……. I confess and luckily my husband doesn’t mind!
I turn 30 in a couple of weeks. It is one of those age milestones we are all cliqued to feel nervous about as the programmed mantra of ‘Good bye glorious 20’s, hello old age!’ inevitably runs through ones head. Seriously though, it either hasn’t sunk in yet or I just don’t mind as my thoughts of turning 30 aren’t wrapped with anxiety nor am I desperately clutching onto the straws of my youth. So mid life crisis is averted for now.
Hmmmm…. I wonder if I will be able to say the same about turning 40 (probably not!).
So back to Otsukaya! In celebration of this milestone my husband arranged a trip to Japan incorporating a cruise around other parts of Asia. I was the most excited about stepping onto the shores of Japan, the country responsible for some of my favourite handicrafts such as Japanese block printing and amigurumi (the crochet of small stuffed toys). In my recent fabric obsession, I have found myself drooling over Japanese fabrics while simultaneously gawking at the price!
After a quick google search I found this blog post by felt cafe Japan who provided step-by-step instructions with photos on how to find ones way to Otsukaya, a 5 story fabric shop and according to the blogger perhaps the best fabric shop in Osaka. Otsukaya was now priority number one! Our absolute first stop in Japan would be dedicated to the all important cause of expanding my fabric collection (extensively)!
So off we went and despite the detailed step-by-step guide we still got lost! I take full responsibility, I was a little too excited and wasn’t paying enough attention to the map but after the small diversion I was setting foot in my dream shop. I perused all the levels first as I wanted to have a good overview of what was available before working on narrowing down the massive selection. I deduced level 1 & 3 were the levels for me.
Level 3 housed an impressive selection of traditional style Japanese fabric with countless combinations of cherry blossoms, dragons and gold fish etc. Level 1 offered a large selection of fashionable children’s fabric, Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters had their own dedicated area but it was the less commercial elephants, hippos and owls I was interested in. I fell instantly in love with the Enchino range, the colour combinations and well composed designs were irresistible.
Here’s a sample of what I brought home:
Echino Fabric www.f-echino.com
Traditional Japanese Style
Children’s Fabric
I was able to sneak in another visit to Otsukaya on our last day while hubby took our toddler M to Hiroshima for some last minute sightseeing. I really enjoyed having a couple of solitary hours to explore this shop at a leisurely pace and select some more fabric to add to the ever expanding pile.
Bubbles Before Bath Time 