Back in May I revisted the anual Japanese market in Leiden which is organised by the SieboldHuis museum about Japan every year. The SieboldHuis has one of the worlds largest Japan collections and right next door is the Leiden University which offers a Japan program.
The Japanese market came to be in 2000 when the Japanese emperor visited the SieboldHuis museum. Ever since then it became a very popular attraction. The market exists of many different stalls associated with Japan and its culture. From food, to traditional clothing, bonsai trees, martial arts, bento, kawaii and much more. They also offer an array of fun activities like music and dance performances and a cosplay photo-shoot.
After haven skipped the previous year I was very excited to go. My mum accompanied me this time round and we would meet my friend Deborah and her parents there.
We were ever so lucky to have great weather too. It was so warm and sunny. Which had a great impact on everyones mood.
Once we arrived at the market we decided to walk along the stalls first. There were so many different things to see, do and eat. It didnt take long untill we endulged in some tastey fresh sushi. It was delicious.
A day or so before, the J-fashion community was informed that the Japanese Streets photographer Kjeld from Tokyo would be attending the market too. He was hoping to take pictures of J-fashion lovers for his blog. The Japanese Streets website portrays an array of J-fashion styles in Tokyo, Japan. It is very well known and I swooned about the idea of possibly being a part of it.
Kjeld is basically a street fashion shot photographer. He walks the streets of Harajuku searching for unique fashion styles. I was very excited that he was interested in wanting to take pictures of us here in the Netherlands.
We were told to meet up at the bridge around 2 ish. Me and my mum arrived quite early so we took to exploring the rest of the market first. Along the way I met Deborah and a lot of my friends who were so daintily dressed in their best Lolita coords.
The SieboldHuis museum is right in the middle of the market and they had a lovely opening ceremony with balloons, welcoming everyone and hoping for another great year. Every year I want go into the Sieboldhuis museum and every time I forget to go. Its a big shame because this time round they had a wonderful kimono exposition which might not come back for a long time. So I definitely have to go next year and explore its wonders. Ive heard from many people that its wonderful inside.
Around two, after haven been up and down the market a few times, we headed towards the meeting point. It was quite a while before Kjeld finally arrived. Me and Deborah were so happy! Kjeld was such a nice guy and I loved the fact that he spoke Dutch, English and Japanese. Plus his name was originally of scandanavian decent. Very international. He even knew my friend Cat from Tokyo. I swear we live in a small world. She's a fashion photographer too and also works for Kawaii Pateen.
The photo-shoot was a lot of fun. The small group that showed up looked amazing. We were a nice mix of styles. Plus meeting Kjeld was fun too. I hope to meet him again one day. Hopefully in Tokyo. Thanks so much Kjeld for your time and the great photos. All the photos in this post are the property of Kjeld, Japanese Streets website. Take a look at the shots he took of me.
Outfit rundown:
JSK: Haenuli
Blouse: Metamorphose
Shoes: Bodyline
Bag: Innocent World
Wig: LockshopWigs
Check out Kjelds website and blog post about the Japanese market here!
Thanks for reading! Yours truely,
