Finding Textiles in Kyoto, Arimatsu, Osaka, Kurashiki

If you click on the blue words it takes you to the website for each textile place. That is where you will find the address. The tourist information centre at Nishijin will help you find textile workshops and classes.

The Japanese Tourist information people have made this useful tour guide to textiles in Japan. Click here for the PDF

Kyoto
Nishijin 
This is the big Kyoto centre for textiles which the tourist information centre sends everyone to. You can  arrange to do a class. They also have kimono fashion shows at 2 pm each day i think. Best to check on their website by clicking on the word Nishijin (the heading).

Aizenkobo Indigo
Ask at the Tourist Info or at Nishijin for the instructions.  Lovely fabrics.

Kyoto Shibori Kogeikan
A small museum with amazing huge multicoloured shibori panels. Has small silk peices for sale as well as scarves and kimono lengths. Video is in japanese but easy to follow the steps. I think you can arrange to do classes with them but would need to sort this in advance.

Sou-Sou
This group of shops sells clothing items based on traditional Japanese crafts. They sell the most bizarre sneakers which have split toes.




From Kyoto you can get to Nagoya and from there to Arimatsu to see the shibori museum.

Arimatsu
Click the word above to take you to the website for the Arimatsu Shibori museum which does workshops. The website is in English. To get to the shibori area cross the railway and turn pretty much straight left into a really old looking street. If you find yourself climbing up hill you have gone too far.

Osaka
I haven't had a lot of time to explore Osaka itself for fabrics but really enjoyed the Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) which has loads of lovely costumes and textiles and a great gallery which has temporary exhibition, often textiles. You have to walk through the park to get there which is lovely. Go to their website by clicking on the blue writing and then click access on their web page to find public transport to get to the Museum.

Kurashiki
Kurashiki is worth a day trip from Osaka, Kyoto or Hiroshima.
There is a covered shopping street which has 5 shops which sell hand dyed clothes which I really like and which fit me :-)
It also has lots of lovely canals, cherry blossom, galleries, shopping, pretty stuff. I go there every trip as it is a favourite. From the station front entrance - go to your left, cross the road via the pedestrian over bridge, turn left and the entrance to the shopping street is on your right not far away. There is a quilting shop in that covered street too. At the end of the covered street turn right and you get to the old area of town.

Here is Robyn Burch's blog which also discusses Kurashiki
http://robynppblog.blogspot.co.nz/2011/05/waikato-quilt-and-craft-fair-projects.html

Finding Textiles in Tokyo

Here are some of the places I found in Japan as well as links to other people's blogs, websites and information. Please feel free to let me know of other places to find fabric or craft materials in Tokyo.

Amuse Gallery
Closed Mondays
2-34-3 Asakusa, Taito Ku, Tokyo, Japan 111-0032
- East side of the Sensoji Temple compound,
adjacent to the national important cultural property "Nitenmon Gate"

The gallery has a permanent exhibition of Boro.
Special exhibition on working women's clothes till April 2011.
Amuse Gallery is very close to Sensoji temple in Asakusa. Go right down the shopping street, Nakamise Dori then at the main shrine turn right into a side road. Amuse Gallery is on your left opposite a Duty free camera shop.


Blue and White Shop.
Azabu Juban.

Bunka Womens University Textile Museum
Closed Sundays and public holidays
Instructions and map on the website.
Shinjuku Station South Exit. Turn right, walk about 5 minutes, museum is on the other side of the road.

Bunka Fashion School
Click for info.

Nuno Corporation

Nippori Textile Town
A road of textile shops.
Check out Floating World blog for instructions on how to get there.

Yuzawaya 
This is a craft/hobby/textile shop.
Shops in Kamata, Kichijoji, Yokohama and more, click on link to see a list.

Kichijoji store
Go to Kichijoji Station, exit via Park Exit, walk out the station exit and straight ahead. Yuzawaya is on the 7th and 8th floor of Marui Kichijoji store (head for the store with the big OIOI on it).  It is no longer in the station building (which I found out by wandering around for ages). Click on this link to see a picture of the logo.

Tokyu Hands
Mega DIY/craft shop with shops in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro etc. Branches in cities across Japan.

Kinokuniya Bookstore
Has a good range of English books, craft books in Japanese and English as well as calenders and magazines. The best one I found was in Shinjuku but there are other stores in cities across Japan.

Coast to Coast Open Day 21st Nov

Head to COAST TO COAST - the Quilters Day Out at Lower Hutt Horticultural Hall, Saturday from 10-4.

Tickets at the door, $10 entry includes morning/afternoon tea.

Lunch packs available for purchase (and there's a number of munchie places within a short walk).

Guest speaker: Robyn Burgess of Patchwork Passion, Onehunga. Specialist in Japanese fabrics and stitchery.

Merchants Mall + Scissor sharpener (remember to nametag your scissors!)

There is a change of speaker, see the blog listed below for details
 www.c2cwgn2010.blogspot.com

Last Chance to See
ART/TEXT/ILE
This is an exhibition of textile work at Mahara Gallery on till Sunday 21st November. There are some lovely quilts/cloaks by Katherine Morrison. She has them displayed hanging as if they were cloaks around people and inside there are baby clothes, as if the adult cloak is keeping the baby safe. The cloaks are beautifully stitched and the lining/backing of one of them shows the black stitches as if they are pen drawings.



Expressions Gallery in Upper Hutt
Till Sunday 21st November
Mark Lander's paper exhibition. He has the huge sheets of paper hanging in the gallery and you walk through it as if it was a stage set. I did a workshop with Mark years ago and we made huge sheets of paper which we used to make costumes and print on.

DRIVEN: Whitireia Polytech student show till 9th January 2011.
Pataka Community Gallery. Wide range of mediums including textiles.





Aotearoa Feltsisters 'Earthwaulks'
       13 January - 30 January 2011     
The Aotearoa Felters or Feltsisters hail from the islands of Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand

For more info on Aotearoa Feltsisters go to
     www.window-on-white.blogspot.com

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Textile Events for Wellington

Coast to Coast Open Day - 20th November

Quilts from around the Wellington Quilt groups. Show and tell etc.
Horticultural Hall, Lower Hutt,

Back from japan

Hi everyone
I am back from Japan and planning to go again in January, this time to Okinawa. I have even timed it this time so I can go to the Tokyo Quilt Show. Although currently I haven't actually got a plane ticket back as all the 'airmiles seats' are full at the moment. I have managed to book to get the whole family home to NZ except myself.

The latest trip included Kyushu Island including Kurume (splash dyed ikat fabrics), Kanazawa (fancy stencilled kimono) and Bunka Womens University textile museum in Tokyo.

The next post wil have the textile related events for Wellington.
Clare