Travelling Bunnies - Kokka & Fabric Store Raids (Day 6)

We had our appointment with Kokka this morning and it was AMAZING!  Australia is the last to see the new ranges after release at the international shows (like the recent Spring Quilt Fair in Salt Lake City) so getting to see them a week after the event was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

We were very lucky that Kokka has an English woman working there at the moment so we had a translator (^_^) Cloud knows enough Japanese to get herself into trouble but that is about it!

We placed an order that should (hopefully) get to us in Australia in about 3 months or so. Here is a preview for you.

New Melody Miller Ruby Star Spring Range

After finishing up at Kokka we decided that it was time to do some more craft shopping for ourselves. First up, we took off to Namba Park to go to World Craft Shop. It isn't there anymore (>_<) but there was a great bookstore which used to have a large collection of craft books. I say 'used to' because we bought about half of it! Namba Park is also a pretty cool building becuase it has rooftop gardens - greenery is not common in downtown Osaka.

Toraya in Ebisu Shopping Street was our next stop. Success! Not only was this fabric store still in existence it was 3 levels chock full of textile goodness. We found some really cute goth / lolita pre-ruffled trim, skull ribbon tape, and new Kokka in colourways that we hadn't already ordered.

It was bucketing with rain but we rushed back to the hotel to drop off our parcels, jumped back on the subway and went to our next store - Otsukaya in Esaka. Again there was far too much too choose from. Otsukaya not only has Japanese prints, they also have a small range of Alexander Henry and also Liberty of London prints. The fabric of the day (it was a tough competition too) would absolutely have to be this Hello Kitty x Liberty print.

WANT!

Tomorrow we are going back to Otsukaya for the fabrics that we couldn't carry today. We also needed to check our luggage allowance to make sure we could bring everything back home! Also on the agenda is finding shoes for Cloud's new toy - a cute Usaggie doll (^_^)

We fly home on Wednesday evening so tomorrow may be our last blog post from Osaka. The blog posts about Osaka may be going for a while though - we have a load of photos.

~ Cloud & Ky

Travelling Bunnies - Rest day (Day 5)

Today (Sunday) consisted of a lot of doing not much at all ^_^

We went to Umeda Yodabashi Camera to buy some head phones. Cloud also bought herself a Tonari no Totoro watch.

The rest of the day has consisted of eating mega amounts of Japanese junk food, blogging and watching episodes of Supernatural (aka Boy Buffy). Updates on our snack binge have been posted on our Facebook page and also our Twitter feed.

No we didn't eat it all in one go, the banana is for breakfast ;)

Tomorrow is a visit to the Kokka showroom to see the new ranges!

~ Ky & Cloud

Travelling Bunnies - Kyoto: Berry Cafe (Day 4)

This deserves a post all of it's own! While wandering (semi lost) around the Kyoto Train Station we walked past a cake shop called the Berry Cafe. It specialises in cakes covered in fruit arranged into beautiful patterns. Check these out!

real cakes

plastic display cake

plastic display cake

plastic display cake

The most elaborate (and expensive!) is the Mango Rose Cake. It is absolutely beautiful. It also costs around AUD$20 a slice!

Plastic display version

Real one

~ Ky & Cloud

Travelling Bunnies - Kyoto Day Trip (Day 4)

On Saturday we went to Kyoto for the day. It takes about a half hour from Osaka on the Special Rapid train and is really cheap (only 530 yen each way). On the 21st of each month there is a huge outdoor market in the grounds of Toji Temple.

Japanese couple in traditional dress kindly posed for a photo

The market was very crowded and hot

We walked to get to the market. It was a super humid day in Kyoto so we were extremely hot bunnies! The market was big, loud & colourful. On offer were ceramics, second hand kimonos and yukata, fresh octopus, tea, mystery foods on sticks, and a mixture of second hand goods (a bit like a trash and treasure / flea market set up).

Octopus

There was so much to buy but we restrained ourselves - we need to keep our baggage allowance free for fabric. We walked back to the station for lunch and air-con.

Kyoto Station itself is a popular landmark - the roof is amazing. According to Wikipedia it is "Japan's second-largest train station building and is one of the country's largest buildings. It includes a shopping mall, hotel, movie theatre, department store and more under the 15 storey roof. Photos of the roof just do not do it justice, nor do they impart the scale of the place - it really is a place to see to believe. There used to be a cool Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion) museum shop at the train station but we were very disapointed to discover that it closed earlier this year.

Kyoto train station

After lunch we jumped on a bus to our favourite fabric shop in Kyoto - Nomura Tailor for a spot of fabric shopping. Cloud's feet by this stage were swollen up to the point that her ankle bones couldn't be seen anymore - they had moved beyond 'cankles' to 'thankles' (ie: swollen up to become part of her thighs :P). Time to head home!

~ Ky & Cloud

Travelling Bunnies - Bicycles, Sore Feet & Fabric (Day 3)

We have been doing a lot of walking the last couple of days while shopping and it is starting to hurt. To try to save our tootsies we borrowed the free bicyles available here at the hotel.

They were a bit rattly and had no gears but they got us where we needed to be much faster than walking. Osaka is quite flat too so the hardest thing about riding around is not running into people or having them run into you. Cloud took some pictures of the streets as we rode around today.

We are visiting Kokka on Monday so we rode to the area where the showroom is. Nearby we found a huge shopping arcade. It is under a massive highway overpass and contains 10 separate buildings. It runs for a kilometre, split into two sides and multiple levels. We couldn't take the bikes in there so it was back to punishing our feet again. We found some goodies though so it was worth it!

After coming back to the hotel for a quick nap & a shower, we headed to Tennoji and ABC Craft. Not much there for the shop but a load of stuff for us! Cloud bought forceps (for stuffing toys) and some Clover crochet hooks. Ky hit the motherlode - a blank umbrella frame (with pattern) so she can make her own parasol; a number of dressmakers rulers, belt interfacing (for making woven bags), sashiko kits and also a rotating bobbin holder. For the shop we found some great little bells that are going to be included in some of our toy kits and a cute little anchor fabric.

Our stomachs were growling with hunger after so much exercise so we went in search of okonomiyaki. It is referred to as 'Japanese Pizza' but it is really a cabbage pancake filled with either meat or seafood and then covered in sauce and mayonnaise. It doesn't look pretty but it is both tasty and filling. Ky got tentacles in hers just to gross out Cloud.

Tomorrow we are going to Kyoto for the day. There is a market on at one of the temples and we also want to stop in at a fabric store we love. Hopefully there will also be time to visit the Astro Boy store ^_^

~ Ky & Cloud