It is a dream of every Cosplayer/ Anime fan to visit Japan once.
Next to a huge variety of shops stuffed with Anime/ Manga merchandise you can find a large sum of shops with Cosplay related goods or Cosplays itself.
Although Cosplay in general is not a reputable hobby in Japan, it is more acknowledged than in Europe.
Generally you will find in every city of Japan shops selling Cosplays and goods.
Because of that most of the Japanese Cosplayer are buying their costumes, of course there is still a notable number who like to craft their costumes by their own.
This time I want to write a shopping guide about getting goods for your self made Cosplays.
I will write a blog about buying Cosplays and wigs later.
I want to concentrate on Tokyo, because I think that everyone who will visit the first time Japan will start with Tokyo or at least stop over. Furthermore I am much more familiar with getting fabric and goods in Tokyo than in other cities, because I visited Tokyo several times already.
Getting fabric and dry goods:
Japanese fabrics and dry goods are quite affordable. Of course it is not cheap as in Taiwan and if you want some special goods be prepared to pay for it. But you can get 1 meter of your desired fabric for about 108 yen (75 Eurocents) if you are lucky. Japanese friends told me that the fabric prices in Germany are just crazy.
Generally spoken, Japanese fabrics are not only affordable they also have a good quality.
So you can make some good bargains and are still buying quality.
They also have a big variety of different fabric types. If you are looking for cute or typical Japanese prints you will find a large choice to choose from.
Gemstones can be cheap but you mostly will find yourself paying the same as in Germany.
Dry goods are in general cheaper than in Germany. They also offer a bigger choice and if you are lucky you can find reduced products and make a good deal.
If you want to buy cheap laces/ braids and gemstones, I would recommend buying them in Dubai.
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The most of these stores are located near to the Nippori Station at the northeast of Tokyo.
This district is also well-known as “Nippori fabric town”.
At Nippori you will find one fabric store next to each other, offering dry goods, fabrics and more. You can enjoy fabric shopping the whole day.
Just be aware, that no one speaks English and you should be familiar with the goods you want to buy. Even the labeling is mostly in Japanese. So you should be able to read Japanese or know how a 100% cotton fabric looks and feels like. If not you might be lost or buy the wrong kind of fabric.
Like nearly everywhere in Japan most of the shops are only accepting cash payment. I haven’t seen an international ATM (or 7/11) in this district so withdrawal money before heading to this shopping paradise.
At Nippori the most famous shops are “Tomato”. You will recognize these shops very easily, because their company logo is a tomato.
Tomato owns several different stores at Nippori, which are offering different kind of fabrics.
You will also find a wide range of frequently reduced fabrics for 108 yen per meter. If you want to make a bargain I would recommend going to Tomato.
Location:
Station: Nippori (Yamanote Line/ Keisei Main Line/ Joban Line, Tohoku Main Line)
Exit: South east
Operating hours: Mostly 10 am – 6 pm (depending to the shop)
Map of the Nippori fabric town:
