Visiting Kyoto for Crafts Tour

Visited Kyoto with a friend of mine. Since my friend is a wood craftman, we decided to explore crafts and furniture. He took me to places I would never have gone alone, and I'm extremely grateful.

The most surprising place was D&Department Kyoto.
Because the location is very unique. They renovated a building on the grounds of Bukkoji Temple and operate it as a store. The adjacent facility was a restaurant. It was so innovative and interesting. D&D, like Nakamura Masashichi Shoten, deals with craft items from across Japan.
However, according to my friend, the difference is that while Nakamura Masashichi is more business-oriented (targeted at the general public), D&D seems to cater more to a niche audience (industry professionals). The staff also have individuality and are easy to talk to, according to my friend.
The fact that they have a store inside the temple’s premises is already quite edgy.

After that, we jumped into an exhibition, which my friend’s acquaintance took part in. Although he specializes in furniture making, the exhibition featured not only woodworking but also paintings, pottery, and other artworks.
Each of their unique worlds was expressed, and it was quite stimulating. According to my friend, the furniture industry has already exhausted its forms and the quality is high. Therefore, to differentiate oneself, attention to detail and storytelling are essential.

Exploring stores with people who have expertise in their fields was very inspiring and felt like a refreshing. I'm grateful to have a friend like him.

Bye!