TL;DR: Craft shopping in both Singapore and Tokyo are amazing.

Travel Planning

Planning for a vacation in February, the spouse wanted to go somewhere warm and relaxing. Ever since I saw Crazy Rich Asians, I've wanted to visit Singapore and there's a place that's warm all year 'round. Two birds, one stone, right?

Other than the movie, I had also seen a video about ecologially-minded architecture in Singapore which sounded interesting even if I don't normally pay any attention to architecture. At that point, that was all I really knew and was willing to go to the warm place and look at interesting buildings; relaxing, I can do relaxing!

The web research then began, he looked at "things to do in Singapore" and I looked at fabric shopping in Singapore. We were both soon very keen to go to Singapore. A local Singaporean, YouTuber DashingHeights does an excellent job describing the Hawker (food) Culture, plus other attractions like the various zoos and such.

With the main destination settled, the next question was how to get there. It's a long flight, so does one want to fly there directly or add a stop to break up the flight? I was pulling for a stop in Taiwan because I wanted to go string shopping 😇, plus if we timed it right we could experience Lunar New Year in a place where it's a really big deal (apparently they celebrate in Singapore, but not to the point that the place shuts down for two weeks). After much flight shopping and research, we discovered that if we stopped in Japan for a few days, the flight (with JAL) was actually cheaper than if we flew direct. The savings would sort of cover the cost of hotel in Japan, depending on the hotel we picked. Oh noes, Br'er Fox, don't throw me into the briar patch!

My keeper of a sweetie, then booked hotels close to my shopping itineraries, which in the case of Singapore was Chinatown and for Japan was close to Nippori Station.

Craft shopping in Singapore

Furama City Centre was an excellent home base for our stay, being across the big street from Chinatown Point mall (Daiso, convenience stores, tonnes of food choices, connected to transit) and next to People's Park Centre mall.

People's Park Centre mall

People's Park Centre mall has 2 excellent general crafting stores and a bunch of beading shops. To my recollection, all the mentioned shops took credit cards.

Golden Dragon Store

of the two general crafting shops in this mall, I would head to Golden Dragon first if I was looking for tools. Both are better than any Michaels in a quarter of the space.

Shino Beads

across the hall from Golden Dragon is Shino Beads, charms and plastic beads galore.

Beads and Crafts

around the corner from Golden Dragon is Beads and Crafts, similar to Shino but with more seed beads.

Koi Ming

out in the atrium part of the building and down a floor (or two?) is Koi Ming with more crystal.

Mix and Match

next to Koi Ming is Mix and Match with more findings and some semi-precious strands.

SMH Craft

at the opposite end of the mall, facing the atrium and up a floor from the Golden Dragon is SMH Craft. Also a general crafts store but with more fabric, fun trim, and other raw materials.

People's Park Complex mall

People's Park Complex mall is right next door to the People's Park Centre, so if you get them confused you won't be far off. Almost the entire 2nd floor is fabric shops. Some specialize in batik, linen, wool, silk, bridal, etc. They don't all open and close at the same time so check before going. Also, there's a significant number of cash-only shops so be prepared.

Lye Nai Shiong

this is your first stop if you're after any sewing tools or notions.

Brighton Accessories House

Brighton, confusingly, occupies significant amounts of the hallway plus several adjoining stalls. Fabulous selection at great prices with friendly service. Credit cards accepted.

Mui Huay #03-1142

up a floor from the bulk of the fabric stores is Mui Huay, a lovely button store with an magnificent selection of iron-on applique patches. Cash only.

Arab Street

After the People's Park pair your next stop should be Arab Street, a couple of blocks of which are lined with fabric and crafting shops.

Molkan Fabrics

I picked up a beautiful batik and some lovely Thai (??) silk, here.

Alibaba Textiles

You know when you go to your favourite auntie's house and complement something and she gives it to you? It was like that here except that I kept saying about this gorgeous lace that I had complemented that I had nowhere to wear such a thing. Sitting in front of a computer, day after day, getting carpal tunnel should not be done in lace and silk! But the price kept dropping (I honestly was not trying to haggle) until I had to buy it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also picked up some batik and ikat.

Gim Joo Textiles

Attentive service here, too. Picked up some rainbow chiffon.

Digvijay Sequins

So shiny! Sequins and trim. I picked up some Swarovski crystal rivoli buttons.

Textile Centre mall

A 6 min walk from Arab Street (according to Google Maps) is the Textile Centre, along the way is the main store of Sin Hin Chuan Kee. The first time we went to the Centre, pretty much everything was closed. I don't remember if it was because of proximity to New Year or day of the week or time of day. The second time we went, more was open but lots was still closed. I got the impression that the shops here are more set up for wholesale transactions. But then, maybe I am a silly tourist who wasn't paying attention.

Sin Hin Chuan Kee

Ribbons galore plus some fun iron-on applique patches. Also, at last, Chinese knotting cord in larger sizes on spools. Alas, anything but red must be custom ordered. 😭 According to Google, there is also a Sin Hin Chuan Kee in the Textile Centre itself, specializing in zippers.

Sungai Industrial

Straps, webbing, buckles, and clips. What I think of as bag findings.

Mustafa Centre

The Mustafa Centre is like if AliExpress was a real physical place. It is stuffed to the gills with what seems like just about everything. Down in Basement 1 (there are 2) is the fabric area. It is very tightly packed so if you use mobility aids, have a stroller or rolling luggage, you will have problems. Bolts are not labeled with prices or fibre content. I asked the clerk what fibre content the material I was interested in was, and was told it was "satin". *sigh* I bought it anyhoo but still haven't flame-tested it yet. Pre-packaged lengths or finished pieces for scarves, sarongs, shawls, and sari accessories are also in this area. The Centre is said to be open 24hrs, so that's an advantage over the many little shops with occasionally whimsical operating hours.

Memo's Art House

Memo's Art House is a yarn shop and quite the distance from all the fabric shops, but still easily accessible by transit. It was a lovely shop and big enough to be worth the trip, imho. I was also concerned, as someone allergic to wool, about what there would be there for me. There was plenty of cotton and acrylic yarns. In fact, the wool selection was quite small.

Spotlight

As I understand it, Spotlight is Australia's answer to Michaels/Joanne's. It is a big box store in an environment where that's very rare. More than half of space is devoted to home wares like bedding and waste paper baskets, Ikea without the furniture. The crafting materials are all (?) pre-packaged and more expensive than you'd like unless they're on sale, but cover a wide range of hobbies.

Kinokuniya Bookstore

When I went to Singapore, I was hoping to pick up some books in Chinese, since Chinese is one of Singapore's official languages, so that I wouldn't have to special order from my local bookstore and wait 3 months for fulfillment. My research turned up a lengthy list of shops to try, but I was sadly disappointed. The Chinese bookstores in Singapore all seem to be solely educational. They range from kids' picture books to college competency test prep. None of the six shops I visited had anything in the way of crafting books. 😢

Kinokuniya in Singapore, however, had a very nice selection of diy and crafting books in English and Japanese. They also had a reasonable selection of Chinese books but not much in the way of diy and crafting. That said, as of February 2025 it looked like they were still building out their stock. Also, they were happy to order for me but the 2 week fulfillment estimate was too long for this tourist.

Craft shopping in Tokyo

If there's one thing they like to do in Japan, it's specialize. They have whole islands full of rabbits, cats, and art. So it is that they have Nippori Fabric Town and the as yet unamed and without marketing committee bead district in Asakusa-bashi (浅草橋), among others.

Nippori Fabric Town

Nippori Fabric Town is a tourist attraction and it knows it. There are location specific maps translated into various languages, banners on the street, and permanent signage in the transit stations guiding you to its wonders. It is centred on a single street, extending several blocks from one transit station to another.

The fabric shopping on the street is not diluted by restaurants, and the map does not show much in way of food sources nearby, so I brought water and a snack from convenience stores near transit and chose to view it as a weight loss opportunity. For those choosing to make a day of it, Tomato's home dec shop had public bathrooms that don't require you to purchase something before using. I'm assuming that at least some of Tomato's other shops may also have public use facilities.

While Nippori is a dizzying array of fabric, trim, beads, leather, and more, a careful examination of the store names reveals that there are fewer different vendors than you might think. Tomato alone has six shops in separate buildings. They are not alone in having multiple shops in Nippori although most, like Tomato, have different themes for each shop.

Starting with the 800lb gorilla, Tomato's main building has 5 floors of fabric including a discount section, but right next door is the discount specific shop. Bolt after roll of fabric for ¥100/m! There are some higher rates as well in the shop, if I recall correctly. It's spectacular and tempting, but what's disappointing is that there is no fibre content on anything. You'd think that in the stores from which these sale items come from, they had been clearly marked for fibre content, so why has this information now been removed? How does it benefit Tomato to have customers standing there rubbing fabric between their slightly grubby fingers trying to decide if this bolt is polyester, cotton, or rayon if they could have left that infomation which they already had on the bolts?

Some of my other highlights include E & Son's Mont Decor shop which was full of sparkling and gorgeous ribbons and trim (cash only), Tomato's DIY bookshop, And Leather, Furikake beads and trim, and a few shops that specialized in natural fibres.

One of the first shops you'll see from the Nippori Station side of the area is a second hand kimono shop. I was on the lookout for kimono/yukuta fabric but was disappointed in that regard at Nippori. I know, now, that I missed some specialty shops on the far end of the area, and the big (?) one Mihama was closed for all the days I was there. 😭

Second hand kimonos and accessories

Many of us have heard about Japan's unwanted kimono problem with the annecdotal figure of 500 tonnes of kimonos being sent to land fill each year. Since I could not find an actual source for that number, I'm going to look at it with some skepticism. Having said that, used/"vintage" kimonos are a thing. Youtube's Tokyo Lens directs us to the packed touristy area of Asakusa which has new, used and kimono rental/experience as well as accessory shops (eg. kanzashi hair ornaments).

Various online guides will also suggest general second-hand shops like Book-Off and Hard-Off but if your timing works out, don't forget the various flea markets . I had excellent luck with the Tokyo City Flea Market, scoring a stack of fun obis for ¥500 each.

Bead Town

Not as famous but twice as sparkly is the not-yet-a-thing, Asakubashi "Bead Town". In a 1-2 block radius around Asakubashi Station is a large number of bead shops, some with multiple storefronts. The big ones include Parts Club, Kiwa Beads, and Miyuki Factory. Down the smaller side street, keep an eye out for Genuine's multiple shops for semi-precious strands and the unhelpfully named "Art" with some less common offerings.

Unlike Nippori, there are lots of restaurants in the area to keep you fueled.

Chain Shops

Japan has a surprising number of crafting franchises, all of which are much better than Michaels is or Joanne's ever was. Some shops are free-standing, some are stores in malls, and some are fully integrated into department stores. It can get very confusing when you are following directions but expecting a storefront. At least you can be sure that you can use your credit card at these shops. 😅 My favourites include: Okadaya, Yuzawaya, and ABC Craft.

Having made that crack about credit cards, there is one thing of note at Okadaya flagship store which always trips me up. Their credit card machine gives you a scrambled keypad with no letters for typing in your PIN. If you remember your PIN based on letters that are on a typical keypad OR are using muscle memory for where the numbers should be, you'll be in trouble. I have never seen this security feature anywhere else, but there it's a thing.

The last chain store of note is Tokyu Hands, which is less a craft store and more a maker store (tools, wood, screws and nails, solder, etc). Having said that, Tokyu Hands has changed in the decades since I first visited Japan. For one, they have rebranded as just "Hands" vs "Tokyu Hands". For two, they are becoming less of a crafting/maker store and more of a travel/home stuff store. It is extremely disappointing, but at least their flagship store in Shibuya (for now?) is still a worth a visit for the DIY fan.

Bookstores

My must-see bookstore in Tokyo is Kinukuniya. As an added bonus, their flagship store is in Shinjuku walking distance from Okadaya's flagship store. Speaking of which, each of the chain stores mentioned above tend to have good collections of more current crafty books and mooks.

Even in English, I have found that browsing physical used bookstores to be mostly a waste of time. The sole exception being the new/used combo at Powell's in Portland. Online collections work so much better. 🥺 The problem is even worse in a language I don't really read, so the aforementioned Book-Offs and second-hand book zone in Jinbōchō are mostly an unsuccessful slog for me, but if anyone knows of a second-hand shop that specializes in craft books, be sure to let me know!

What to do next time

Singapore is a joyfully multicultural place with four languages on most signage (English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil) with an excellent public transit system (as is the case in all the Asian places we have been?) and clean, safe streets. The food is fantastic, the zoos and gardens are fun, and the shopping is amazing. Singapore is a city-state and so for us, it seems that we've seen all there is to see?

I managed to miss some chunks of Nippori, plus one of the stores I was most interested to visit was closed, so I'll need to go back and fill in those holes. I would like to revisit some of the second-hand kimono stores when I'm less overwhelmed (and perhaps with a project in mind?) for something other than obis.