No 108

Dear Customers & Friends
Hello from Japan. This is Kimono Flea Market ICHIROYA's News Letter No.108.We are very sorry about the closing time of our store for summer vacation. Two days ago our family returned from a trip to Hokkaido, and tomorrow morning staffs will come and we will return to ordinary days as before.We hope we could introduce more interesting and valuable items from tomorrow again!
In Hokkaido we stayed at a hotel in Niseko during 4 days. The hotel is a good hotel, and Yuka said proudly that she found this hotel a hundred times. We were all satisfied and liked the hotel very much. It has large onsen (hot spring) bathes, and Yuka and Shoko soaked in the hot spring several times a day. I ( Ichiro ) was busy with fishing, and younger daughter Mugi was busy with her study for entrance exam in next spring. But of course I also enjoyed the onsen - broad bathtub, sulfury smell and white birch trees from open-air bath. It is in the forest, and the room was neat and very calm. Every night piano live was held. Dinners are well-prepared, and fresh sea food and vegetables are used richlly, DELICIOUS! Hokkaido has broad and rich land, and is product center of sea food, agricultural crops and cattles. We dropped in a small sushi restaurant when we drove along the sea side, most expensive sushi dish was only 2800yen, and its sushi was fresh and very DELICIOUS!
In Hokkaido, trouts and salmons run the rivers, and some rivers are not allowed to be fished to protect their spawning. In Niseko, Shiribetsu River, one of the purest river in Japan is allowed to be fished, and well known for big fish spots.I went fishing a few times to beautiful Shiribetsu river, and I caught several medium and small size trouts! Nature of Shiribetsu is very rich, and very small insects bit me nearly hundred times in my arms, and my arms became mottle and feel itchy still now.
This is the river I went:http://www.hkd.mlit.go.jp/zigyoka/z_kasen/kawa/pro_siribetu.html
There is a mountain called Yotei zan-which is also very famous as Mt Fuji of Hokkaido, because the beautiful shape resembles Mt Fuji very much. Sirbetsu river has pure and rich water for the snow fallen on the top of Yotei zan comes down with 40 years time to the river and the river runs affluently all the time.
We rented a car, and our elder daughter Shoko drove almost all roads. She just has got a driver license, and her driving was thrilling. It was good, there were a very few cars and roads are wide and so straight-it was not like the roads in Osaka at all! It was excellent for a beginner driver. It was very good feeling to sit in the backseat and enjoy landscapes.

Hokkaido is the northernmost island among the four large islands of Japan, and its latitude is near to Seattle in United States and Bordeaux in France. And its average temperature is more cooler than those cities. Most of the names of the place in Hokkaido are from Ainu language, so many places are written by Katakana letters for reading the names of the places in Kanji w very difficult.We saw many red dragonflies, which tell us the coming of autumn. A man who brought us to rafting said autumn was around the corner, and short summer would end in several days. In winter it snows a lot, and he said that especially Niseko is fantastic for its good powder snow. In winter skiers come from all over the world for its famous powder snow, and ski area become very cloud with foreigners. Usually they started to have snow in October.
Our summer holidays ended. Osaka is still hot, but autumn must be coming also here.We got enough rest, and I am tired of fishing. We are very happy to come back to our business - and to work with staffs, enjoy antique textiles and other items and serve you again! And we are preparing a new project, which we will began in this winter. Now we are ready to get into business battle field again! We are very happy if you can enjoy our service again.
Today we are adding bolts and obis--we hope you have some time to check our new arrivals:-)
Have a nice new week! with many KANSHA(thanks)Ichiro & Yuka WadaKimono Flea Market "ICHIROYA"http://www.ichiroya.com
e-mail: info@ichiroya.comaddress: Asia-shoji Bldg.301 1841-1 Nishi 1 chome Wakamatsu cho Tondabayashi city Osaka 584-0025 JAPANTEL&FAX ****( international number ) - 81-721-23-5446