Noren:
You will often find these traditional Japanese fabric dividers outside many shops and restaurants in Japan . Mostly in doorways they are a symbol meaning the establishment is open for business and are taken down at the end of the day . In summer it means the doors can be open but still be shielded from the outside allowing a cool breeze to enter as they gently flutter.
There is something almost magical about parting the noren to enter a shop to see what awaits inside .
The second time I visited Japan in 2013 I went to Kyoto for the cherry blossom season and when I saw this beautiful hand crafted Noren I wanted to bring it home . I made it into a wall hanging to remind me of the beautiful blossoms I saw there that year.
I bought my Sakura Noren from a shop in the Teramachi shopping arcade .
This place is full of wonderful shops and is a good place to visit in the evening or if the weather is not so good outside. It has many shops of all different kinds ranging from clothes shops to Buddhist prayer beads . I found this at a shop called Iseya if you walk from the moving crab cross roads on Sanjo Dori in the Teramachi shopping street and walk down towards Nishiki market the third shop down you come to is this shop.
They have lots of beautiful crafts . I went back there again in 2016 and bought some lovely hand carved wooden cutlery (another favourite of mine)
My Noren
