Aura

Aura is the kimono shop of Berlin. Amundra Gantömör runs it on Sanderstrasse, and everything on the rails is an original Japanese kimono, sourced in Japan through village auctions and small vendors. Nothing here comes from a container. The window changes all the time and the small salon feeling is still there.

What is worth digging for

Original Japanese kimonos from the 1920s to the 1980s, mostly silk, in a condition that is honestly surprising for the age. Long formal pieces like furisode and kurotomesode, casual komon, cotton yukata for summer, and the part I would go for first: haori and happi coats, the short jackets that work in Berlin as an evening coat over jeans. There is a real men's rail, not a token one, and a small kids corner. Each piece is one of one. Ask, the owner knows the story of most of them.

Practical

Monday to Friday, one to eight. Saturday, twelve to seven. Closed Sunday. Sanderstrasse 13, in Reuterkiez, a few minutes on foot from U8 Schönleinstrasse and from Maybachufer. They do not buy your clothes and there is no commission, this is not a place to sell. They do rent kimonos and do cleaning and repairs. Count on 150€ to 350€ for a kimono, most sit between 225€ and 295€, rare pieces are on request. Gift cards exist, and the packaging is worth the gift.

Go if

You want one statement piece that nobody else in the room will have. You are a man looking for something beyond the black coat. You like being told what you are buying, by someone who actually went to get it.

Skip it if you want a cheap kimono for one party. That is a flea market job, or the 70s rails at Let Them Eat Cake, ten minutes away on Weserstrasse.