One more thing that I wanted to see around Nagoya was the Arimatsu Tie Dye Museum, so I took a couple of trains and found myself in the small town of Artimatsu. It had an interesting and old feel to it, far apart from the modern cities. Small and quite place, this town was a nice break from the city sights and sounds.
I walked for a few minutes from the train station, and quickly found myself in the museum, although that feels to me like a bit of a misleading name. The first floor was a shop where it was possible to buy clothes, bags, dolls, and a few other trinkets all made with the Arimatsu Shibori tie dye techniques.
The second floor had two parts to it. The first part was the display room, where they had some fabrics with different patterns and colors, either framed and hung on the wall, or being worn by dolls. There was also a video playing around in a loop, detailing the history of the town and the Shibori techniques, which are still being practiced today. The video was played in Japanese at first, but one of the staff members kindley changed it to English so I’ll be able to enjoy it and be a bit more educated.
The second part of the second floor was a workshop area, where people can come in and try for themselves the art of Arimatsu Shibori. Unfortunately, I did not have that option, so after looking around at people sewing some patterns into their fabric, I left the museum and the town, going back to Nagoya.
I planned to keep exploring and visit Nagoya Castle, but by the time I got there it was a bit too late, and I was advised to come back another day.