Japan's Nippori textile town growing as a tourist hot spot

Tokyo [Japan], Oct 3 (ANI): Nippori district in Tokyo is famous not only among Japanese females but also foreigners, especially who love to pay a visit to the dozens of cloth shops that sell expensive Japanese silk fabrics and traditional kimono robes.
More than ninety large stores sell wholesale and retail fabrics, with each of the store specialising in a particular kind of fabric and sewing accessories.
"We have more than five thousand kinds of buttons and most of them are made in Japan. We also have buttons imported from Europe which are made of pearl shells, ivory, plastic and metal," said Yasunori Kumagai, a shopkeeper in Nippori.
It is said that one can find the largest collection of sewing accessories in the world here.
In addition to displaying Japanese products, many shops also offer imported fabrics from countries in Europe like Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France to provide the best choices for customers.
"I extend the fur to make it soft and easy for customers to tailor. Many people like to use fur in tailoring clothes like fashion design students and lately I have many foreign customers," said Yoichi Harada, another shop owner in Nippori.
A tourist from Australia said, "It is a lovely place. I love all the shops. All the buttons, all the fabrics; this is why we came to Japan...just to see all the beautiful fabrics."
Nippori is one of the first stops from Nartia Airport, making it a convenient place to visit and shop the varied and exquisite collection of textiles in Japan.
"The quality of fabrics here is better than in Taiwan but prices are lower in Taiwan," said another tourist from Taiwan.
A Japanese housewife said, "My hobby is sewing and fashion designing. I visit the neighbourhood frequently just to get inspired by the ideas as I move from one store to another." (ANI)