2019 Quilt Tour of Japan
Quilt Tour of Japan - by Eleanor
As you know I have travelled on several trips to USA with Judi Mendelssohn, owner and director of P & Q Tours Ltd. She and Lynne Edwards MBE, got together with Japan Journeys and organised this trip to Japan to coincide with the Tokyo International Quilt Festival and what a trip it was. Judi and Lynne were there as sewing specialists and organised a couple of little workshops in the hotel, Sashiko and Cathederal Window, Lynnes speciality.
Our group numbered 22 including one gentleman!! Needless to say not all of the group were sewers and 7 of the group were from different parts of the world i.e. two from USA, two from Australia, two from Holland and one from Israel. Also our trip leader from Japan Journeys was half Japanese, a good thing because she was fluent in the language and she absolutely worked her socks off for us.
We arrived in Tokyo and were taken to the Tokyo Dome Hotel, 45 floors and we were on floor 26, quite a view both by night and day. Our first day consisted of a coach tour of some of Tokyo including, The Imperial Palace and then on to Nippori, a FABRIC TOWN not just a shop but a whole town dedicated to 100 fabric shops. It was like going to Santa Land. The shop we were advised to visit consisted of 5 floors and had adjoining specialist shops within a few doors.
On to the Quilt Festival itself. The queue must have stretched for at least a mile and we were 4 abreast. Fortunately it moved quite quickly and it took about 40 minutes for us to get in. We were "guarded" by a little Japanese guy who if we did get out of line would put up 4 fingers and shout 4 peoples and shove us back into line. Tenko or what?? Japanese people are on the whole very polite BUT not women at a quilt show, they had very sharp elbows and bullish heads and they were going to go where they wanted to go regardless of anybody in the way.
The show was held in a stadium and was quite vast. However, we found it quite difficult and frustrating because we couldn’t ask any directions. Japanese people do not speak any English and unfortunately to our shame we have come to expect this. (That everyone should speak English.) Kay, our guide, had told us that the programme was very expensive and we wouldn’t be able to read it anyway and I would certainly advise anybody who is thinking of going to try and get a floor plan and do some research before their visit, at least you stand a chance of battling with the little women. Also I think at least three days would not be adequate to see all of the stuff on display but what we did see was fantastic.
The following day we visited the Itchiko Kuboto Art museum. He had devoted himself to a Japanese fabric dying technique and after 20 years felt he had finally mastered the technique. The museum housed some of his original kimonos and they were absolutely magnificent, it just did not seem
possible for someone to create such scenes on fabric by repeated dying. It was certainly a very worthwhile visit.
Judi had previously met a lady called Sachiko Yoshiada a famous quilt maker who made her quilts from antique kimonos. She invited our whole group to her home where she and her students provided us with a wonderful lunch and then showed us all of her quilts together with some of her students work. It was another wonderful day and they were great people. On our last day in Tokyo we went shopping with Kay and she took us to a shop selling second hand kimonos at very reasonable prices and in wonderful condition, needless to say I bought two.
The following day we boarded the famous Bullet Train bound for Kyoto. Another wonderful experience, I won’t bore you with details, only to say the thing seemed to fly and not a drop of tea was spilt. When we arrived we were once again given a tour by coach and visited The Golden Pavilion and its wonderful gardens, afterwards we were taken to a Shibori workshop and created our own silk works of art!!! Day 9 of our visit was taken up with a visit to a covered market and I could have happily spent all day there just browsing.
Next day was a "free!" day but we had decided to visit Hiroshima, this was an optional tour and I felt it necessary to go there, so once again we boarded the Bullet Train bound for Hiroshima, a place flattened to the ground within 7 minutes and 18000 people died. Also the people left behind suffered greatly for many years and are probably still suffering 70 years later. I have visited Auschwitz, The Twin Towers and now Hiroshima and still find it difficult to come to terms with mankind’s evil. On a lighter note we visited Nijo Castle with a very beautiful interior with the famous nightingale squeaking floors, these were to alert the inhabitants to intruders.
Forgot to mention our silk screen printing, another wonderful workshop which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Our last night in Japan was our farewell dinner, where we cooked our own food at the table in a steaming bowl of water. Bowls of meat and vegetables were brought to the table in abundance and as each bowl was emptied more were brought out, quite an experience, we then ended the meal with green tea ice cream, quite wonderful.
I must say when I arrived home dying with a bug I wasn’t quite sure what I felt about it all. It was certainly a very hectic visit and quite exhausting, now that I am feeling better and recovered yes I think I would like to go back and see all the things I missed first time round.