Kimono Cleaning/Laundry Service

You do not want to wash kimono by yourself falling in one of the below categories

• Silk kimono
• Shibori Kimono
• Kimono with decoration e.g. embroidery 
• Kimono with lining
• Expensive Kimono
• Antique Kimono
• Homongi Kimono

You risk shrinking the kimono by putting it into water. 

Many visitors read the articles on " How to buy authentic Japanese Kimono online without being cheated? " and "How to wash Kimono at home" and gave us positive responses. In other article on "How to maintain Kimono?", we mention our Kimono cleaning service. 

If you have high quality Kimono and vintage Kimono (esp. made of silk ("正絹 (Shou-ken)") ), definitely you should go to a professional for cleaning.

Kimono collectors around the world usually send their Kimono to our shop for professional cleaning.  The laundry shop was in business for more than 30 years old, much older than Onegai Kaeru in fact (unfortunately the shop in Saitama closed down at the end of 2017. Yet, we have broad alliances of authentic kimono washing service).

It is a boutique service for your treasure Kimono.

So what are the common cause(s) of Kimono becoming dirty?

1. Skin oil

2. Dirt (flying in the air, from the ground etc.)

3. Sweat

4. Mold (fungus)

Especially sweat and mold are the biggest causes of spots. When the spots get so serious, the kimono needs repair.

When you wear your favorite kimono, even though you do not see any obvious dirt, if you do not plan to wear it again soon, you better take it to a professional Kimono washing place.

Which part of kimono tends to get dirty most? There are 5 parts which tend to get dirty. If you wear kimono, it is almost impossible to avoid these parts getting dirty over a time unless you never sweat and never peel any dead skin off!

Kake-eri = collar. It is around your face. It gets sweat and makeup remains.

Sode-guchi = sleeves. This area gets sweat, skin oil and dead skin.

Memi-goro = front part of your Kimono. You often drop some food/drink when eating/drinking.

Do-ura and Hakkake (inside) = Around your waist part (inside of Kimono). It gets sweat esp. in summer and winter (due to the heater).

Suso = The lower edge of Kimono. It gets dirty when walking.

Currently this service only available for those who travel to Japan. Due to the risk of damage and loss over the delivery, we only offer this in Japan.

No international service! Only for those traveling to and staying in Japan

The whole process can take at least 2 weeks to 2 months. This means your stay in Japan for 2 weeks or longer or have someone to pass the kimono. With the express fee, it may be less than one week.

The normal Kimono cleaning procedure is the followings:

1. We give the invoice of the quotation basic service fee usually around 300USD (this is for arranging logistics and checking your kimono. For the remote, with the basic service fee, you can first send us the photos of the kimono as many as possible and we and the cleaning expert can check.

This is NOT the fee for washing which shall be quoted after the check usually around 600-2000USD! 

2. You hand-carry your kimono from your place to Japan. Once the invoice (of the quotation service fee) paid by you, you ship the kimono carefully packed to the designated address in Japan (with a tracking number), 

3. Kimono master checks the kimono and quote with possible cleaning duration (or respond "unclean-able with reasons" (in which case, check N.B. below))

4.  We give you the invoice of the cleaning service fee 

5. Once the invoice (of the quotation service fee) paid by you, cleaning is done, we inform you with the shipping fee to go back to your address in Japan, and 

6. When the shipping fee paid by you, we ship the Kimono to you!

N.B. From 3. if the kimono is " unclean-able", you pay the shipping fee from the kimono cleaner to your place in Japan. 50% of the basic service fee shall be returned. 

The basic service fee shall be around 300USD or more. The cost varies depending on the type of Kimono and the extent of dirty area usually starting from 600 up to 2000USD per piece plus shipping cost with necessary insurance.  This is "arai-hari (the traditional way of washing the kimono by dissembling parts, washing each part and resewing into one)".

For the expertise and cost, this is only suitable for authentic antique kimono. 

If you have normal Kimono, you can talk to nearby dry cleaning shops which know how to deal with kimono and the cleaning fee should be much cheaper.

To get the exact cost, the Kimono cleaning master needs to check the condition by eyes carefully. Some dirt/spots are caused by the sun burn and fungus and not clean-able. Thus, there are some cases the master can not take care of the job in which case, a certain fee for the quotation service fee is payable by the customer.

The duration is 2 week - 2 month depending on the kimono cleaning master's schedule and the Kimono condition. With the extra express service fee, it can expedite in some cases. 

If your stay in Japan is short, you may need someone staying here to receive Kimono and deliver to you.

For details of Kimono cleaning service, please contact us.

Disclaimer: Even though we try to make the info as updated and accurate but the accuracy of the information herein is not guaranteed by us. If you have any uncertainty, please contact the information source.