‘Fabric Heaven’ Nippori, Tokyo, wins following among tourists
ARAKAWA Ward’s Nippori district seldom comes to mind when considering Tokyo’s most popular tourist destinations. Nevertheless, the neighbourhood’s thriving fabric trade has helped propel a boom in interest among foreign visitors.
Dian Daruis gently touched her hijab, a scarf worn by Muslim women, when asked her reason for v isiting Nippori. A tourist from Malaysia, Daruis had come to purchase fabrics, as Japanese fabrics are of high qualit y, comfortable and eloquently patterned.
Throngs of tourists from around the world have descended on Nippori Fabric Town for the same reason. Located near Nippori Station, the Fabric Town extends about a k ilometre and includes about 90 shops t hat sell fabrics, textiles and ot her clot hing essentia ls, such as buttons and fasteners. Daruis said her friend told her t hat Nippori was a must-v isit place for tourists i n Japan.
Nippori’s colorful fabrics are also popular on Instagram and other social media sites for their aesthetic appeal.
TripAdv isor, one of t he world’s la rgest t ravel websites, features rev iews posted by travelers f rom around t he world. One woman from the US said ever y thing needed for handicrafts could be found in Nippori, while a woman f rom Austra lia described it as a fabric heaven with various fabrics and textiles, ranging f rom those with Japanese patterns to others with modern designs.
Mihama Cloth ranks among the most popular shops, featuring fabrics with designs of flowers, birds, Mt Fuji and other motifs as well as
traditional Japanese patterns. One customer from Myanmar diligently examined cloths with different patterns, and eventually purchased about 10 fabrics. She said she would give the fabrics to her mother as a gift and ask her to make longyi, a traditional Myanmar outfit.
According to Yoshiyuki Hamaguchi, 83, president of Mihama Cloth, the number of foreign customers has increased in recent years. Ninety percent of the store’s sales are now to foreign customers. Some European and American customers buy dozens of cloths to make tapestries, the store said.
According to the Tokyo Nippori fabric wholesale cooperative, which manages Nippori Fabric Town, the neighbourhood traces its origins to the late Meiji era (1868-1912) and early Taisho era (1912-26), when businesses dealing with textile scraps moved to Nippori from the Asakusa district. While operations were suspended during World War II, a growing number of companies and stores that handled fabrics and used clothing relocated to the area after the war. The neighbourhood subsequently blossomed.
Originally, Nippori largely housed wholesalers who did business with merchants. However, the price of ready-to-wear clothing fell in the 1980s and wholesalers’ sales declined. As a result, they began selling their products to ordinary customers. Word spread of the high quality and reasonable prices of the area’s fabrics, contributing to its nationwide recognition.
The globa lisation of Nippori has only begun recently. When a tourist information centre opened at Nippori Station in 2016, only 30 per cent of its users were foreigners. However, t he ratio has risen to more than 50 per cent today, and occasiona lly tops 70 per cent, according to a person in charge.
According to the Arakawa ward office and ot her sources, Nippori’s popularit y has been boosted by the Keisei Sk yliner trains, which stop at both Narita Airport and Nippori Stat ion.
Nippori is also close to Ueno and Asakusa, major tourist destinations with uniquely Japanese atmospheres, and boasts relatively cheap hotels. The Yanaka district, which has a traditional Japanese townscape, is also close to the station’s west exit, and a tourist route that includes both Nippori and Yanaka has become popular.
“We want to make the district a fabric town that can be enjoyed by ever yone, including Japanese,” said Yasukuni Usui, 49, t he president of Tomato, a company t hat operates five stores in Nippori Fabric Town. Usui aims to attract new customers.
Nippori is likely to attract more attention overseas ahead of next year’s Tok yo Oly mpics and Paraly mpics.