Okadaya

Last time I was in Tokyo I struggled to find Okadaya, despite good directions (this seemed to be a pattern with me). This time I was determined to find it, after reading good things about it.

I took a photo of the well signed store (how could I have missed it) so anyone else trying to locate it knows what to spot. This red sign is what to look for when you come out of the East Exit of Shinjuku station.

Okadaya is in two buildings - each of about 6 levels. One building contains fabric of all descriptions, the other contains all the extra bits you need to sew, knit, bead, and craft your little heart out with.

My favourite floor was the craft book floor (right at the top). I think it had the best craft book selection I'd seen anywhere, with multiple copies of each book. Sadly, there was a "no photos" sign up so I can't show you the proof.

For the knitters there was also a whole yarn floor.

Dressmaking patterns

Has anyone seen these patterns? I spied these at a few shops in Nippori's fabric street, including Tomato. The images and styling were very cute. The patterns were for fairly basic children's garments so would be ideal for beginners.

If anyone knows whether you can buy them online, please drop us a line at Japan Craft Journal? It would be a great resource to share. I think I recognised one of the images from a craft book. Maybe they are related.

Update: An anonymous blog reader has very kindly left a link to the site for these patterns. Thank you, whoever you are!

Six floors of craft

Yesterday I sought out Yuzawaya, after reading Suzy's post on her blog Floating World Views. Yuzawaya is about 6 floors of craft supplies. It has some wonderful Japanese stationery on one of the floors, oodles of fabric, and everything else in between. I could have spent hours marvelling over the cupcake baking equipment but I had a twitchy husband with me (who hates craft stores).

The quilting fabric collection was very extensive, with all the Japanese lines I recognise from home. Their fat quarters were rather impressively displayed in little, orderly drawers.

See Suzy's very concise directions on how to find it. I didn't take them with me so wasted much time looking for a shop that was only labelled in Japanese characters. This is a great one stop shop for any crafting supplies you might need.

Too good to use

Even beyond craft blogging circles I heard many mentions of the famous Ito-ya stationery store in Ginza. It was high on my list of places to visit in Tokyo. Who could resist a stationery store that takes up 3 buildings over several floors?

The store was wonderful and I spent more than an hour there filling my shopping basket with an assortment of cards, sticky notes, mini notepads. All of it is almost too good to use.

This is a photo of the much smaller store in Marunouchi (just near the Peninsula Hotel which is an easy landmark to spot).

If you find yourself in Ginza though, just look for the giant red paperclip. It's hard to miss and worth seeking out.

live report

Ayumills of Pink penguin is currently travelling in Japan. Somehow in between visiting family, meeting up with bloggers and buying fabric. She's been finding the time to post. Click here to read all about it and while your there check out her great tutorials.

Now you're asking for it

Marceline from the blog, Asking For Trouble, emailed me with a link to her Tokyo Shopping Guide. Marceline must be one very organised shopper, because this appears to be one very fabulous shopping guide.

Thanks Marceline, this is wonderful. I want to go to Loft now.



Image from here.

Fabric shopping

Suzy (who was lucky enough to live in Ebisu for a time) left a comment in the last post leading to an entry on her blog about fabric shopping in Tokyo.

Thanks Suzy for your tips, and for letting us know about your post.

Suzy has also included links to some other posts.

Ebisu

It's hard to escape designer labels in Japan. I was very keen to seek out the shopping districts that were distinctly Japanese, with little shops selling Zakka style wares rather than French or Italian handbags.

Some good advice in the Tokyo Luxe guide was to make Concierge your best friend. Good advice indeed. The Japanese are so divinely helpful and will go out of their way to give you the information you need. After chatting to our hotel's concierge on several occasions, showing them pictures in craft books and explaining what I was seeking, they directed me to the area of Ebisu (and Daikanyama).



Ebisu is just two stops from Rappongi on the Hibiya Line and the cute shops start just near the station.

Many of the shops had little seats or potted plants outside - it made them look so inviting. As well as little independent shops selling French inspired wares and clothing, there were some well known brands in this area - Cath Kidston and Caramel Baby & Child to name but two.

There were also many cafes and restaurants that looked like good places to rest the feet and grab a quick bite.

I only discovered this neighbourhood on my last afternoon in Tokyo. I got the sense there was a lot more there to discover but, alas, I ran out of time. If you go exploring there, let me know what you find.

You can see more images of stores in this area at our flickr group, "Japan Craft Shops".

Kinokuniya....my favourite bookstore

I visited the Tokyo branch of Kinokuniya several times on my last visit to Tokyo because there are only so many bags of books you can carry on the train back to your hotel. They have the best collection of Japanese craft books in the city. Take the elevator to 2F for craft books and walk to the back wall. Be prepared to pull out all the books since the titles are almost always in Japanese and I have a trick of half pulling out several books at a time to check covers then push them back and move along the shelf....this is why you need time here. When you're done take the elevator to 3F for magazines like Cotton Time and Cotton Friend which are located in the back right corner of the store!


You'll find Kinokuniya in Shinjuku and its open everyday 10am-8pm....perfect for some after dinner shopping. Take the South exit and walk towards Takashiyama, walk behind Tokyu Hands and its there straight ahead of you via the walkway.....and this is how they wrap your bags in the rain...practical and cute.

travel tips for crafty types

Luckily for me, Corrie had only just been a couple of months before I left. So I was able to get some good advice before leaving. I thought I would pass on some of what I learnt when I was there. If you have anything to add, please leave it in the comments section for all of us to read.

Most ATM's don't accept foreign issued cards. Even if they display the Visa or Mastercard logo. The only two I know of that do are Citibank and the post office.

Think about taking a small Roley bag or trolley on your shopping excursions. All that fabric and books can get heavy!

The train system can seem daunting at first. But once you work out which line you need to get on, it's quite easy! All the ticket machines are bilingual and onboard announcements are also made in English. I found this site such a time saver, just put in your destination and it will give you the line and fare. Another option with the fare is to buy the lowest fare of Y130 and just top up your ticket at your destination using the adjustments machines before exiting.

If you get to a Yuzawaya store ask about their discount card. You will get a 10% discount across the store. It's free to join and the staff didn't seem to mind that we were using an international address on our application form.

Fabric in Japan is sold by the metre. Which is approximately 4 inches longer than a yard.

Looking for a hotel in tokyo? I would highly recommend the Kadoya hotel in Shinjuku. It's reasonably priced, central, clean and quiet. It also has free internet access in your room or you can use the PC in the reception area if haven't brought your own laptop. The post office is also directly across the road, perfect for grabbing some cash or sending home all that excess baggage!

Tomato, Tokyo

One of the most talked about fabric stores in Tokyo would have to be Tomato located in the Textile town of Nippori. If you have a couple of days in Tokyo I would definitely make this your first stop. The ground floor is stacked to the rafters with what looked like clearance fabric, priced Y100-300 a metre. There were a lot of prints that have long disappeared from the online stores. The motto here is....if you like it buy it! Chances are you won't see the print again or it will be double the price. The other thing is to come with plenty of time to spare. Most fabrics are on rolls and stacked 5-6 rolls high on the shelf. It's difficult to see straight off what there is, you have to search. Take your time, I often missed a real gem that was later pointed out to me by my sister who was trailing behind. On the upper levels you will find higher priced quilting and fashion fabrics also worth a look. The U.S. quilting fabric on the top level averaged Y880 a metre.

The sister store next door stocks buttons, trims, felt, notions, stamps and knitting needles. Worth a browse..I found a few things here. Which I noticed were cheaper than when I saw them elsewhere.

Directions

Take the Yamanote line from Shinjuku. It will take you about 20mins and the fare is Y190 one-way. Once you are out of the barriers turn right and head down the stairs. Just follow the signs to textile town.

Tips

Minimum cut 1 metre

Closed on Sunday

Cash only

edit - I just came across this post by Tokyo mummy which has some great photos taken inside of Tomato and some shopfronts of other Stores in Nippori. Now you can see what I mean about all those rolls!!

Shinzi Katoh

A Japanese Craft blog would not be complete without mentioning renowned zakka designer - Shinzi Katoh.



When in Tokyo I wanted to see what all the talk was about so I took a train to Ikebukuro to visit a small Shinzi Katoh store. The store is located within the Sunshine City shopping centre which is about a 10 minute walk from Ikebukuro station. Sunshine City is well sign posted and I found it easily. There is also a very large Tokyu Hands store there.

I first read about the Shinzi Katoh store at the flickr set of Jennifer from Moving Hands. Jennifer's photo set on "crafty shopping in Japan" has some great shops worth visiting. I only wish I'd made it to more of her recommendations.



There is also a Shinzi Katoh flickr group if you want to see more from the range.