Shopping in Japan

I’m still in a whirl of excitement about my trip to Japan earlier this month. So, so good. I knew it was going to be good, but it was even better. I only had 10 days, and half of that was work-related, but we managed to squeeze quite a lot into the remainder.

Including fabric, of course.

I’d read the Cashmerette guide, but didn’t manage to cover nearly as much ground as she did (see work-related factors, above). In Tokyo I did get to the Shinjuku Takashimaya department store, and can confirm that if you’re looking for Hello Kitty Liberty prints, that’s your place.

The other fabric shopping I did in Tokyo was (of course) Nippori Fabric Town. It’s only a 15 minute train ride north of the city, on the very convenient Yamanote Line. Take the north exit from the train station, and there are the signs.

This is the street you’re looking for.

Think it looks unremarkable? Wrong, it’s fabric mecca. Keep walking past the little statue….

Closer…

There you are.

Tomato is five shops, the largest (on the left of the street) with five storeys. I was there on a Saturday, and the bottom floor was basically a mosh pit of people trying to get to the 100-yen shelves.

Afterwards I found out that there’s another 100-yen shelf in the smaller Tomato next door, which was much less crowded. Each of the five floors has a particular theme, and you pay separately on each floor. These were the coated fabrics for wet weather gear. I didn’t buy any, but just look at them.

And of course the weird and wonderful. For instance, banana print sweatshirting.

To avoid total anarchy, in the mosh pit there are separate queues to have the fabrics cut, and to pay for them.

I looked around lots of other shops on the street, but only bought from two others. At this one (which I think is called Pakira, it’s one of the closer shops to the station) I bought two gorgeous textured cottons, to make little dresses for the nieces. There’s lots of Liberty here as well, including pre-cuts.

And at this one, Mihama, the Fashion Critic bought some awesome printed cotton for a shirt. The man at this shop was a delight. The fabric here is pre-cut and already bagged, which is a bit of an unusual way to buy it (no fondling). But the range is wonderful.

We also visited Kyoto. (Side note: Kyoto is amazing). The only fabric shopping I did there was at Nomura Tailor. I love the way they have their fabric set out, with neatly displayed samples along the walls. When you find what you want, a helpful young guy pulls out the bolts for you and takes them to the counter to be cut. No lugging bolts of fabric round the shop, and no fear of missing out, since everything they have is on display.

I would highly recommend arriving in Kyoto late in the day, because the main shopping streets around the Kawaramachi area are illuminated and it looks gorgeous. In one of the arcades there’s a little shop that sells Japanese-made knives and scissors, and I bought some very special thread snips.

They were packaged beautifully, like everything in Japan.

This is my haul.
From Tokyo:

From Kyoto:

And these are my plans:

• Mustard cotton blazer with grey trim
• Grey checked jacket with three-quarter sleeves
• Raspberry linen blouse
• Blue linen scarf
• Two shirts for the Fashion Critic
• Grey work blouses for my sisters
• Trousers and t-shirts for the nieces

In non-sewing-related news, we were smack in the middle of cherry blossom season. They really are beautiful.

And the locals truly lose the plot over them. This was a park with picnickers on every free inch of ground.

I’m really glad we were there in April.

We also visited the snow monkeys near Nagano. It was great to get away from the city.

There wasn’t any snow left, but one little guy had a dip.

And the hot springs were capital-A Amazing.

Oh Japan. I love you. I don’t know what took me so long.

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Budget officially blown (not unlike Australia’s)

It seems only fitting that in the wake of the Hockey Horror Show, my budget should be similarly blown. Although sometimes it’s wonderful to be an expat, it’s hard not to feel some ties to home. After all, Australians love their Kiwi cousins – surely the feeling is mutual?

So, I ended February with $158 left from my optimistic $365-for-the-year.

In March, I went to Melbourne and bought spandex to make Rose Hip tights and a maternity top (a gift). Since the tights have now gone to a new home I’m going to decide they don’t count either. I also bought some cotton for burp cloths (also a gift).

Then, Fabric-a-brac happened, which cost me $32, plus an extra $20 for a Hummingbird pattern that Kat had ordered for me.

Next, the WSBN went to Levana, a knits paradise, and I spent a (comparatively restrained) $37 on what will soon be two dresses and a t-shirt.

The very next weekend, a local church had a fabric sale, which cost me $19 (mainly in notions).

And the icing on the cake… this week The Fabric Warehouse undercut The Fabric Store by having a 40% off sale. You could tell they meant war, because they included drinks and snacks. I found myself $130 poorer, mind you, $40 of that is a delicious wool/silk trouser blend, to make two pairs of work trousers for the Fashion Critic. Does anyone know a good men’s trouser pattern, that’s formal enough for the office? Other goodies were a navy wool blend knit for a work dress, some viscose/elastane for a slip (and an amazing 80s Knitwit pattern for the same purpose), some green sweatshirting for a Lola dress and some more spandex for Rose Hip tights V2.0.

So, it’s only May, and I’m already $40 in the red.

You know, I don’t care. I haven’t used much stash, but I haven’t added to it either. I’ve had a productive year, made lots of good presents, and challenged myself with new techniques and patterns. I’m going to keep on keeping track, because I think it’s good to know how much sewing is costing me, but I know that every dollar is worth it. If nothing else, it means that I’m a tiny part of a huge and diverse community.

Budget roundup – January

In the interests of getting through some stash, I’m aiming to spend only $365 on clothing and sewing this year. This doesn’t count purchases for gifts, so this might be a particularly generous year! Here’s the January damage:

1. On New Year’s eve I had a bit of an internet shopping binge and bought $130 worth of tights. On New Year’s day I decided these could only fairly count as a 2014 purchase, since they’ll be worn this year. Yowch, that’s over a third of my whole budget. 
2. 1.2m of black merino/nylon/elastane for yoga pants, The Fabric Store 40% off sale, $18. Already made up! I love them.
3. Cable ties for Nailed It skirt, $2 shop in the city, $2.
4. Papercut Bellatrix blazer pattern, The Fabric Store, $30.
5. Remnant from The Fabric Store for blazer lapels, $4.
6. Another remnant from The Fabric Store, fusible interfacing intended for blazer, $5.
7. Buttons from Trademe, $3, aren’t they lovely? Into the stash.
   

January total: $192. 
Remaining: $173. Roll on Frugal February. 

Thanks Mr Postman

This post has a soundtrack…

Despite my ferocious guard puppy, the postman managed to bring me a present this week:

That’s 30 spools of thread, 30km worth (!). Coincidentally, that’s almost exactly the distance from my house to the Whittakers chocolate factory.

I was so sick of not having the right colour, and using the near-enough colour, which was never really near enough. So I went a bit nuts. But they make me happy to look at. They remind me of a box of chocolates, in fact.

The sewing machine I used last year was very temperamental about thread. It would accept only the finest and most expensive thread, and even then would skip the odd stitch just to show me who was boss. Now I’m back to my usual sewing machine, my trusty old friend, the never serviced, always reliable, Bernina 1008. It will take whichever thread I throw at it. I bought Birch. It’s fine. Cheap. Multi-coloured.

(thanks to estitch for the photo)

I love you, 1008. Your 80s pastels and all.