Japanese Parcel Post

It took a bit of time for me to get out of writing about my Japan journey. Thanks for your lovely comments. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I keep remembering things I didn't include in the journal, but there is always a next time.

I haven't done much in terms of stitching. I did make a couple bags for gifts. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while would know that I'm a rag-to-riches, re-purpose, recycling person, and most of all a hoarder!  The bags I'm showing you today are close to my heart. I made them from a recycled Japanese parcel post bag.


For years I have saved this Japanese parcel post bag to make something! That 'something' opportunity arrived a few weeks ago when I was looking to make a few gifts. One for DS's birthday, and the other one is for a dear friend who appreciates something boro and handmade.  

Japanese books come in cardboard boxes and the box goes in this parcel post sack when they are shipped to us. It's  a very strong sack with double layers on the bottom part of the sack. It's in military green colour. It has very strong leather belt to go around the neck. Loving anything old, boro and vintage these bags are ready to turn into something! 

And here they are, the two postman bags made from the sack. I didn't wash the sack before I cut it up. I like the boro (old and used) look about them. The sack had been carrying around parcels who knows for how long before it got to me! 

One bag by itself showing the little bit of lining. 

Both bags hanging from the long handles. The handles are long enough to go across the shoulders. The way a postman carries it.  They are very strong bags made for men. The logo on the left bag is the Japanese Post Office official logo. The C on the right bag could mean copyright ha!

The lining made from woolen suit fabric found in a thrift store. It's brown with white pin stripes. I made the inside pocket with the same fabric. There is also printing under the flap.

This is the back view of the bag with the word Japanese on it. There are some tears that need fixing. I did the darning before I gave them away. I still have a few more sacks left to make bags for myself or more gifts. 

One sack is big enough for two bags with flaps and one tote-bag. I tried to keep the printing on both bags. I'm so thrilled to be able to re-purpose something that otherwise would be discarded.

There are lots of advantages working in a library. I learned book binding there because I didn't like seeing dust jackets get thrown away. I dyed twines that had been wrapped around some books that were sent from India.

There are a whole lot of books coming through everyday on every subject especially Japanese craft and art books. If I did not work there I would have missed out a whole lot of good books.

What I'm saying here is, it doesn't matter what you do, do it with passion. My latest passion has to be photography with my iPhone4. I take a daily walk at the campus where I work. Apart from listening to great walking music. I challenge myself to capture the artistic images through my lens. I have post them up on my FB page and the responses from friends are very encouraging, thank you!  

Japanese Hospitality

This is my last Japan Journal. It's going to be a little sad for me to stop writing about my wonderful trip to Japan. I cannot leave without telling you about Japanese hospitality. The Japanese take hospitality very seriously and they do it to perfection. I was totally humbled to get treated so well and looked after by everyone I visited. I read a little bit about Japanese hospitality in the journal Nipponia before I went this time so I took care to notice the way they go about doing things to serve you. I had the advantage to travel with Ayako, my student and friend. I asked her many questions about their culture in the two weeks we were together. 


Japan is a nation of gift giving. Giving is a strong part of Japanese culture. The history of giving goes back a long way in Japanese history. The art of Japanese wrapping and packaging we see and admire today is part of their giving culture. The gift giving culture is so strong that when you go shopping for gifts the shop assistant would packs extra bags with your purchase so when the time comes for you to give the gifts away you would have a fresh bag to put them in! I always admire my Japanese friends with their brand new bags and I thought, how do they keep the bags so fresh looking? Now I know! On the flip side of this I thought they must use so much raw material to produce so much gift packaging and bags, but the Japanese recycling system is the best in the world. More on Japanese recycling some other time...!


Sorry I went of subject here, but I feel that the art of giving is part of the Japanese hospitality. In this post I would like to  pay tribute to my host families for taking care of me, feeding me, taking me places and teaching me their crafts. 

If you stay at a Ryokan (Japanese Inn) you will be welcomed by the O-kami (Japanese Inn landlady) with a gracious smile. The moment the O-kami sees you she will be calculating your size in her head so she can give you the right yukata to use while you are staying there. 

This is an old Japanese home built from wood and paper lining. Japanese houses don't always have walls around them, but this one was quite close to town, and I think the walls help keep the passers by at bay. I just love the trees and bushes in Japan. Back at home I would have to visit a Japanese garden to see these trees, but here Japanese gardens are everywhere!

Once inside the genkan you must remove your shoes. It is best to arrange them with the toes facing the door. Most shoes were facing the right direction in the photo above. It pays to wear slip-on shoes when visiting Japanese homes. 

I had a chance to visit local artists Mr and Mrs Watanabe in Shiga prefecture. The husband and wife team. Mr Watanabe is a wood artist and Mrs Watanabe is a painter. They opened the house/studio to welcome me. They showed me around and by chance I spotted the photo of Fuji-San with the moon rising from behind. I thought it was a painting she did, but no it wasn't.  It was a real photo Mr Watanabe took himself on the last trip to Fuji-San. I was so entranced by that photo that I promised myself to go there and see the moon rise over Fuji-San in person one day! 

You might wander what this pile of fabric is. This pile of fabric is vintage kimono silk given to me by the artist above. She had them for so long and was happy to find a home for them. She did not only invite me to her home. She gave me something she knows I love and collected.

I stayed at the Hattas in Shiga for 5 days. Every day Tomiko-san arranged for me to visit  locals artists. I visited an indigo artist, an Italian cook, a graphic designer, a painter and on the fifth day we stayed home and visited Tomiko's pottery studio. Tomiko has been a potter for more than 30 years. She has  exhibitions twice a year in different cities in Japan. Every two years she and her artists friends put on an exhibition at their home. When I left, Tomiko gave me 6 pieces of her pottery. They are such treasures to me...

Everyone I met opened their home to me. I had Japanese tea and a tour at this beautiful cozy home.

I had a dip in the indigo vats in this old home. I can see now that he has ten indigo vats! Sadly Someori-San doesn't have anyone to inherit the indigo business after him. The indigo business has been in his family for the last 500 years. He will have to give it up when he is too old to manage it. 

I was taken to this country inn for lunch on our way to visit the Watanabe family. We had the most beautiful set meal. Only 20 sets are made per day. All the produce came from their own farm including eggs and milk. We had delicious sweet potato ice cream after lunch. 

I visited the private gallery of the Masuda family who are graphic designers. This couple makes modern art. They use modern technology to produce their work. They get a lot of commission work from private business. They are both cats lovers and have many cats. 

At the Japanese Textile Workshops I was shown how to wind silk yarn on the traditional  wheel. 

Here are Ayako (left) her sister Noriko and Katsu Noriko's husband. This young couple married two years ago. I knew them well from the wedding photos Ayako showed me. I also helped Ayako made their wedding journals. They are both very sweet. Both of them took a day off to take me out for a day. We went boating in the Tokyo river not too far from their home. The memorable experience for me would have to be the home style onsen (Japanese bath) I had every evening. Noriko here would run me a bath and just as I was about to enter the bathroom she stopped me and switched on the most relaxing music I have ever heard! 

Mr Hatta took us out to a Thai dinner on my last night in Tokyo. Noriko and Katsu found the most famous Thai restaurant in Rappongi (the nightlife district). I must tell you something about Katsu. Katsu at this moment is in London. He was sent by his company to select chocolate for next Valentines Day. He works for the Matsuzakaya Department store in Tokyo. Katsu was a football star in his youth and I suppose he knows what women like in chocolate!!! 

Last but not least, Tomiko and I at the sushi train restaurant. I had so much sashimi that night, they thought I would be sick the next day, but I wasn't.

I really enjoyed staying with the Hattas. They are an example of the best in Japanese hospitality. All good things have to come to the end. I have enjoyed reminiscing about my trip. Thank you so much for your comments and interest. 

My blog also reached 100,000 hits this week. I must say I'm very proud to get to where I am. When I started this blog just over two years ago I wouldn't have thought that anyone would read what I write. Blogging is like an indigo vat, you have to feed it to get the best result! 

Natural Dyes: Japan and After

I've read somewhere on India Flint's blog about dyeing on the move. Before I left for Japan I packed some vintage kimono silk to take with me to dye. I didn't expect to have the opportunity to do much dyeing on the trip, but I took it anyway. Sometime preparing is as much fun as the trip itself. In my case I had fun before, during and after the trip! Read on and you will see some of the dyeing I did on my trip. 

The first day on the tour we stopped at a small town called Kiryu in Gunma. Our guide told us about a small natural dye shop. In his opinion the shop was small, untidy and hippy-like, but when we arrived and met with the so called hippy who owns the shop I was speechless. He was so cool and full of character. In his excitement to have 18 foreigners mostly women in his small shop he told us about his natural dyeing process and how he discovered the way to stop the colour fading after it dyed. Of course we didn't understand a thing he said. We got it translated to us by the guide and I don't know how much was lost in translation!  

I didn't care what he said I was mesmerized by the man and his shop! It was small and untidy as I was told, but I like untidy shops. They mean bargain-able...! 

At home you would think these were spice jars. But these jars contain all kind of dye samples. Apart from the samples in the jars there were bags and bags of dyeing material all over the floor and when I had a peek behind the noren into the back room I found more bags of dye stuff there too. So cool!

This is part of his shop. He had an old weaving loom sitting right in the middle of the precious space of his shop. Lots and lots of handmade items and yarns for sale. The highlight for me would have to be the man himself! Oh, I did get some silk yarn for dyeing! 

When we visited the silk museum also in Gunma we had a chance to dye. The workshop was part of the silk museum. At home I have a dye pot in the corner of my laundry, but here there was a purpose-built kitchen for dyeing. The two stainless steel tables can be adjusted to suit your height. On one end of the table there was a sink with hot and cold running water and the cookers were at the other end of the room. In the photo above the teacher was telling us what to do (in Japanese).  

I was so busy dyeing during the workshop that I didn't get to take any action photos. Precious time dyeing with 17 other tour mates! Above is the result of our dyed scarves. The yellow and green one is mine. It was a two-step dyeing process. First in sappanwood (?) dye solution then shibori and dipped in iron or alum mordant to get the green or purple. We only had two choices of dyes that day. Pomegranate and sampanwood. 

I had a chance to have a photo taken with the lovely ladies volunteering that day. They were so lovely and polite. They didn't pull their hair out working with the noisy tourists. I would have...!

We had lunch with them afterward. All the volunteer ladies were specialized in different dyeing techniques. They were doing a lot of batik dyeing. This lovely lady was showing us a  beautiful scarf she made. She told me she dyed the silk dress she was wearing too. Very impressive.

Now for my dyeing adventure during the trip. It started off at the Narita Hilton. I used some used green tea bags provided in our room. I emptied two or three bags on the wet silk rolled up tightly with rubber bands and stored them in a Ziploc bag. All the other bundles consisted of leaves found along the way. I finally found white vinegar at a 7-eleven the following week. After that the bundle with vinegar did smell like pickles in the hotel room! These ziplock bags were in my luggage for 3 weeks and I had to unwrap and wash the silk before I left Japan. 

Here are the result of my dyed silk. They weren't brilliant, but I had fun in the process. I also kept my tour mates amused looking out for dyes stuff for me. One of them risk her life and steal mulberry leaves from Tomioka Silk Mill for me! I have a feeling that next time some of them travel they would be dyeing too! Thanks India for yet another expert tip on dyeing.

These are the silks I dyed since my return to Australia. You can see I was influenced by the Japanese dyeing method shibori. I love the soft colour I got.  From the left I used: privet berries, camellia flowers, more privet berries and the last one on the right is winter oak leaves with iron mordant. 

The first batch I dyed after my return. I got a bit of post Japan blues when I first got back so I dived into dyeing to get over my blues and it worked. I got grays instead of blues hehe! 

Mr Notjustnat was pruning the neighbor's bush coming over our wall. I didn't know what it was at the time. He told me I should try dyeing with them. I asked Mr Google what they were and got the answer right away that these are privet berries. 

I packed the berries between two layers of silk and smashed the berries to pulp. Rolled and steamed them for about an hour. The result is what you see above. 

The best natural dye session I did had to be indigo dyeing at the Japanese Textile Workshops. It still seemed like a dream to me that I was dyeing there. Indigo dye was the one thing I really wanted to do in Japan and my wish was granted just a few days before I left.  

Apart from the beautiful roses prominently placed at either side of the front door, the indigo  vat has a pride of place there as well. The same afternoon we were there one of Bryan's students was there to join in with indigo dyeing. I think she had much more fun dyeing and practicing her English with us than her usual lesson. 

My Japan journal is almost coming to the end. The next post will be the last of my Japan journal and it will be on Japanese hospitality. It's something close to my heart and I want to share it with you. Blogging about it is the way to thank everyone in Japan who went to great lengths to ensure that I had a good time while visiting their country.  Don't miss it!

Japan Shopping Expedition

When I travel I always throw in some shopping expeditions to make the trip more interesting. Shopping is part of the fun of travelling. You get to see what is available locally. If I get a chance I like to visit local markets and supermarkets as well. I enjoy seeing what the local markets have to offer. Some markets are a real treasure trove too. 

I did do a bit of homework before I went to Japan. I learned that there are markets in every city in Japan. Generally both fresh food and general markets are joined together in the same location. I went to the markets in Osaka, Kamakura, Nogoya and a few in Tokyo including Sugamo street market which the locals call the 'oldies' market, and Nippori  Textile Town in Tokyo. The markets I wish to visit next time are the shrine markets at Toji and Kitano in Kyoto on the 21st and 25th of each month.

There are lot of photos to share again in this post. I will keep the writing to a minimum. Usually pictures tell all. Enjoy and thanks again for reading my Japan journal. 

I was at the vintage kimono shop Komehyo in Nagoya. The shop was part of a market. There were all types of kimono there. I couldn't choose which one to get. I was looking for silk jacket (hoary) and not too expensive. I finally found one. 

More full length kimonos on display. It was a hard choice to make. I had to narrow my choices by price, kind of fabric, colour and the space I had left in my luggage! They were just beautiful to look at even though I couldn't bring them all back.

You would find sweet treat and knic knack shops everywhere in Japan. This one sells old fashion candy and sweets. My friends told me she used to buy them when she was at school. I'm glad they still make the old fashion sweets instead of sweets you get these days. 

A supermarket in Shiga where my friend's family shops. I spotted durian on the shelves. Durian is a famous Thai's fruit. I was surprised it is sold in Japan.

It was our last day in Osaka and Ayako and I both love markets so what better place to spend on our last day. We found nice snacks stalls and tried most of them. Having Ayako to explain what they all are helped a lot. Half of Osaka is built underground in and around train stations. It was a good thing too because it rained for most of the week I was in Osaka. 

A friendly shopkeeper in Nappori. I got chatting with him and found that he came from Isfahan, Iran. I have been to Isfahan, so we got talking and reminisced about what we remember in Isfahan.  His shop sells braid of every kind and leather supplies.

The antique sewing caddy made with cane base and fabric body and draw string. I have seen them before, but didn't know that they were used as a sewing caddy.  I love the idea so much I bought a book on how to make them. The second book is on quilts made from recycled and vintage kimonos. 

If you haven't heard of sakabukuro before this might be interesting for you. Sakabukuro is a bag used to filter out the remaining sediment of the fermented rice sake brew. The bag was first dyed with kakishibu (persimmon dye). I found a good link if you want to read further. 

My friend's mother had a bag made from sakabukuro that I fell in love with. She told me what it was and that it was hard to find these days. When I was at Arimatsu Shibori Festival one of the ladies told me she had some and would bring them the next day. I got two from her and I cut one up and made two bags from it. I will keep the other one to use as display on the wall. 

Shibori tote bags found at the "shotengai" in Nagoya. These are cotton bags and they are natural dyed. I could have easily bought one in every colour, but space in the luggage was the problem again! 

These cute little bags were as common as paper bags. They can be used for anything like tissue napkins, glasses, cosmetics, jewelry, cameras, you name it.  They are great little gifts from Japan. 

The photos below are of fabric I brought back. Some of them are new, but most of them are vintage in both cotton and silk. I'm looking forward to using them in my online workshop starting next week. 

Some silk products I found on the tour. I hope to make magic thread out of the cream and blue yarns, but first I have to wind them onto bobbins before I can ply them on my spinning wheel. A long process, but it shouldn't be too hard. 

I really enjoyed writing about my shopping expedition today. I do miss these places and wish I was walking through them again right now! I hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings. Travelling is one big book of knowledge. To think that before this trip to Japan I didn't know anything about kakishibu, the natural dye that has been used for 100's of years. I feel that there is a right time for everything. 

I'm glad to hear that you have enjoyed reading my Japan journal so far. Don't miss out my next post on natural dyes.