Hello!  We’ve just got back from our … fifth! I think? trip to Japan, and it was absolutely fantastic, as always!  For the purposes of hand-making related blogging, here’s a compilation of the clothes that I took and how I wore them, plus general rundown of how it all worked out.

Time away:  25 days

Where to:  Japan… we visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Matsumoto, and also almost a week of hiking in the mountains.

Season:   early spring

Expected activities:  lots of hiking, plenty of city strolling, viewing cherry blossom, catching trains, and shopping.

hiking details:   3 days along the Kumano Kodo trail (Takijiri-Oji to Takahara, to Chikatsuyu, to Hongu Taisha) and 2 days along the Nakasendo trail in the Kiso Valley (Nagiso to Nojiri, then Nagiso to Tsumago-juku, and Tsumago-juku to Magome-juku and back). We were NOT backpacking though, we had our luggage ferried in between towns which is the absolute best way to hike, imo!

Colour scheme:  lots of pink, black and white, with my moss green and yellow jackets playing along

What I packed:

all items linked to the original construction posts with the exception of the two new starred items blogged right here in this post, below

green jacket     *pink jumper              striped jumper             cream scarf              yellow raincoat

pink striped jumper   black check jacket  red neck warmer

charcoal skirt   *pink miniskirt               black jeans             rtw black gloves

blue miniskirt   black tights (x4)                                            cream T-shirt       charcoal twist top

white fleece top    ivory Tshirt

cream twist top    sockettes(4) hand knitsocks(x3)

yellow handbag    bathers                                                       black hiking boots           black boots

not pictured, pink thongs, pyjamas, underwear

My daily outfits:  not necessarily in order, in fact all reproduced after I returned home, since I pretty much only took rough mirror selfies just to remind myself what I wore each day…

Thoughts:  I didn’t allow myself enough time to pack and kinda threw a lot of stuff in this time (hangs head in shame) however, I’m very pleased with the variety of outfits I had at my fingertips.  Really, I know I could probably get by with less but I’m definitely the type who gets really bored and a little sad with wearing the same outfit day after day, so I try as much as possible to achieve a variety of different looks over the span of a trip.  Also, it was all quite light and compact and I still had plenty of room in the suitcase for shopping, very important!

I admit though, I was rather astonished when I realised I’d packed FOUR white or white-ish tops!  What was I thinking?! Although to be fair to myself, they all serve different functions.  Yes, really!  One cream T-shirt goes hand in hand with my pink striped jumper; I always wear them together and they count as one item of clothing really.  The white fleece top is SUPER warm and a little bulky, ideal for those extremely cold days, which we had a few at the beginning of the trip.   The ivory twist top is kind of a stand alone top, that is visually interesting and good for wearing by itself.  And the ivory merino T-shirt very thin and lightweight for warmer days – probably didn’t need this one to be completely honest.  I really could have put more forethought into the ivory top situation!

Things I didn’t need at all, my bathers and thongs.  I’ve said this every trip though; I toss them in, just in case because they don’t take up much room, but I’ve hardly ever needed them in Japan.  maybe I should rethink if I ever take them on future trips?

I was so pleased with the skirts I took; all of them are very comfortable and versatile.  I wondered if I would need those jeans at all; but I very much appreciated them on those few very cold days in the cities.

I also wondered about whether I’d need the green jacket, but it’s lovely and cosy and was great to wear around the city; I was glad I had it.  My yellow raincoat was absolutely essential, for the few times we were hiking in torrential rain, and is a good windbreaker too.

I didn’t make the gloves – they’re actually Craig’s but his hands don’t get cold and he was happy for me to wear them.  These are kinda special; they have a metallic fibre knitted into the finger and thumb tips so you can operate your smart phone while wearing them.  Such a good idea!  I’m thinking of incorporating this into a future pair that I knit for myself… somehow?!

Maybe now is a good time to introduce the two new items of clothing in my wardrobe, made just especially for this trip!

Firstly, the little pink mini skirt… this is made using the Paprika Patterns Jade mini skirt pattern; an old favourite that is instantly recognisable as a stalwart in my tried and true pattern collection.  I made it using a piece of cotton jersey bought a few years ago, during the early days of covid, just before lockdown and I was panic shopping at the thought of being unable to go to a fabric store in days/weeks to come.  Priorities!

I lined it with lightweight blue cotton jersey, the same stuff I used for the blue mini skirt also pictured in this trip’s lineup.  The blue is not a very stable knit, quite flimsy actually, but I figured the pink jersey had enough body that it didn’t need a super stable lining.  I really love this new pink skirt and felt really good about my outfit each time I wore it.  No surprises there since I love this pattern so much, and I really love the colour too.  Win!

(worn here with my ivory twist top, and at the top of this post with hand knit jumper and yellow raincoat)

Item 2; a pink sewn jumper, made using the Paprika patterns Jasper pattern (worn here with my black jeans).  I’ve made this once before and love my first one too.  I made this the dress length, without the little collar clinch, and more flared around the hips than the pattern and am happy with this extra width.  To be honest it’s way too short for me as a dress, but I find it perfect as a sweater top.

The fabric is super fluffy and cuddly knit stuff from Spotlight… I’ve been hoarding this fabric for quite a while but it’s always been intended for a Jasper.  Just one of those projects waiting for the right opportunity, and of course a cherry blossom viewing holiday in Japan was exactly that!  I whipped this up with barely half a day to spare before our flight out, actually.  I’d almost forgotten how I’d once-upon-a-time planned this fabric+pattern for this holiday, and was so so glad I was able to fit the making of it in, because it was indeed exactly the new thing I wanted.

doing some hard yakka up a mountain

I made the pocket in the front without welts but just turning under the seam allowance and topstitching the pocket edges to stabilise them, and I really like this small variation.  Really, my fabric was too bulky for welts and I think it would have been disastrous to attempt them; plus I didn’t have another fabric I wanted to use for welts either.  For the pocket inside, I used the some pink jersey leftover from my new skirt.  There is just something about this pocket though; I’m not sure what I did different or if it’s the fabric, but the pocket has a tendency to hang on the inside in a way that shows up visibly on the outside.  I may or may not cut the pocket in half inside to make it two separate pockets.  I’ll see how I feel about this after a bit more wear.

I straightened the pocket out for this picture but it has a tendency to drop down after a while, and visibly “hang”

Some other making news from the trip; I was thrilled to meet up again with my dear friend Yoshimi… she had kindly organised a very interesting activity for us to do which was a bicycling, sock-making workshop!  These are semi-automatic sock making machines, that have been attached to bicycles so you can use human power to knit your socks… it was such fun!  You chose your colours, the ladies in the “factory” pre-programmed the machines for your individual sock lengths, both foot and above ankle sections, and away you went!  It took about ten minutes or so for each sock, and the ladies stitched up the toe for us.  It was lots of fun, and something I wish I could do again some day.  Also, fastest socks that I’ve ever “knitted”, if I can even lay claim to that!

Anyway.  We had an absolutely wonderful time!  I bought a few little kits…  and several books… and just one piece of fabric.  I know, so restrained!  I’m still very committed to reducing the stash, but just had to allow myself one souvenir piece!

Vowing right now that each of these things will be used/made in the space of one year…  I’m holding myself accountable!

I also bought skin care, a manga, quite a few little odds and ends and bits and bobs…  Also Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Japanese.  This is so I can read side by side with my English copy and hopefully improve my Japanese.  Oh, by the way, I managed to speak Japanese every day!  This is the first time I’ve got to actually speak with people, and I really enjoyed trying…  however, I know the lack of Japanese speaking people in my life is going to be the reason I’ll never been fluent since it was sometimes quite challenging.  Honestly, I feel so dumb compared to Yoshimi who’s English is so completely excellent.

On that note, maybe it’s time for me to go and do another lesson… ever onwards and upwards!

頑張る!!