Okay, so the REASON I am going crazy is because KELLY AND I ARE GOING TO JAPAN IN TWO WEEKS!!!!!! We are hoping to find amazing products for superbuzzy! I have been to Japan a number of times, but what’s funny is each time I get back, I always think I’ll never have another opportunity to go. This chance came up suddenly and very quickly, so Kelly and I are going a little nutty trying to plan.
We will be in Tokyo and perhaps Osaka. I am pretty unfamiliar with Tokyo, so I’m a little freaked out (but in a good way). If you have any suggestions or tips or any words of advice, please share! We’ll be looking for fabrics primarily, but you also know that I am a big food freak, and I know Kelly is as obsessed with matcha-flavored items as I am, so any food suggestions would be most welcome as well. Also, if anyone wants to meet up, please leave a comment!
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How exciting! Travelling somewhere to buy great fabric and craft stuff sounds like a dream trip. My tips are for Nippori & Yuzawaya for fabrics, and I will see if I can think of any others.
Let me know if you want to meet up and eat matcha-flavoured things, I love playing tour guide.
Oh it would be so great if you could carry Morinaga caramels. I grew up with them a hundred years ago and have been unable to find them here in the US. I thought they had been discontinued, but this summer when I again visited Japan I found them! They’re still basically in the same yellow box. They’re a wonderful caramel, individually wrapped in a candy bar sized box.
I know you’re going on a fabric buying trip but if you bring back some odd sized Clover knitting needles (esp 7mm circs in 40cm and metal Japanese Clovers, and you know, all that cool stuff you can’t get here) then I will open my wallet and let you have my credit card. It won’t be of any use after you’re done with it.
Try the Apple flavored Qoo drink (made by Coca Cola). My best friend loves this drink and is so so sad that she can’t get it here (easily) in the states.
Last bit of advice, get yourself this map of Tokyo http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-City-Atlas-Bilingual-Guide/dp/4770025033
and post-it flag the stores you want to go to (like a map pin). I hear the Muji near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is the largest…
How about bringing us the lip gloss that changes colors!? Yeah!
I love Tokyu Hands just to wander – when I was there in May they didn’t have an extensive fabric selection, so it’s probably not your best pick for that, but it’s great to see a wide variety of craft stuff at once. Have a great time!
I’d love to meet you in Tokyo!
It would be such a wonderful surprise.
holy superbuzzy! have a great time!
I’m putting in my vote for more hedgehog fabric and notions! thanks and have fun!
Oh, how wonderful! I would love to visit Japan sometime. Please bring back some maneki neko fabric if possible. Have a great time!
Hi, it’s great to come to Japan! I recommend for fablics 1)Yuzawaya at Kamata station(MANY handcraft goods building around the station) 2)Okadaya at Shinjuku Station, 3)Marunan at Shibuya station. At Yuzawaya No,6 bldg, you can also find tons and tons of yarns too. Try to visit “Avril” at Kichijoji, Habu texitiles in Japan, too.
And don’t forget KnitOut Tokyo on Oct 28 and 29 at Omotesando Hills! I will be there…
And…for sweets, find anywhere a convenience store “Seven Eleven” to get the newest! they have good line-up.
Have a good time! Wish to be able to meet you somewhere around Tokyo!
avril in kichijoji is great. it’s where i learned to spin yarn on a spindle! kichijoji also has one of the biggest yuzawayas (craft store) in the area so i suggest you check it out. their ground floor has a large craft book selection as well… and if you’re going to buy craft books i also highly recommend book 1st in shibuya (or shinjuku.. damn, i can’t remember but i’m pretty sure it’s shibuya) bottom floor.
take the subway often! it’s fantastic. simply a dream compared to our crappy subways in NYC 🙂
Can I request that you buy some authentic Japanese Christmas ornaments to sell on superbuzzy? My daughter is obsessed with everything Japanese and I’ve been hunting on ebay for Christmas ornaments but it’s hard to tell if they are actually made in Japan or not.
If you see a goofy looking white guy with lots of tatoos and bleached white hair say hi. It’s my brother Michael. He bartends at several Tokyo bars.
Have a blast!
If you like matcha, you really should go to “Tsujiri”.
I love their matcha parfait and matcha shoved ice. They all tastes really matcha. You can see photos here,
http://www.giontsujiri.co.jp/saryo/menu_t_c.html
http://www.giontsujiri.co.jp/saryo/menu_t_g.html
There are one branch in Tokyo(Shiodome) and three branches in Kyoto.
There is a Nippori fabric district map here.(in japanese,though)
http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~nippori/map/map.html
There are more than 50 fabric shops. I always go there in the morning before it gets crowded.And most of the shops are closed on Sundays.
Have fun!
I have a friend in Yokohama that would have lots of food ideas, if you’re interested. I know she travels to Tokyo quite a bit, and she’s really into snacks of all sorts.
Will Japanese knitting patterns find their way into Superbuzzy?
Wow! Have a wonderful trip.
Wow, so exciting! Have fun!
Lucky you! I was in Tokyo last autumn, before I was aware for the amazing cuteness of Japanese fabric, and have been kicking myself ever since. In Tokyo, we ate in a couple of places recommended by The Art of Eating, a really cool food magazine – I can email you some of the names and directions, if you are interested. Also, Chowhound is pretty cool, we ate at an amazing restaurant in Kyoto that was recommended there. Have a fabulous time!
Lucky you! I was in Tokyo last autumn, before I was aware for the amazing cuteness of Japanese fabric, and have been kicking myself ever since. In Tokyo, we ate in a couple of places recommended by The Art of Eating, a really cool food magazine – I can email you some of the names and directions, if you are interested. Also, Chowhound is pretty cool, we ate at an amazing restaurant in Kyoto that was recommended there. Have a fabulous time!
I just came back from Tokyo/Kyoto – Nomura Tailor in Kyoto was amazing (fabrics on 1st floor, supplies on the 2nd). They also sell some generously-sized remnants. More info: http://www.kyoto-teramachi.or.jp/shop/3w14/, their website: https://www.nomura-tailor.co.jp/index.php?pt=index. Have fun!
blue and white Japan. by amy katoh.
check out both the book and the shop.
thta is so wonderful for you guys!
I was in Japan once, but I was too sick to pay much attention to anything 🙁
ooo, so very jealous! I could eat my way through japanese noodle shops (If i were allowed wheat noodles anymore). mmm, udon. I haven’t been in more years than I’m willing to admit, but suffice it to say last time I brought back a sackful of sanrio Tiny Poem stuff, including handfuls of erasers that smelled like candy. man, I miss those. Have a fabulous time!
In a mere two weeks??! Wonderful! Just remember to take a coat!
Ohhhhh…. eat a piece of the lovely cake with the strawberry on top… I miss that stuff so much. Not to mention the drink machines everywhere…
Crud, now I want to go back to Japan. I was just there in April! ;_;
Ooh, so jealous and excited for you!
More linen prints, please? Have a blast!
try posting for eating recs on the chowhound.com Japan board. or just search it for recs.
It really does sound like a dream trip. I can’t wait to see what you bring back! Enjoy!
ooooo, I’m so jealous of you I can’t even say…I spent a week in Tokyo in May and here’s what I was able to find:
1.
have a wonderful time! i’ve got no advice as i’ve never been to japan, but long to go… can’t wait to hear about your trip. buen viaje!
Here are some things in Tokyo:
On the crafting side: Tokyu Hands is a huge store for those who are craft-minded and a must-see; I went to the one in Shibuya. Also, Okadaya (sp?) in Shinjuku had a great knitting section (bigger than Tokyu Hands), with a great variety of alternative yarns like bamboo, paper, soy, pineapple. Yarn prices at Okadaya were comparable, if not better than US prices, and find out if you can become a member if you buy enough there, you’ll get a discount (despite the language barrier, they had me join when I bought a ton of yarn, and I got 10% off). Loft (I think we went to one in Shibuya and another in Shinjuku) is just an interesting department store like Ikea, with lots of cool stuff for the home. Might want to check-out Kinokuniya in Shinjuku (even though they have stores in the states), the craft section is substantial and I saw a few books there that I now wish I’d bought just for inspiration (I don’t read or speak Japanese).
Food: There is a nice little restaurant just inside the entrance to Shibuya Station; lots of onigiri in a case at the entrance and a nice hot bowl of ramen inside. Of course, you have to go to the food departments in the department store, but then you probably know that. Harujiku (sp?), you know, the street where the girls dress funny, has a couple of dessert crepe places for on the go that were pretty good.
Don’t forget to layer if it’s cold, since you’ll be peeling the layers off in the sauna-like conditions in the stores.
Have a super time there!