Since I'm still a bit too jet lagged to post a trip report I thought I'd post some of my fun knit-related shopping finds. My sister/travel partner and I managed to find our way to quite a few stores that carried knitting supplies. It was such great fun!
Here is what I scored. Click the photo to make it larger!
A: Clover plastic circular needles - 8mm 80cm & 10mm 60cm - I've been jealous of the Mollster's since she moved back here from Japan so had to buy some for myself.
B: Clover pink chibi - Yes I succumbed to the fad, but I only spent 500¥, not $50. I do think it looks a bit pervy though.
C: Hamanaka Mohair yarn - 6 balls - I love the crazy, bright colors! I can never find shades like this at home. Won't they make great scarves?
D: Plastic knitting needles - 7, 8, 10 & 12mm - Very cute. Very fun.
E: Bamboo knitting needles - 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 12mm - Cheap cheap cheap, so why not stock up on every size they had?
F: Cute tote bag to carry around my knitting - I'm a sucker for wacky English like this. Text reads "Here is Texas. I think that I will catch a baffalo...uhmm... wait ...now??". Uhmm... ok.
G: Charmy Yarn (also pictured below) - You can't read it in the photo, but the label reads "High Class Knitting Yarn". Yeah, it's acrylic, but with a motto like that, how could a classy lady like me (shut up!) resist? I think this yarn will make a couple of fun little tops. It was also really inexpensive. I paid about 1200¥ for all 10 balls.
Here is where I found all these goodies:
(A, C) - Craft World - Osaka - Located in Namba Parks, which is an oasis in busy Osaka. It sort of feels like a city from Star Trek.
(B) - Yuzawaya Kobe
(D, E) - 100¥ Store - Basically a Japanese version of a dollar store. You can find nearly anything at these stores. Unlike US dollar stores, the 100¥ stores have a lot of cool things - really! Each of the things I bought there cost just 100¥. That's less than a dollar! Woo hoo!
(F) - Some little non-knitting store near JR Kobe (I think it was called Passport).
(G) - A stall in one of Kobe's shopping arcades.
Yuzawaya was the first place we hit. Since we were staying in Kobe and knew we'd go back, I didn't buy much on my first visit. It was a bit disappointing because when we went back, the yarn section was being completely reorganized. Oh well.
We stumbled across famous French store, La Droguerie while we were making our way through one of Osaka's subterranean shopping plazas on our way to Craft World. They had some beautiful yarn, but it seemed spendy and not unlike yarn I could purchase easily at home so I didn't purchase anything there. Craft World seemed to have the biggest selection of everything. It was pretty great.
We also went to one of my sister's old haunts, Doi Shugei, a cute store in Kobe. Their knitting supply section seemed to have grown smaller.
The little yarn stalls in Kobe were really cool! We went to one that had Debbie Bliss and Rowan yarns. There was even an Audrey sample hanging from the ceiling. Molly scored some really great mohair at that store.
My one real disappointment was that we couldn't really find many new fabulous knitting books. I did buy a cool sewing book, but am saving that for a separate post.
All in all, I'm really happy with my finds! Japan is a great destination if you want to get in your knitting fix while visiting cool sites and eating delicious food. I'll post more of our adventures once I'm more coherent. This jet lag is really kicking my butt! I forgot how hard it is to come back.
For some reason I've been on a real WWII kick lately. I've been reading 
