Photo of the Day: Summertime is Jimbei Time

Japanese summers are hot. And humid. And loooong.

It’s hard work getting through those months.

Luckily, the Japanese have designed a few different outfits to help things stay cool. The first, yukata, is a summer kimono of light cotton. While men’s yukata are fairly plain and subdued, women’s yukata burst with colour—floral patterns abound, with fireworks, fireflies and various other summertime motifs also popular.

Then there are jimbei, a shorts-and-shirt combo mostly reserved for (older) men and young kids. If I could get away with a jimbei, I would. They look darn comfortable. But alas, being an adult female, I am of the group of people for whom it would be most “okashii” (ridiculous/strange/wrong). *sigh*

For little kids, jimbei are popular festival wear (though I think they’re great for any time and place). The photo is of a rack of kiddie jimbei at a local shop. Colourful, patterned, fun.