KURATE GAKUEN | A SCHOOL COSPLAY STUDIO IN JAPAN

( Kurate Gakuen Amnassadors with Kurate's Mayor , Mr Shinji Tokushima )

Greetings from the Moe Ambassadors of Kurate Gakuen in Fukuoka , Japan !
I'm lucky enough to be chosen as one of the ambassadors to represent Malaysia and given a chance to visit and experience Kurate Gakuen , alongside with Punipun and Matchamei from Indonesia plus Niri , Maoru and Kiyo from Singapore . We had the pleasure to meet Japanese Cosplayers , NanaPink and WTR as well !

Cosplay is really wonderful isn't it ? It brings people from different country together ~ we all have something in common which is our passion for this hobby. I'm really thankful for this opportunity, being able to travel to new places , meet new people and making more friends ! 

Now allow me to introduce you to the World Of Kurate Gakuen !

Kurate Gakuen in located in Kurate Town , approximately 60 KM northeast of Fukuoka City. 
It takes one hour of car ride from Fukuoka Airport to Kurate Gakuen. There are buses to Kurate City from the airport as well so it's pretty easy to get here.

A little history about Kurate Gakuen , it used to be Kurate Minami Junior High School but it has closed down since 2015. Since then , Kurate Gakuen filled and transformed the vacant building into an Event Venue , Photo Shooting Studio ,Incubation Facility and Information Hub for Anime Culture. 

A map of Kurate Gakuen.
As you can see , Kurate Gakuen is unique because cosplayers can take pictures anywhere they want in the school. The spacious environment and location makes Kurate Gakuen one of a kind.

As a cosplayer , I'm always looking for new locations for my cosplay photo shoot. I believe that with a nice location , I would be able to bring out the feel of my character better. It's a dream come true for me being able to have a photo session in a real Japanese School where everything is so authentic .

I definitely will be back here again sometime in Spring. Kurate Gakuen is surrounded by 60 ++ Sakura Trees , it would be such a beautiful scene. I want to make a school cosplay photobook here !

For all the cosplayer's convenience ,there is a huge Make Up / Changing Room. There are lots of table , chairs and mirrors hereso it can accomodate a lot of people.The room is really spacious and they have special room for you to store your luggage and bags as well.

One thing that I like about Kurate Gakuen is that it's blessed with abundance of sunlight. I enjoy natural lighting when putting on make up so I like this room very much. ( it has nice lighting for selfies as well hahahhahahaha )

Let's go for a tour around Kurate Gakuen !!

Welcome to Kurate Gakuen , where all your School Dreams come true !

Does this scene look familiar ? A school building with a large clock outside.

Classroom where all the magic happens !

The last seat of the classroom , usually where the

main hero / heroine of the manga / anime sits.

Hallway where you stalk your senpai.

Taking a break outside the classroom , thinking if senpai thinks about you as well.

Then you slowly let out a sigh.

" WHY DOESN'T SENPAI NOTICE ME ~ "

Science Lab.

This is usually where the main characters screws up their scientific experiments

and they happen to have a good friend that's smarter than them.

Music Room.

Here's where you hear beautiful melodies playing , drawing you closer to the room.

That's when you see the senpai of your dreams sitting there ,

playing the Grand Piano.

Or maybe a Super Cool Senpai and his friends practicing for their

upcoming Band Performance !

With brand new Tatami freshly laid , this part of Kurate Gakuen is transformed into a Japanese-Style Studio.

As HinaMatsuri ( Doll's Day or also known as Girl's Day ) is approaching , 

Kurate Gakuen prepared decorations for this festival as well.

All the Moe Ambassadors of Kurate Gakuen had the opportunity to wear Japanese Yukata ! I choose this Yukata myself , thinking that it matches my Emilia wig. 

Loving the yukata pattern ~ it's really pretty ! 

Manga Room.

It has an impressive collection of manga here !

Wish that I could read Japanese though !

The Nurse's Office .

Where the main character usually gets injured , and then senpai princess carries you here.

The Rooftop.

A secret meeting with senpai?

Or you can be eating here with your classmates during lunch break.

The Gymnasium.

Where all the Sports Anime comes to mind.

You can Slamdunk , Kuroko No Basket or Haikyuu here !!??

One of my favorite spot !

The Swimming Pool !

This totally reminds me of Free !

( secretly watches senpai swimming ahhhhhhhhh )

Here's where senpai is mesmerized at the sight of you flicking your hair and drinks water from the tap. 

Works all the time.

Tip 101 : How to bait your Senpai.

If you need Photography Advices , don't worry because Kurate Gakuen has staff and photographers that are able to provide some assistance if you need some help.

Part of the hallway near the office displays amazing photographs of cosplay by the photographers in Kurate Gakuen ! The photos are beautiful and I just can't stop looking at them !

Here's a sample photo of my Utaha cosplay taken by Japanese Photographer , Mr Kuro !

I'm usually very shy and awkward working with a photographer that I just met but Mr Kuro here is really kind and patient with me. I wished that I'm in better shape though ~ ( and maybe not so shy ) 

then I can be a better model for him !  * l a u g h s *

During weekends , Kurate Gakuen has a mini store that sells the most delicious freshly made bread and pudding ever ! It gets sold out fast , so make sure that you grab everything that you like before it's gone !

I have a confession to make.

I ate like 5 different types of bread here.

( and only one pudding ! )

A Special Rice Cracker that's only available in Kurate Gakuen !

This Rice Cracker is made with Kurate Town's Special Sauce. 

I'm a big fan of rice crackers so I finished the whole box in a day...

( which explains why I go to gym everyday now lol )

Overall , I think that Kurate Gakuen should be in every Cosplayer's Must-Go-To Destination ! This school is a dream come true for many people, especially when you can relive your school days right here.

I was feeling kinda nostalgic being here , thinking about my school days ~ except I don't have any handsome or cool senpai to fangirl over because I'm from a " All Girls School . "
* l a u g h s *  My school doesn't have a gymnasium or pool either. Can you imagine my excitement as I stepped into Kurate Gakuen ? 

As I mentioned earlier , I would love to come back here during Spring.
Shooting under sakura trees , that would one of my #cosplaygoals !


With Love ,

YingTze

KURATE Gakuen Website : http://kurategakuen.com/

Address : 鞍手町大字新北993-1

Kotake-machi Kurate-gun, Fukuoka, Japan

Phone Number : +81 949-28-7890

A DAY IN KURATE GAKUEN

If you followed my social media updates during my Kurate Gakuen Trip , you would have realized that I barely update while I was there. Initially I wanted to have an Instagram / Facebook LIVE during my trip , but I was too busy taking photos of ....myself. * l a u g h s *

For those who missed out on my previous post , Kurate Gakuen in the Fukuoka Prefecture was an actual junior high school that is transformed into an huge photo studio ! So what makes Kurate Gakuen so special ? Many anime / manga are set in schools however there were no schools that offered to rent the entire facilities to visitors. Here in Kurate Gakuen , cosplayers can take pictures anywhere they want. How amazing is that !

I was here in Kurate Gakuen for two days , as part of The Moe Ambassador from Malaysia . Feeling honored to be given a chance to explore Kurate Town in Fukuoka , experiencing Kurate Gakuen first hand and now here to share about my experiences with you all ! This is also my first time travelling with my new camera ! I took lots of photos and some videos as well. 

Today I'll be sharing with you the cosplay photos that I took of myself using a tripod . I learnt some tips from my photographer friends on how to use a tripod before the trip so that I could take some photos by myself . I spent 5 hours here and I wished that I had more time ! Kurate Gakuen is huge and I definitely want to come back here again in the future to create a school cosplay photobook.

Since Kurate Gakuen is blessed with abundance of natural lighting , I don't have any problems taking photos despite this being my first time handling a camera.

 


1. CLASSROOM .

2. HALLWAY .





3. STAIRS .













4. NURSE'S OFFICE .











5. MANGA ROOM .








6. SCIENCE LAB .

 

7. MUSIC ROOM .

8. OUTDOOR .

This is just a small part of what Kurate Gakuen has to offer .

That day was a little windy so I couldn't visit the rooftop or outdoors much unless I want to risk flashing or the wind blowing my wig away ! * l a u g h s *  They have a large gymnasium and swimming pool outdoor ,which makes me want to come back here even more ! Imagine all the manga scenes in school come true in one place !

I will go into more details about this trip in my next blog post . Stay tuned !

With Love,

YingTze

KURATE Gakuen Website : http://kurategakuen.com/

Address : 鞍手町大字新北993-1

Kotake-machi Kurate-gun, Fukuoka, Japan

Phone Number : +81 949-28-7890