Spitalfields Saturday Market 28 July

We will be running a small stall at Spitalfields Market this Saturday (28th July 11am to 5pm).  Our stall will have a lucky cat and kokeshi theme but as always if there are any items you would like us to bring along for you to see please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate.

New Look Japanya website

We are delighed to announce the launch of the new look Japanya website.

Our new website, which we think looks fresh and sleek, has been designed with a new menu structure to help you find the things you need more easily. We hope you like the new design. Please let us know if you experience any problems finding your way round the new website or have any questions about our products.

Japan Tsunami Recovery - Origami Box Auction

Poster by Dominic Alves

To mark one year since the Tohoku Pacific tsunami in Japan - Decorative Hexagonal Origami Gift Boxes made by Dominic Alves are for sale on eBay (details here). All proceeds - after some eBay and PayPal fees have been deducted - will be donated to the (UK based) Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund. The auctions close 24th March 2012.

New Kimonos

Over the last few weeks we have introduced some new lines of cotton kimono/yukata to the Japanya website. For men, we now stock the popular Japanese Writing kimono (which we previously only stocked in black) in blue. We have also introduced a stunning Phoenix and Dragon design kimono in three different colours namely "smokey" blue, black or red. For men that prefer simpler patterns we have introduced a basic striped yukata. For women, we have introduced a white yukata with a flying crane and swirl pattern as well as a kimono with a beautiful Peony and Cherry blossom design in red, black, blue or pale green.  

A traditional Japanese striped yukata available in medium, large and XL

Japanese writing kimono now available in blue

A Chinese Phoenix and dragon kimono available in black, blue or purple

Blue Peony and cherry blossom kimono also available in black, green and red

A white Swirl crane yukata available in small, medium and  large

Hyper Japan Spring 2012

We are looking forward to running a stall at Hyper Japan (Brompton Hall, Earls Court, 24-26 February). Tickets are available in advance from their website or on the door on the day. If you would like to see a particular item from japanya.co.uk for example one of our kimonos, please contact us and we will try our best to bring it along on the day.

Ryokan style yukata with a basket lattice weave pattern

Many of our customers are introduced to yukata (cotton kimono) on trips to Japan. There, ryokan and other hotels - even business class hotels - often provide yukata for guests to wear after their spa bath or simply as sleepwear. The fabric of these yukata are often blue or white with simple geometric patterns.  We recently received a visit from a customer who wished to replace a gown he had purchased in Japan, as after several years of constant use the collar was starting to show signs of wear and tear. Browsing through our suppliers' catalogues we decided that the yukata shown above - with a basket lattice pattern - although with more blue than our customer's gown was the closest match.  We have recently added this design as a yukata and a happi coat length to our range of gowns. Please note the yukata has been listed as a men's yukata but as with all our gowns could be worn by either men or women.

Japanya kimono used by X-factor dancers

X-factor backing dancers wore our plum blossom and bird kimono on a recent show.  The kimonos, which had been severely shortened to allow the dancers to move, looked exquisite worn with pink sashes.