Japan Trip

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

3 hours ago, greathoudini said:

Really great post and I enjoyed reading it. Seems you guys had a great time and bought some good items. 

I'm going to the same cities you went to but a few days later. My girlfriend is not into denim so I couldn't have done a trip like yours.

I'm in the shinkanzen to Nagano right now and will go to Kyoto next, after that we'll have a few days in Tokyo left.

We probably have some time to see a few denim shops but can 't head out to Kojima jeans street for instance. I have no idea what to visit. What are your recommendations? 

Also if you have some tips for good for or anything please tell me  

Nice! Japan is awesome! If you're in Nagano, you have to head to the Flat Head store there for sure.

Conner's Sewing Factory is close to Kyoto if you spend any time there.

I didn't get down to Kojima, but I know that Momotaro and Kapital have a big presence there. Also, I believe that Warehouse and Studio D'artisan have some good stores in Osaka if you are there.

[Geeman 3,720]

Completely off topic and tourist as fuck but have to to the robot restaurant! A real only in Japan experience,

 

[Niro 1,022]

12 minutes ago, Geeman said:

Completely off topic and tourist as fuck but have to to the robot restaurant! A real only in Japan experience,

 

haha i been there, it's so japan is the only way to describe it. Don't buy their nobrand beer, it is terribad! pre-drink somewhere else and don't waste money on the bento either

[sufu1 77,741,285]

it's a spectacular acrylic death trap. plus now seems to be a few too many clowns, fluffy robots, and tourists to the max. a tokyo ‘experience’.
beware.

[original review back in 2012... ] -->
https://superfuture.com/supertravel/tokyo/shinjuku/robot-restaurant

[DoitsuJin 22,307]

As a Japanese citizen with roots in the states, I can profess/confirm the following with regards to the robot restaurant:

-food and drink is bad, don't order any

-feel it is very hit or miss, you either like it or hate it (i didn't enjoy it myself, took a friend who was visiting who wanted to see it)

-it is very wacky, but I wouldn't categorize it as 'so Japan' considering the locals don't really embrace it. it's primarily a tourist trap

[Geeman 3,720]

Firstly agree with beer fod thoughts, we'd eaten a d drunk before going. Secondly @DoitsuJin I didn't mean to serotype or anything but it's a tourist experience you won't come across elsewhere. Whilst there or anywhere else for that matter  nothing wrong with talking a walk down the tourist path occasionally.

[louisbosco 326,503]

yeah i've been to japan many times, but that robot restaurant has never crossed my mind or itinerary..

[DoitsuJin 22,307]

40 minutes ago, Geeman said:

Firstly agree with beer fod thoughts, we'd eaten a d drunk before going. Secondly @DoitsuJin I didn't mean to serotype or anything but it's a tourist experience you won't come across elsewhere. Whilst there or anywhere else for that matter  nothing wrong with talking a walk down the tourist path occasionally.

apologies, re-reading my post i definitely could've phrased it a little cleaner. comes off as a lot more passive aggressive than how i felt while typing it...

and certainly, that's likely why my friend wanted to visit the venue!  while i was having a so-so time, my friend had a great time.

[redragon 3,579]

@greathoudini Must visit Tezomeya (Loopwheel, natural dye shirt) & Sou Sou (beautiful print fabric, tabi shoes) in Kyoto. 

Denim related (also in Kyoto), Loftman (divided into 4 stores along the Teramachi-dori) is an amazing store. They sell RRL, Orslow, Boncoura, Warehouse, Tender Co., etc. 

Sorry for somewhat derailing this thread @dudewuttheheck

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

51 minutes ago, redragon said:

@greathoudini Must visit Tezomeya (Loopwheel, natural dye shirt) & Sou Sou (beautiful print fabric, tabi shoes) in Kyoto. 

Denim related (also in Kyoto), Loftman (divided into 4 stores along the Teramachi-dori) is an amazing store. They sell RRL, Orslow, Boncoura, Warehouse, Tender Co., etc. 

Sorry for somewhat derailing this thread @dudewuttheheck

Haha, no worries! It's not really de-railing IMO. I haven't been, but I kinda wish I did now just for the experience. Maybe next time.

 

Yeah, I forgot to mention Tezomeya. I wish I had had time to go there.

[Bobbo 7,683]

I'd definitely stop by Berberjin and Marvin's in Tokyo to have a look at all the sublime vintage 501's. + There's good coffee, tasty ramen and shops that might intrigue your girlfriend in the area too. (Not to mention Desolation Row with all their Freewheelers gear is close by and Fullcount too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves)

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

6 hours ago, Bobbo said:

I'd definitely stop by Berberjin and Marvin's in Tokyo to have a look at all the sublime vintage 501's. + There's good coffee, tasty ramen and shops that might intrigue your girlfriend in the area too. (Not to mention Desolation Row with all their Freewheelers gear is close by and Fullcount too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves)

There are a lot of more female-friendly shops in that area as well so that might work out for him...

[greathoudini 487]

I hope it does 

I saw online there where kapital shops in ebisu as well. That's pretty close to where We're staying so might check those out as well

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

2 hours ago, greathoudini said:

I hope it does 

I saw online there where kapital shops in ebisu as well. That's pretty close to where We're staying so might check those out as well

Kapital makes a ton of stuff. I bet their Japanese shops are pretty great and have a lot of exclusives like RJB/Flat Head stores.

[Geeman 3,720]

Ebisu is a nice area to explore. There's also  UES,  TFH, 45rpm, Blue Blue, Warehouse, Saint James and porter stores there. 

[conqueror 729,442]

ebisu is great, as is the kapital store there. yaeca on the other hand...

[louisbosco 326,503]

kapital has 3 stores around that area. not sure if this relates, but stoplight co is around the block too..

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

I do regret not being able to make it to a Kapital store, but I only had so much time.

[FreeCharlesManson 634]

7 hours ago, dudewuttheheck said:

I do regret not being able to make it to a Kapital store, but I only had so much time.

KAPITAL was pretty cool when i visited they had various tote bags for x amount of extra heavy denim many many sizes i think the biggest was 25 pairs of extra heavy denim. they had a picture of a woman sitting inside the tote bag while two men lifted her in the bag. i also got to see some pretty cool boro stuff 

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

5 minutes ago, FreeCharlesManson said:

KAPITAL was pretty cool when i visited they had various tote bags for x amount of extra heavy denim many many sizes i think the biggest was 25 pairs of extra heavy denim. they had a picture of a woman sitting inside the tote bag while two men lifted her in the bag. i also got to see some pretty cool boro stuff 

I had no idea that Kapital made denim that heavy. I know they have a pretty large catalog of items and very little of it is available in the US.

[devilva 82,265]

Amazing write up, a lot of good info in there. Im going to Tokyo for a couple of weeks with my wife in about 2 months. Will write down a few denim shop addresses I want to visit and try map out the best way to see them all. Got the sufu Tokyo guide, will carry that around.

[aho 677,837]

Sorry this is turning into a Japan thread... 

I seem to have different interests every time I visit (watches this time around), but I usually AT LEAST make it to Berberjin and Full Count when in Tokyo. The first for the pilgrimage, and the second because I always end up buying a few things. Not that you won't be able to find amazing other stores (because there are tons whether vintage or repro you seek), but I guess it's become my tendency and I get along well with the FC crew the most for some reason. And also be sure to check out Bryceland's, even if it's not your style, ethandesu is a true master of the industry and great to chat with. I also enjoy BEARS in Shimokita albeit small, the staff are awesome. Hinoya is great for the overload, but I don't prefer trekking out to Ueno since it's usually a hike IMO!  Not sure where I'm going with this, but either way, enjoy your time in Japan!

[greathoudini 487]

Today I visited the lofgren stores in Kyoto today. 

I was at the nishiki market for some snacks and the shops are around the corner. They also have other denim related shops. Unfortunately the only jeans that really caught my eye was out of stock in my size. 

[FreeCharlesManson 634]

11 hours ago, dudewuttheheck said:

I had no idea that Kapital made denim that heavy. I know they have a pretty large catalog of items and very little of it is available in the US.

i'm not sure if KAPITAL does make "extra heavy" denim but these overbuilt tote bags read "for X amount of extra heavy denim" 

[onehitwonder 82]

One of the best thread I've read in a long time. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

[redragon 3,579]

2 hours ago, FreeCharlesManson said:

i'm not sure if KAPITAL does make "extra heavy" denim but these overbuilt tote bags read "for X amount of extra heavy denim" 

It's partly a humorous take on expressing space inside a totebag in terms of X pairs of heavy weight denim. 

6 hours ago, greathoudini said:

Today I visited the lofgren stores in Kyoto today. 

I was at the nishiki market for some snacks and the shops are around the corner. They also have other denim related shops. Unfortunately the only jeans that really caught my eye was out of stock in my size. 

Did not know there is Lofgren stores in Kyoto.

Where is it?

 

[greathoudini 487]

Should have been loftman 

I'm on my way to Tokyo now (unfortunately I'm on the wrong side of the shinkanzen to see mt. Fuji) and I'm hoping I'll have more luck at the kapital stores today

Another tip for people that want to visit Japan: don't go in the summer! It's so hot and humid. Especially when you're doing a lot of hiking and walking it's pretty hard. 

[Iron Horse 4,831]

Kyoto would be the worst in summer since it's in a bowl.

I found Tokyo pretty tolerable in July, it was about 85 during the day and about 70 at night. Then again I'm used to Houston and Taiwan heat/humidity, so Japan in summer is downright refreshing by comparison.  Just have to make sure you don't go and then a typhoon hits. 

[greathoudini 487]

I was talking about Kyoto indeed. There is no wind at all what makes it hard.

It's good for the epic fades though 

[dudewuttheheck 3,680]

1 hour ago, Iron Horse said:

Kyoto would be the worst in summer since it's in a bowl.

I found Tokyo pretty tolerable in July, it was about 85 during the day and about 70 at night. Then again I'm used to Houston and Taiwan heat/humidity, so Japan in summer is downright refreshing by comparison.  Just have to make sure you don't go and then a typhoon hits. 

Yeah, Tokyo was by far the most tolerable. Osaka ended up being the hottest, but that was likely due to weather patterns and not its location. 

No matter what, you can't wear anything more than a t-shirt and light jeans in that weather.

The nice thing is that they do have industrial grade air conditioners and flavored ice and such to keep you cool.

@onehitwonder Thanks for the kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

@greathoudini yeah if I had a choice, I would not have gone during the summer. Next time I will go in winter or spring.

 

 

I'm glad to see that this thread has sparked so much discussion and as such, I will be changing the title to something that reflects where the conversation has gone... btw... is that even something I can do? I don't see an option for it.

Edited July 23, 2017 by dudewuttheheck