Finding Inspiration in Old Japan | Silk, Washi & Indigo at Nihon Minka-en

🛍️ ONLINE SHOP: https://www.bikudesigns.com/ 🎨 CREATIVE WORKSHOPS: https://www.bikudesigns.com/workshops... Once a month I take myself somewhere new for an artist date — just me, my camera, and no agenda. This month I visited Nihon Minka-en, an open-air folk museum in Kawasaki, just outside Tokyo, and it completely filled my creative cup. The museum is home to around 25 traditional buildings from the Edo period — farmhouses, merchant houses, a kabuki stage — all relocated from across Japan and rebuilt on a beautiful hillside site. You wander between them at your own pace, stepping inside dark, smoky interiors with open hearths and centuries-old wooden beams. It's one of the most atmospheric places I've ever visited. In this video I explore the exhibition hall, the silk production displays, washi papermaking vats, and the indigo studio — where katagami stencils, katazome fabric samples, and that unmistakable smell of indigo stopped me in my tracks. I also talk about the fascinating relationship between kozo (paper mulberry) and kuwa (common mulberry) — two closely related plants that together gave these Edo-period farming families silk, paper, and natural dye. And how that thread leads directly to the Tama area of Tokyo, historically famous for mulberry cultivation and silk weaving, and our craft retreats where we visit a master Tama Ori weaver. If you're looking for creative inspiration near Tokyo, this place is an absolute must. Getting there: Odakyu Odawara Line from Shinjuku → Mukogaoka-Yuen Station (approx. 20 mins by express) → 15-minute walk to the museum. Admission & Hours: 550 yen adults · 330 yen students/over 65 · Free under junior high school age Open 9:30am–5:00pm (Mar–Oct) · 9:00am–4:30pm (Nov–Feb) · Closed Mondays Craft Retreats: Interested in visiting a master Tama Ori weaver and experiencing traditional Japanese textile arts? Find out more about our craft retreats: https://www.bikudesigns.com/tokyo-cra... MORE ARTIST DATES Artist Date 1: Thrifting for kimono    • Finding Creative Inspiration in a Secondha...   Artist Date 2: 100+ Year old Indigo studio in the mountains    • From City to Mountains in Tokyo | An Indig...   Artist Date 3: Zoushigaya/ Mejiro | working artist's studio | FLW    • Artist Date (Feb) | Mejiro & Zoushigaya | ...   #NihonMinkaen #JapanTravel #TokyoHiddenGems #TraditionalJapan #Indigo #TamaOri #JapaneseCrafts #Washi #Silk #CreativeInspiration #openairmuseum ================================================== 00:00 Intro 01:14 Exhibition hall 01:53: Silk production process 02:53 The outdoor museum 04:05 Washi production 05:02 Weaving/ Tama Ori 05:40 Indigo studio ================================================== Camera Gear https://www.amazon.co.jp/shop/influen... Amazon Store Front (Japan) https://www.amazon.co.jp/shop/influen... ================================================== 10% off your first jewellery order when you subscribe to the newsletter : https://www.bikudesigns.com/sign-up.html ================================================== Connect INSTAGRAM:   / bikudesigns   FACEBOOK:   / bikudesigns   ================================================== Music and sound effects by Epidemic Sound. Start your free trial here: https://share.epidemicsound.com/su21ps This video is not sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission. ================================================== About Victoria I'm Victoria Close, designer, maker and teacher of jewellery, accessories and crafts based in Shimokitazawa in Tokyo. I'm a long-time Tokyo dweller (over 25 years) with a passion for mottainai (the regret of waste when something still has life left in it), vintage thrifting and any kind of craft. This channel is all about my love of crafts, both Japanese and non-Japanese, traditional and modern, vintage shopping, free finds, my atelier and tiny shop and life in Japan. I’d love to see you at my studio in Shimokitazawa soon.