No Yukatas for Nattie

Our hotel room in Tokyo provided these lovely waffled cotton yukatas.  A yukata is a Japanese bathrobe (of sorts).  You can wear it just out a shower or over your undergarments when you're at home. There are also fancier versions of a yukata, ones which you could wear outside the home, and these typically have a much nicer design. Unlike a kimono, a yukata is usually made out of cotton, not silk.

I was in love with the ones provided in our hotel room, however. Instead of a belt, these yukatas buttoned down.  The sleeves were 3/4 length and the robe came down to knee-level.  Thinking that these would make great souvenirs for me and my friends, I tried to buy these from our hotel but the first clerk told me that they didn't sell them.

Then I tried to ask a local girl where I can buy these and she told me, I think, if I understood her correctly, that this was not the season to buy them.  We found a traditional kimono store in Harajuku who also sold yukatas...at $1,500 a piece!  Again I tried to cajole the second hotel clerk to sell at least one to me but he wouldn't budge.  He directed me to go to a department store, whose selection was meager and none were made out of waffled cotton.  

I have to admit, the thought of sneaking these little suckers into my suitcase did cross my mind. Oh but the bar application!  Hence the title: No yukatas for Nattie.