Japan Day Five - Fabric Town and Asakusa

We were back on the Shinkansen yesterday and off to Tokyo.  Even though the trips are a couple of hours each way from Nagoya I really love watching the Japanese scenery rush past; little towns, big cities, the sea, patchworks of rice fields flooded with water waiting for planting.  I alternate between gazing out the window and getting work done at 200km per hour and so the Tokyo Fabric Shopping Guide book is really coming along.

It was a grey rainy day yesterday but that didn't dampen (sorry!) our spirits.

Firstly we headed for Nippori Fabric Town, such a treasure trove.  Not only did I buy some pretty Japanese cottons, but also a couple more second hand kimonos, some super cute clothes for my little one and some leather working tools for The Man.  We certainly didn't make it into all 100 stores in the area, but then again, I don't think I could have carried any more purchases anyway!

Heaving left that heavy load in a locker, we hopped on another couple of trains and went to Asakusa.  The little tourist street looked so pretty with the light reflecting off the damp ground.

It was a great day for puddle-jumping frogs and those dressed like one.

Tokyo's Fabric Town

In Japan there is a magical place called Fabric Town..... 

The "town" is mostly a street, a mile long that holds close to one hundred fabric stores on both sides.  With some of those store multi-level, that's a lot of fabric!

I've just begun planning my yearly buying trip / sabbatical / pilgrimage to Japan.  I'll be in Tokyo for my first three days, initially in time for the Tokyo Design Festa.  

For this stay I've managed to find a decently priced apartment right in the middle of Fabric town.  In the past I've always carried many kilos of cotton prints from Fabric Town on crowded subways across the large metropolis, so this time it will be great to just take a number of little strolls down the road with my purchases.

Tomato is the most famous of the stores, from memory, five stories high, filled to the brim with different textiles and notions.

And I've just read rumours of possibly Japan-only release liberty prints available in the street as well...

If you're a button fan, you're not left out either....

Whenever I start planning my next trip to Fabric Town I start to feel guilty about my poor neglected, nearly finished manuscript of the Tokyo Fabric Shopping Guide.  I start to consider ways to fund its completion, if I should approach a publisher... print it as a zine... do it as an ebook...if I should give Kickstarter a stab to help finance it.  It's a project I want to dive back into and I'd like to get out into the world, to help share my love for the craft shops in Japan.  I've started designing some cute artwork for the maps... thinking of extra advice to add for getting around.... I'm considering adding another chapter for travel outside of Tokyo, maybe on buying second hand kimonos... what do you think?

In the meantime, the brief details....

Tokyo's Fabric Town

Where - Nippori - Get off at Nippori Station on the Yamanote line. 

How to get there - Take the North exit and then the East exit once you go through the ticket gates.  Go down the escalator and on the footpath you'll see a blue and yellow sign saying "Nippori Textile Town" in English with a large arrow.  Follow that and a few more signs until  you come across some flags with "Fabric Town Fabric Street" telling you you're in the right area.

It's a good idea to drop the husband off at one of the coffee shops at the train station before you go, or even better, drop him in the electronics district in Akihabara.  You could be a while...  There aren't many places to sit once you get further into the fabric loveliness, but there is a convenience store there if you need to grab a drink.  

Take cash, most places don't take credit cards.  Expect that at many stores 1 metre may be the minimum purchase.  Tomato (and my guess many of the other stores) are closed on Sundays and public holidays.  They open at 10am.