Tokyo has many neighborhoods specialized in selling particular products. Fabric and haberdashery are no exception! So you will find what you are looking for in the Nippori district, accessible via the Yamanote subway line.

The easiest way is to exit the station through the south exit; at the bottom of the stairs, a sign will welcome you and guide you to more than 80 stores dedicated to the art of thread.

When I go to Nippori, I always stop at 2 particular stores.
The most famous and largest: Tomato. This store offers excellent quality fabric produced in Japan and Korea at really very low prices. The largest Tomato store (Honkan) has 5 floors. On the ground floor, you will find bins of coupons, discounted haberdashery products, cotton, linen, broderie anglaise, cotton with traditional Japanese patterns, some oilcloth... On the first and second floors, you will find knitwear, lycra, stretch lace, novelty fabrics (rhinestones, sequins, neon, faux fur...). Higher up, you will find coupons for patchwork, traditional Japanese fabrics including indigo-dyed fabrics, haberdashery (sewing, embroidery, bag-making supplies...) Some fabrics are offered from 100 yen per meter, less than 1 euro! At Tomato, it is possible to pay by card. You will have to pay for your items on each floor before continuing to the other levels.

What did I buy?
This year, I splurged (as usual) on 8 pieces of fabric. 4 are printed with typically Japanese patterns and will be used to make summer dresses and blouses, 2 solid pieces: a yellow cotton and a gray jersey. I also bought large pieces of Japanese fabric to make a yukata for my husband.

The second store I want to tell you about is Mihama. I am always charmed by the selection of fabrics with Japanese patterns. A charming old gentleman runs this shop and he was very proud that I was wearing a dress made with one of these coupons when I visited him this year (you can see it in the first photo)..

In short... in this store, you will find coupons of fabric with traditional and modern Japanese patterns. They are carefully packaged and well labeled. So you will have no trouble understanding the length and price of the fabric; which is not always obvious for people who do not speak Japanese.

What did I buy?
This year, I chose 3 pretty coupons. A small red and silver one to make a skirt, two larger ones, a white and a red with rabbit patterns that I will use to make summer dresses.

Looking forward to showing you my sewing projects very soon...