If you need to buy a yukata or just some cute, authentic Japanese items, this is the place to go. Everything in the store has traditional design on it which is the fun part! They have Traditional Japanese garments (Yukatas: Summer version of Kimonos for Men and Women), accessories to go with the yukatas, Japanese style table ware, bento boxes (lucnh boxes), hair accessories, etc. I can spend a good hour in the store and still be quite amused. Not that I'm easily amused!
My adventure that brought me to Murata started when my friends needed to buy an obi for their yukata. I began my search online. I wanted to compare prices and what not. I found a website that sold specifically Japanese traditional wear, but with shipping ontop and the uncertainty of quality and shades of colors and patterns, it got me to look locally. I browsed online again to look for a store in Vancouver that sells traditional Japanese items (I went to Yelp first haha) and I ended up being reminded about Murata. Seeing that this is the only store in Vancouver that sells traditional Japanese wear, I decided to go for it. My friends and I made our way to Murata and we found exactly what we wanted at a even lower price than the ones from the online website. The store lady even taught us how to put it on too!
We had a good conversation with the store lady and found out that we were all planning to go to the Powell Street Festival the next day. She managed to find us at the festival to make sure we didn't have any problems with our yukatas.
I totally recommend buying your yukatas from Murata. Not only is the service stellar, but a yukata is something special, and something that people usually keep for generations, so make sure to test out in person and also buying locally is an economically sound choice (at least for Yukatas..trust me, for Vancouverites (and you need it shipped), I did the math already. Save yourself the hassle) read more