Travelling Bunnies - Big Heads, Lecien, & Shoes (Day 2)

Japan is one of those places where there is so much happening you don't quite know where to look. Today we had an appointment to view fabrics at Lecien (one of our suppliers) late in the afternoon so we decided to walk around Osaka before then.

Leaving the hotel we got our first good look at the statues outside the front door. They are smaller than they looked on the website and they are also hollow fibreglass. Have to admit to being a little disappointed that they weren't carved out of stone. The rooms here are small (they always are in Japan) but the amenities are fantastic - free WiFi, free bottles of water each day, free bicycle hire, right next to the main shopping arcade in Osaka and lovely front desk staff. Add in the comfy bed, doona & pillows and you get two very happy bunnies!

Shops here don't seem to open much before 10.30 / 11.00 am (very civilised) so we got to take pictures of near empty streets - a rarity in Japanese cities. First up we needed to hunt down a breakfast of champions. We found it at McDonald's (don't judge us) in the form of McGriddle. Maple syrup flavoured pancakes with sausage, cheese & egg for Cloud, with bacon & egg for Ky. Deeeeeeliciously odd combinations.

Here's some more pictures from this morning's walk. Notice the octopus / tentacle sculptures on some the buildings? It's because Osaka is famous for takoyaki - deep fried octopus balls. Cloud can't eat them / smell them without feeling a bit ill (she loathes fish & seafood) but loves the signs all the same.

Lady dressed for the theatre in kimono

Random street art

It's tentacular

One of the most famous signs in Osaka

It came from the deep

Cutest fire truck ever

Glico Man sign, another famous Osaka landmark

A quick detour to Tokyu Hands lead us to finding this hilarious fabric. Read the words and you will see what made us giggle then buy it! There is so much crafty goodness in there it was a miracle we managed to leave.

LOL

Next up - Lecien! We checked out the new ranges that were just released at the recent Salt Lake Quilt Show & place orders. There are now kawaii Panda's coming to us sometime in mid-July / August.

At Lecien we were also given a sample of their brand spanking new metallic embroidery threads to take for a test drive. We will give them a go and then write up a separate blog post about them soon. The black / silver threads look like they are made for stitching space invaders so can't wait to get some linen to try them out on!

To round out a perfect day, Cloud then found women's shoes in her size! This NEVER happens in Japan because her feet are huge (27cm).

These babies have strawberry bells on them. They were also reduced from $115 (Australian) to $16. Can't wait for these to be worn to the day job ^_^

Tomorrow we will be hiring bicycles and heading off in search of more fabric ^_^

~ Cloud & Ky