! Let’s say ”Itadakimasu！！！！

They had a nice chat with lovely dishes♪

Despite od their first meeting, members had something in common; graduate same schools, neighbors, had common friends etc…

After dinner time, we had a special game to get to know each other more and more!

 

Funny and fear are same everywhere in the world!? International exchange through JENGA

There is a special rule in Borderless House JENGA.

Each one has a quiz or an order, like introducing their hometown, embarrassed questions and penalty!

All members try to get Japanese famous snacks for prize!

 

Dancing GANGNAM STYLE by European, a fair episode of hitch hike around Japan by Japanese university student, the first experience of seiza for Indian etc…

They all were Surprised at their unexpected characters and in convulsions of laughter. It was a chance to see a new side of them!

 

After the party, I found a funny scene.

 

With common hobby, we can hit it off from the word go.

Playing Mario cart game is one of the best method to make friends. Lol

Ladies were also chatting about their love while tidying up.

 

Connect the world and local strongly by international exchange and farm to table

First of all, Borderless House is not just a place for people to sleep and eat.

But, we offer an invaluable experience of building up a good friendship with people from all over the world by sharing and living together in a house

“I want to form a connection between the consumers, the farmers and the vegetables that they grow in the fields.” The local farmer said.

In this KOBE-Motomachi House, we are trying to connect local people in Kobe through this opportunity.

 

▶︎International exchange share house × Kobe vegetables! in Motomachi Kobe Japan

https://www.borderless-house.com/jp/blog/kansai-20170901/

 

We are planning some kind of fun event in KOBE- Motomachi house.

The local farmer will teach you how to enjoy eating vegetables more and sell at wholesale next time!

Kobe is the attractive area, surrounded by sea and mountains. You can find exotic and fashionable shopping town and European buildings easily since foreigners and Japanese have lived together long time.

Though it takes only in 5 minutes to get main street, KOBE-Motomachi house is located in a quiet residence area.

Because of the great access and relaxing environment, many tenants choose this accommodation for their first share house lives.

How about starting international exchange life in the share house living with Japanese?

 

<Borderless House KOBE-Motomachi>

https://www.borderless-house.com/jp/kansai/kobe/

 

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International Bowling Competition! with tenants from each Kansai share houses

Hello, this is Yuuka from Borderless House!

We listened to the voice that tenants want to interact with other tenants living in other houses
so we held a team competing bowling competition in Osaka on July 9th!

Hello, Annyeonghaseyo, Bonjour, multiple languages

On that day, tenants from various countries such as Japan, Korea, Belgium, Netherlands,etc
from a total of 4 houses gathered! (Kyoto Kamigamo House, Osaka Tamatsukuri House, Osaka Tsuruhashi House, Osaka Toyonaka House.)

Borderless House is a share house based on international exchange concept.
As people with various backgrounds live together, they can learn each languages everyday
and enjoy exchange culture while making their own cuisines.

It is the biggest feature of the house that you can enjoy intercultural exchanges!

Borderless House-specific! International team name!


We divided the members into three teams, and they thought about the team name!

“Team ☆ Turkey!” It is expressed that they want to take the turkey and win!

“Team ☆ Yotchon!”   ….?

“Team ☆ Pen Pen!”   ….? ?There are team names that we can not hear normally…

I heard the meaning from each team, ‘Yotchon’ is Korean and means ‘coming from behind to win’.

And “Pen Pen!”, it was said that it was decided by a tenant from the Netherlands who answered the question;“what is your favorite word in Japanese?”.There is a present on the winning team and the lowest team have to do penalty game,
so everyone is motivated for victory!

Heat up much

It was the start of bowling!However, if it only competes for points, it will be a competition only for ability.
If someone is a good bowler, you can only pray for a gutter…Therefore, we set up a special rule this time!that was…..

”Prohibited use of dominant hand!”stick!
Those who have passed this must play with non-dominant hand.

Those who are handed down were disappointed…

those who hand it was grinning♪

It is available for the other team up to twice per game for each team.

Throwing a bowl at a person who is not a dominant hand will not be able to make a good performance at all, such as becoming the gutter!(It is as expected!)Everyone enjoyed the bowling tournament while using the stick!

A wonderful striker – ー ー ー ー ー ー ー ー ー!

There are also tenants who get prizes!They also enjoyed talking to each other during a little break between the games.

And there was a team who was thinking as to who would use that stick the next while laughing grinningly.


How! There were also strong men who took the turkey twice!
All of the team members were excited!Every team aimed hard to win to the end and did best!

Which team won? Result announcement!

After the heated game, the winner was …

“Team ☆ Yotchon”

The score of the first one was losing to the other team, but like the name of the team,
they made a comeback to win!

Congratulations!

On the other hand, the lowest place is …..

Team ☆ Pen Pen!

Then, please have wasabi(Japanese horseradish) puffed creams as a penalty !


I’m sorry, but I can not show you their reaction after eating…..

Turning over a new leaf and everyone took a group picture together at the end!

Even after the bowling, everyone went to eat out and it seemed to have continued interaction!

And I have a feeling that fun exchanges are going to happen in the future!

It is because the tenants were talking about planning to have a barbecue together in this summer.Thank you very much for everyone!!

Availability of share house room

Currently in the Borderless House Kansai, there are houses from more than 20 large share houses to 8 people share houses,
especially for people who are concerned about share house life for the first time,
we recommend a small large share house that you can easily open up to tenants.Although it is a little left,
If you are interested in our share house, please visit our website below!

＜Borderless House Osaka Toyonaka＞

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/toyonaka1/

This house has a kitchen facing the living room and tenants can talk about daily life events each other there!
(There are french pancake, Korean cuisine, Okonomiyaki party etc.
Currently there are many interactions through various countries’ food!)

＜Borderless House Osaka Tsuruhashi＞

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/tsuruhashi1/

Osaka Tsuruhashi House where is good access anywhere in Osaka and
you can enjoy going out together with tenants such as shopping, restaurants…etc

(Currently there is also exchange through sports!)

＜Borderless House Kobe-Motomachi＞

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kobe-motomachi

A new open share house which is located in just 4-minute walk from JR/ Hanshin Motomachi station. This house is for 13 people and has a concept “International Exchange ×  Agriculture”.

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Make great use of non-standard vegetables! Wagashi(Japanese sweets) making event at Kyoto Kamigamo House!

Hello, this is Suguru from Borderless House.

One month passed from “the Kimono dressing event” that ended in a great success.

“Wagashi(Japanese sweets) making ” Event was held at Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo on June 4th.”

 

Thanks to the cooperation of Dekovege Cafe(でこべじカフェ) from Kyoto University, we were able to hold it.

There are some vegetables that can not be sold in shops because of its appearance such as “shape is irregular”, “too big”, “too small”. We call the vegetables “non-standard vegetables”. Dekovege Cafe(でこべじカフェ) buys the non-standard vegetables and regularly holds a cafe and cooking classes in various place.

On the day, a total of 31 people come to the event – not only tenants of Kyoto Kamigamo House, but people from other houses as well as neighbors participated.

 

They tried to make Dorayaki and Ichigo Daifuku!

*Dorayaki – pancakes stuffed with sweet bean paste

 

*Ichigo Daifuku – consisting of a strawberry inside ‘daifuku’, which is a rice cake stuffed with sweet bean paste.

(In this time, we cooked tomatoes jam instead of sweet bean paste)

I will introduce the whole Wagashi making event (including Tea party and Drawing relay competition ) with photographs!

 Kyoto Kamigamo House style!? Using nicknames makes each other close.

First of all, we worked on 3 teams; making Droayaki dumpling bean paste, Dorayaki dough making, and strawberry Daifuku team.

It started to introduce themselves.

In order to complete the cooking, team work is necessary more than anything!

 

However … It is difficult for both Japanese and foreigners to remember their names….

To solve the problem, we used Kyoto Kamigamo House style which is a way to call each other with a nickname. Although there are more than 20 people in the House, using nicknames made each other close and easy to memorize their names.

For example, there are some humorous nicknames, one of tenants is from Italy and the first name begins with “Chi” so that her nickname is “cheese“. The other one is “Natto Man” because he eat natto(fermented soybeans) every day in every meals. Moreover, Flo is included in his name, so that he is called “furo(Bath in Japanese)” !

Calling with a nickname made each other close, soon after self-introduction, one team took self-shots!

After the self-introduction, let’s cooking!

It looks ugly, but taste is good!

Start cooking with the guidance of Dekovege Cafe staff!

There are lots of vegetables that are thrown away when their shape is ugly, but the taste is good!
We cooked using such vegetables in this event!

One of tenants interpreted the menu described in English to a neighbor!

Most of tenants often cook their own meals. However there are a lot of delicate works in making sweets, so that neighbors and staff of Dekovege cafe helped and taught them.

All of participants were concentrating on the explanation of the staff!

Have you successfully made the shape of Daifuku well?

Everyone in the Dorayaki dough making team!


Finally completed!

After cooking, they ate Wagashi that they made together!

“Ichigo Daifuku that we made together is delicious.“

 

“I enjoyed making the sweets with tenants of the share house!“

 

There are a lot of voices that satisfy the making of Wagashi (Japanese sweets)!

We really appreciate Dekovege Cafe that gave us kindly guidance!

Who did you make a mistake? Drawing relay competition that was a great success

At the end of the tea party, “Team competing drawing relay contest” was held.

The rules are simple!

 

Members of each team decide numbers from 1 to 8. First of all, No. 1 person can see a subject and draw the picture. Next, connect the picture to the direction No. 2, No.3…., and the last person (No.8) guess what the theme is and answer.

The subject was “rhinoceros“

This was the third term game and all three teams are at the top, so everyone was seriously working towards winning!

Rhinoceros（No.1）

Rhinoceros…….?（No.4）

???(No.7)

And the answer of Droayaki dumpling bean paste team is ..

“”””Unicorn “””
That was so funny we couldn’t stop laughing!

“Is the picture strange from this point?“

 

“Come on!~ Daniel ~ !!“

 

After answering, everyone check where they were getting funny!

It is a game that everyone in the team cooperates and gets the correct answer.

 

While I was in charge of the moderator, I was pleased to see the situation where everyone was working hard and looked fun with team members!

Finally, it was the time to announce the result of this game!

The victorious team is……………….

 

Dorayaki dough making team!

Ichigo Daifuku team in 2nd place!

 

Thanks to S-san (middle photo) who was 88 years old, this team made it to the place!

As you know the funny answer, Droayaki dumpling bean paste team is 3rd place!

In this event, we learned that there are many vegetables that are discarded if the shape is ugly and non-standard. And, even if the Japanese person, it was a nice experience that made Wagashi with such vegetables!

 

Thank you again for the cooperation of Dekovege Cafe san!

Also, “multi-generation and multicultural communication” that was another purpose of this event.

I think that it was good opportunities to tell own thoughts to the other party with communication that  is not only in languages such as English and Japanese, but also through body language.

Borderless House Kyoto Kamigamo wants to grow with the community while cooperating with tenants and local residents! We are planning to held fun events for both our tenants and neighbors in the future!

For student organizations that are active for international exchange and conduct activities teaching Japanese culture,why don’t you hold an event together?

 

Please contact us from the URL below!

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/kamigamo/kamigamo_partner/

In addition, there are two Borderless Houses in Kyoto “Kyoto Kamigamo House” and “Kyoto Hanazono House”!

For those who want to improve language skills, are interested in share house and international exchange, please check the house information below!

<BORDERLESS HOUSE KYOTO HANAZONO>

<BORDERLESS HOUSE KYOTO KAMIGAMO>

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We held the international exchange party and cultural study workshop in Osaka!

Hello, this is an event report from Borderless House Kansai!

This time we had a bit special event at Borderless House Osaka Tamastukuri on the last day of Golden Week!
There were 2 parts on this event !!

1st. The workshop with Korean tenants and Japanese college students who have Korean background

The theme of the study group is “the difference between Japan society and Korean society”

Both countries are seem to be similar, but there are a lot of different points!

Borderless House is a share house where people with various backgrounds live together, cross-border encounter, and can touch a lot of new values. That is a different point between Borderless House and other share house.

Of course not only for tenants, but also for those who do not yet know the world view of Borderless House, we would like them to meet new people through the Borderless House and get a chance to have a wider world view!

That is the reason why we decided to hold the study group by Korean tenants and Japanese college students who have Korean background.
 

Since it was the first time to be held this event, we had a discussion with a casual agenda such as ‘the difference of delivery service’,’the difference of living cost’ .

Even if it was a short time and some of them got a little nervous, everyone actively participates in the discussion in both language Japanese and Korean.

2nd. Borderless House Kansai International Party

We also held a party with Borderless House Osaka-Tamastukuri, Borderless House Osaka-Tsuruhashi 1, Borderless House Osaka-Toyonaka 1 tenants!

Everyone enjoyed the conversation while having a delicious meal with tenants of other share houses.

From everyone who participated in the party of Borderless House for the first time, I could get lots of nice comments below!

‘I thought I understand a little about the differences between the lives of Japan and Korea but I was able to learn lots of things for myself that was surprisingly different.’

‘Occasionally, the other party’s words were hard to hear or my words did not pass well, but I think I understood most of the content by explaining with letters and gestures. ‘

‘Since there are a lot of people from various nationalities, I felt like I was not in Japan. I thought that it was purely wonderful that the people were having a meal together in one place. It was a lot of fun for me! ‘

‘Since I have few opportunities to speak with people from various countries, that kind of environment is good chance to study myself.’

As a Borderless house, we are going to make many new encounters and exchange cultures for our tenants.

We also would like to make opportunities to know about us for those of you who do not yet know Borderless House or are interested in our house, but can not take a step forward!

Borderless House in Kansai area, vacancy is just a few left! 
Why don’t you join the Borderless House and enjoy cross-border encounter and intercultural exchanges?

Borderless House KANSAI area

-KOBE-

BORDERLESS HOUSE Kobe-Motomachi

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kobe-motomachi/

– OSAKA –

”BORDERLESS HOUSE Osaka-Tsuruhashi1”

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/tsuruhashi1/

”BORDERLESS HOUSE Osaka-Toyonaka1”

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/toyonaka1

”BORDERLESS HOUSE Osaka-Tamatsukuri”

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/tamatsukuri/

– KYOTO –

”BORDERLESS HOUSE Kyoto-Hanazono1”

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kyoto-hanazono1/

”BORDERLESS HOUSE Kyoto-Kamigamo”

http://www.borderless-house.com/jp/sharehouse/h/kamigamo/

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Experience Japan in Style: Kimono Dressing & Tea Party at Kyoto Kamigamo

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.

It was truly a heartwarming day full of laughter, learning, and community connection.

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!