We are travelling throughout Japan for the month of November and are keen to purchase some authentic Japanese fabric .

Please can you tell me where to find it,? I was thinking stores, markets etc,

Any help to "grow the stash" is greatly appreciated!

The huge market ("Kobo-san") at Kyoto's Toji Temple on November 21st.

Keep a look out for stores and market stores selling secondhand kimono and obi's. We picked up several great buys from these, some suitable to keep as an item in itself. I am using the obi's as table runners, but also some that were very cheap because they were not in good condition, but would be perfect to cut out the good sections to use for quilting etc. To know that it really was part of a kimono ensemble can only add to your enjoyment. We usually found the secondhand shops off the main street, in the back alleys.

In the department store connected to Kyoto station, on the 9th or 10th floor where the kimonos are, we bought 6-7 beautiful pieces of silk we used for scarves for me and for gifts. They were about the size of an American rectangular scarf (only about a foot or 18 inches wide). They were very reasonably priced, around 2000 yen apiece; I am only sorry we didn't bring back more. There were also many bolts of fabric for kimonos, but I don't know if you can buy these separately.

You can find exact name of the department store in one of my November trip reports. There you can also find name of very reasonably priced excellent Italian restaurant (my husband is from Italy) where we ate two lunches and two dinners, all excellent.

There is a little store in Tokyo we like to frequent named

Fujiya Kimono & Happi coats
1-30-1 Asakusa Taito-ku Tokyo Japan
Tel (03) 3841-0841

It is located on the very busy Nakamise Dori on route to the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa

This is a great place for superb used and new kimonos. We have seen many stores and fairs throughout our travels in Japan but always gravitate back to this little store for there lovely designs and fabrics, not too many but unique. Ask them to show you more of their designs that they have stashed away upstairs.

Aloha!

Thank you for this help. Greatly appreciated. The stash will certainly grow..probably uncontrollably!

I found lots of wonderful textiles at the 2 temple markets in Kyoto. See http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/15/tr...?&pagewanted=1. Some of the kimono and obi were is great shape and some you needed to cut up as they had flaws and stains. This was about 6 years ago and I have heard some of the supply has dried up. I was buying kimono and obi for about $5-15.

I have bought fabric at a great store in Kyoto but don't know the location. I have always been lucky to find it the two times I was there. The name is Nomura's and it was close to our hotel that was on Shijyo-Kawaramachi. Yards and yards of fabric. Also on my walks I found a off shoot of this store but all it had were remnants cut into fat quarters and bundled by colors...heaven.....
My girlfriend was there in Kyoto last year and went to the market at Toji Shrine. She makes jewelry and is using her find of obi ties that she got.
My rule of thumb is that if you see something you like and you want buy it because it just may not be in the next city/town you go to.

Thank you, melen and stitch in time
Will do some research on Nomura. The Toji market sounds like a must!
Must say I like the "buy it when you see it" advice!
Cheers...