Culture

[Hidden Wonders of Japan] Kyoto ‘Umbrella Sky’ Brings Colorful Delight During Rainy Season

It’s the rainy season in Japan, a time of year when spirits feel dampened at all times. But one Kyoto-area shopping center has its customers covered - with the most colorful tools of the season!

Published

3 years ago

July 9, 2021

The Sankei Shimbun

Visitors enjoy viewing the hanging colorful umbrellas = June 30, Kita-ku, Kyoto (photographed by Yukia Watanabe)

You will be forgiven at this time of year in Japan if your mood is a little dampened. After all, the rainy season, normally spanning between mid-June and mid-July, despite the greenery and the flowers, can be a bit of a downer for many of us.

But there are some locations that are trying to bring up the spirits of their customers, with a little rainy season twist.

Shoppers at Kita-oji Vivre, a multi-story enclosed shopping mall in Kita-ku, Kyoto City, can delight in viewing “Umbrella Sky”. This consists of 300 colorful umbrellas, which are displayed hanging from the ceiling, and can be admired by passers-by until July 14.

This is the first time that such an exhibition has been planned to make the prolonged rainy season more pleasant. Customers can enjoy looking at bright red, yellow, and blue umbrellas, taking photos, and sharing them. Several photos have been posted on Instagram with comments that the umbrellas were "colorful and beautiful," and that "the rainy season has become even more agreeable [than usual].”

Shohei Kuwagaki, 51, sales manager at Kitaoji Vivre, explained: "Things may seem darker due to the coronavirus pandemic and the rainy season, so I want people to look up and be cheered."