antique market at toji temple

toji temple in kyoto (not far from the kyoto train station) is the site of a huge market once a month, and also a smaller antique market on the 1st sunday of the month. in june, i made it to the 1st sunday market for the 1st time. as expected, it was quite a bit smaller than the main market, actually very peaceful. flickr set here.
the lotus pond at toji.

a spring day at the toji market

i visited the kobo-san market at toji temple last weekend, it was perfect weather for a spring time market!
these little guys were all smiles.
these are paper maché versions of the royal couple that is part of the display leading up to girls day on march 3rd.
these movable puppets were amazing.
and these are old fashioned traditional miniatures.

last weekend's markets

last weekend i went to 2 markets on sunday. kyoto has a lot of cultural treasures, and in my opinion, market culture is one of them!

by the way, have you seen that banner with the red acorns over there on the right side of this post, for felt cafe japan?------>

it's my new project, which i'm very excited about; gathering and sharing resources about japanese crafts, crafting in japan, and crafty shopping in japan. if you have any ideas about this new site, or would like to contribute, please let me know!

one of the sections on felt cafe japan is all about the different markets in kyoto, here:
http://www.feltcafejapan.com/kyoto-handmade-markets

there are antique markets that have some handmade items, and handmade markets with more younger craftspeople. last sunday i went to one of each.

the photo at the top of this post is from the tenjin market, the anique/flea market at kitano tenmanu on the 25th of each month. the photo is of one of the side areas, where they were selling plants. the little structure with the white tables is selling coffee.

this is the same market, near the entrance where all the food vendors were. there was a mix of traditional local pickle makers, and festival food. toward the end and on a different street, i had the biggest buta-man (steamed pork bun) i've ever seen. super delicious. in this photo, the dark blue banner says 'kyoto pickles' and i bought some! i'm still learning the names for pickles, so i don't know what they are called, but they are purple, include ginger and cucumbers and i love them.

at the antique/flea markets, there are usually some crafts too, often more of the traditional kinds. for example these little chirimen bunnies.

i made a flickr set with more pictures from this market.


then i went to the handmade market at kamigamo shrine, which is held on the 4th sunday of every month. it was my first time to this market, and i definitely plan to go back as often as i can. there was a nice selection of crafts, even though i didn't get there until later in the day. and the setting-peaceful woods and a nearby stream-was lovely.

this woman was selling felt off of her bike.

wonderful felt slippers.

great little felt animals!
you can see more photos in this set.

toji market

last week i visited the market at toji temple in kyoto. it happens on the 21st of every month, and is one of the biggest markets, with everything from antiques to homemade pickles.
usually it is so crowded, but this month there were far fewer people, probably because everyone was nervous about swine flu.these venders do all kinds of natural dyeing, using supplies near their rural studio, which is in a ayabe, outside of kyoto. i talked to her for quite a while, and she was very nice and generous about sharing information. her husband spins the fiber himself, and they also grow their own rice, etc. i bought some of her tea, the first picking of an organic green tea. i had some tonight, and it was yummy. ayabe sounds nice, perhaps there it is a kind of artist village, maybe i will try to visit it sometime.

another dye artist, with an amazying hat and matching mask. this color is made from persimmon fruit, which is distilled into a stronger liquid, and often used to dye cotton canvas or study work clothes. in this case nice canvas bags.


a little bit of this and that, and some kimonos.

in case you couldn't guess, the internet is back up, and to be honest, it's a bit overwhelming! so much to catch up on...and then last week i was knocked out by a sudden cold (not swine flu, since i never had a fever!) but now that i have recovered, regular blogging can resume.