Tokyo Garment/Fashion District. Which Hotels are close?
 

I am traveling to Tokyo specifically to explore the underground Arts and Fashion scene. I'm interested in shopping for fabrics , street boutiques and Sunday in Harajuku. What is a good location/Hotel to stay at in order to be close to all this. I have heard a place called Sendagaya was the center of the fashion for Tokyo. I need help

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

If you're interested in fabrics, you'll want to visit the wholesale markets in Nippori and (to a lesser extent) Shinmichi-dori in Yokoyama-cho/Bakuro-cho.

Sendagaya is more of a residential area than anything else -- the center of "underground fashion" is more in the Harajuku/Jingumae districts. There are also a large concentration of used/vintage clothing stores in Koenji. A hotel in Shibuya or Shinjuku would be convenient for what you want to see, IMO.

I suggest you do some more research as to what exactly it is you want to explore.

Nippori is a good neighborhood for fabrics and is on the JR Yamanote line. Here is a map
http://nippori-senigai.com/free/map
And some directions with photos
http://blackcabbit.wordpress.com/201...tores-nippori/
(Ditto armagebedar!)

As far as I know, it isn't a united wholesale market neighborhood like Dongdaemun in Seoul where one can buy both finished garments and fabric in bulk.

Shinjuku also has Okadaya and Yuzawaya craft stores which carry fabric
http://blackcabbit.wordpress.com/201...ores-shinjuku/

----- Aside -----
I don't have the knowledge to speak about Tokyo fashion but I do know there's quite a few subcultures which don't necessarily reside in the same shopping areas.

By underground Arts and Fashion, do you mean more independent styles often associated with youth culture sometimes generalized as Street Fashion like these?
http://tokyofashion.com/brands/
http://www.tokyofaces.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_street_fashion
If you have a specific fashion subculture you're interested in (as there are many tribes) then you might want to search in those types of forums for such neighborhood and shops.
Here's a slightly older rundown of some of the fashion subculture styles
http://wuggitywug.blogspot.com/2011/...on-styles.html
Fashion Maps
http://tokyofashion.com/fashion-map/
------- End Aside ------

What's your hotel budget and are you paying with points or cash/credit card?

If you're interested in things more in the Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku areas then Shinjuku and Shibuya offer upscale and business hotels. Ikebukero or Nishi-Shinjuku might be a bit more affordable but you'll need to take the subway/JR to get to your destination. The Tokyu Stay chain has locations in Ikebukero and Nishi-Shinjuku which offer a business hotel like atmosphere + washer/dryer in room and usually a bit more space which is good if you have extra luggage. There's also the Dormy Inn Premium Shibuya which is between Shibuya and Harajuku.

Welcome, I am not a fashion kind of a guy but what I know is… Harajuku and Shibuya are considered as fashion center for young people, I will emphasize young people. Fame of Harajuku regarding fashion started by young starting designers. On back streets of Harajuku young starting designers who did not have much money got together and rented small ground level apartments facing a street. Usually 3 to 5 designers rented an apartment and started to sell their own items. Magazines for girls in teen and twenties started to pick up on that and TV drama was made based on that concept. That was in ‘70s which made Harajuku known for fashion all over Japan. Now Harajuku has famous designer’s stores on the main street, but if you go to a side street you can still find small stores by unknown designers.

Why Harajuku? Harajuku used to (talking about 1950s and 1960s) have a lot of small apartments renting to university students. An apartment was nothing to write home about, but rents were cheap and owners did not have problem renting to young people without job. Which worked out for young starting designers who did not have jobs.

Shibuya has large concentration of clothing stores and considered as fashion district for young people. Right front of Shibuya station there is 109 Building, there is a big sign on the top of the building says “109” so difficult to miss. 109 is one of famous location for clothing shops for young women. Pretty much can bet any teen girls in anywhere in Japan knows about 109 at Shibuya.

About fabrics, I had to look up little bit but since fashion for young people are concentrated in Harajuku and Shibuya, many fabric stores are located at Shibuya. However, looks as most fabric stores are small and located at side streets.

All above is about fashion, clothing, and fabric for western (European) style clothing. In Japan when you talk about fabrics there is another kind, it is fabrics which is used to make Japanese kimono. Those fabric stores for kimono is called Orimono Tonya (織物問屋) and historically and even today it is concentrated in Nihonbashi (日本橋) near Ginza. There are several stores which sell fabric for kimono in Nihonbashi.

I looked up and could not find anything about Sendagaya and fashion. May be if you can provide source where you got an information about Sendagaya then can get more information.

My last trip to Harajuku was in the midst of Spring Break and it was just horrible. My impression is that it has gone the same way as Carnaby Street; attracts so many visitors that the truly creative and original shops are sunk in the mire, submerged by businesses purveying the more profitable cheaply made schmutter. The place is also infested with ridiculously attired touts also looking to cash in on the teen appeal of the area.

However.... Not far away there is Yoyogi where the Bunka fashion college is. I've had the good fortune to be based in this area on several of my visits to Japan and this is where the most fashionable and best dressed people I have ever seen in Tokyo go about their day time lives. If anyone is serious about contemporary street fashion in Japan, THIS is the area to hang out in and people watch.
The district where Bunka fashion college is is next to Sendagaya, so wherever the OP got their information from chimes with truth as far as I'm concerned.
I'd suggest coming to the vicinity of the college and talking to the students - someone will speak English. Find out from them where to go and what to see.

One of the best located hotels for straightforward and relatively inexpensive access to this area is the Sunroute Shinjuku Hotel (I've not needed a hotel when based here so have no direct experience).

I'm pretty passionate about kimono and kimono fabrics, but this is another area of interest and shops relating to this are mostly in different areas (depends on which aspect of wafuku the wearer is into). I won't go into this unless the OP shows that this is what the enquiry is actually about.

I will second what LapLap writes above. Sendagaya is where quite a few of the designers have their ateliers (Koshino comes to mind) not to mention the interior design/architecture offices nearby. You will also find many of the wholesale/planning offices in Sendagaya. The area in Jinguemae 4 is also home to these wholesale offices, whether you can go in that is a different point altogether. In fact I was once on my way to an appointment and was looking in a "shop" in Jinguemae 4…….alas it wasn't a shop but a buying office :D ! They didn't ask me to leave, but wouldn't let me buy anything either. And Sendagaya has a great coffee stand, where you can meet/see local designers, Be A Good Neighbour !

I vaguely recall there were a lot of used clothing shops in the somewhat quirky Shimo-kitazawa area, but to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention. Maybe someone who knows more about this can confirm or deny this?

List of furugi ya (used clothing shops) in Shimokitazawa - North direction and then South direction:
http://www.timeout.jp/ja/tokyo/feature/6721

Is this what you had in mind?

If this is what the OP is after, I'd recommend Daikanyama - another hotspot for contemporary fashions. Here's a list of furugi ya in this area: http://www.timeout.jp/ja/tokyo/feature/6989

There is also the Gallery Kawano in Omotaesando which has many fine used kimono fabrics for sale. They also have a selection of Koinobori and other flags. This shop originates from Yanagawa, Fukuoka-Ken (dba. Nishikaigan).
http://www.gallery-kawano.com/kawano.html#top

^ - thanks QShoeGuy!

Advice
 

Thanks everyone. I will research these leads and figure out an itinerary. Anyone know a rough estimate of how much spending cash I will need for a 10 day trip?

It all depends on what level of luxury you require. You should be able to get a single hotel room for less than ¥10,000, and that may include a somewhat edible breakfast. Again, depending on what you require and where you go, somewhere between ¥1000 and ¥2000 is your minimum for lunch and dinner, unless you make a meal of convenience store food, which is usually available for less than ¥1000.

Subway fares start at ¥160 and increase with distance. Cabs are plentiful (they appear to travel in flocks) but expensive, so I take them only between my hotel and the train or bus station from which I'm leaving for the airport.

If you're only in Tokyo and for less than two weeks, consider getting the Suica-N'EX combination ticket. This gives you a roundtrip between NRT and Tokyo Station as well as ¥1500 credit on a Suica debit card, which is valid on all local surface trains, subways, and buses that you are likely to ride. You can replenish the card at any station.

Ksandness has already given the basics.

What sort of things are you looking to spend your "spending cash" on?

The other question is - Do you have some self restraint or will you be needing to try a new kind of drink at every other vending machine and a new kind of candy or snack at every other convenience store?

Rock bottom is that with your hotel paid for (a single room at the Sunroute Hotel near the area you are enquiring about is just under 9,000yen, alternatively there are rooms for under 3,000yen about 45 minutes away in the area around Minowa - walking distance from Asakusa - expect to pay at least 500 yen a day more if you are based here on transport costs) you can survive on a 3,500yen a day budget. It won't be easy, and the temptation to spend more on a bewildering variety of attractive and very affordable items will be relentless and extremely hard to resist. However, it is doable.
With your hotel costs covered, 5,000yen a day may be considered the minimum in order to not feel as if one is constantly punishing and depriving oneself. But even with this budget; keep the vending machine drinks to a minimum, stick to Japanese foods rather than western fare (pizzas can be pricey), don't order soft drinks or beers/wine with your lunch time menu (water and cold or hot tea is usually included in the price), plan your visiting so that you stick to a minimum amount of areas, this will reduce the cost and time spent criss crossing Tokyo.
It is very, very easy to spend much more. Not because Tokyo is so expensive - it really doesn't have to be - but because so much of what it offers seems like such good value and within the borders of affordability that it requires a will of steel to resist the urge to keep purchasing stuff... And all those small purchases soon rack up.

Since Tokyo can offer amazing multi course lunch deals for between 500 & 800yen (or around 1,500yen for a meal prepared by a world class chef) the convenience store meals are something I personally regard as a false economy. In the evening there are a range of places selling noodles and other cheap options from between 400 and 1,000yen. And then there's the patisserie and cakes.... For instance, the cream pan from Hattendo are only 200yen each, but try resisting the urge to eat more than one.

Back in April, we enjoyed this area...plenty of clothing new & old...and various crafts-persons
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...age-tokyo.html

......there's also a "Fabric Street" not far some a stop on the circle JR line....can't recall the stop.....enjoy!