Today got off to a slow start with a bit of backtracking. We took all of yesterday's fabrics to the post office near the Kaminarimon, only to find it is closed on Saturday mornings as well as afternoon. I was sure it opened Saturday a.m. So we took all the fabric back to our ryokan and will send it on by takkyubin delivery service instead. We had a quick look in the branch of Tansuya (a great second hand kimono chain) on the corner opposite the ryokan, where we spotted a reddish purple summer sha kimono just the right length for me, and then went back to Nippori for round 2 of the fabric purchasing. After a quick lunch at Mosburger, our next stop was Akihabara (above).
Glyn had done a bit of research beforehand and found out that one of the best hunting grounds for audio parts was the covered market hall more or less underneath the railway. This was an amazing rabbit warren of tiny stalls, some only about 2 metres square, packed with all kinds of electronics components and vintage bits and pieces, everything from valves to old cameras and video players. We had read that the stallholders aren't generally keen on photos, so the pic above was taken in the street outside, a view of the building opposite. He found some very high quality right angled phono plugs and bought the shop out (six pieces). I found a cool 70's watch in great condition (at the very silly price of 500 Yen). It was an interesting experience shopping for specialised items outside my own field with my limited Japanese.
From Akihabara it was back onto the Keihin Tohoku line and straight down to Kamata to go to Yuzawaya. Some departments at this store have been rearranged since last November. The chiyogami paper selection had increased tenfold but I still didn't find the right one for papering the guest bedroom. Even to paper between a dado and picture rail still takes a lot of sheets and there was nothing suitable with more than 10 sheets the same, so we'll stick with the old maps idea instead. Got some lovely kimono for recycling from the Tansu franchise, some Noro wool and a few skeins of coloured sashiko threads but it looked like the sashiko section hadn't been properly restocked since my last visit, when I just cleaned them out of some colours. On our way back to the ryokan, we decided we'd have a night in with beer tasting (see above - yum) and got a selection of sushi for dinner.
Glyn is making notes on signs here - lots to keep him occupied (he's a road signage professional), including some of the store signs that are displayed everywhere.
More photos soon!
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