Tokyo sells kimonos for dogs and cats

One of the shops in Tokyo’s historic Old Town sells traditional Japanese kimono clothes for dogs and cats.

The nine-year-old poodle Maya in Tokyo’s Old Town downtown Asakusa is showcasing a miniature Japanese kimono at a pet supply store run by poodle owner Yuka Ida. The shop is located on a lively street famous for its souvenir shops.

The store started selling clothes and accessories for dogs and cats as early as the seventies of the last century.

Yuka Ida said: “We created clothes, kimono for pets, because we want shoppers to feel the spirit of Asakusa and Japan.”

Before the pandemic, pet accessories were mainly bought by foreign tourists who had come to the street in search of souvenirs. Kimonos were sold for about 15 to 40 euros.

In anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics, originally planned for 2020, the store started making accessories with the symbols of the Olympics a year earlier, hoping for tourists.

However, the pandemic thwarted plans. Now the owner of a pet kimono store is trying to promote the product on Instagram by posting a photo of both customers’ pets and Meja’s own poodle dressed in kimono.

The store owner, Juka Ida, said that Maja usually does not like to wear clothes: “But she likes treats, and she knows how to get them – wearing clothes and posing for a photo. She works as a professional. ”

However, not everyone thinks that dressing up a pet is a good idea.

Brian Williams, a shopkeeper, said it could be crazy: “I bet my cat would be pretty angry if I put on a kimono.”

Be that as it may, the shop owner hopes that after the end of the pandemic, there will be many more tourists and thus potential buyers of pet kimonos.

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