Alex and Giles do (what was supposed to be) a brief trip to Osaka and Kojima

[Giles]

One of the things that I love about Japan is the contradictions you encounter.

Yesterday we stopped at a convenience store to grabs some bits and pieces.  When we left there was a large white car parked casually across the entrance in complete disregard to the neatly laid out parking lots.

G "Who does he think he is, bloody Yakuza?"
S "Yes"
G "How do you know?"
S "The licence plate is 4455, the number of the Kojima Yakuza Branch"

[Giles]

UHF's ready to be sewn….

A previous seasons grey Ombre and patterns

[Giles]

FW18 Type II pocket flaps…

[Giles]

The Inland Sea…

[Giles]

Korean BBQ, I think H has his own table here…

[Dion]

@Giles:

S "The licence plate is 4455, the number of the Kojima Yakuza Branch"

Sounds like they're not far away from a decent clothes branch to snag some nice pieces ;).

[Giles]

[Matty123]

Great thread and great photos. Thanks @Giles and @Alex

[Alex]

[gaseousclay]

Great pics. Love the food shots [emoji496]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Signal11]

Those factory shots are great! Thanks.

[bryaneidins70]

Love these pics and a great Father and Son photo.

[steelworker]

@bryaneidins70:

Love these pics and a great Father and Son photo.

They must get along well, they're Brits and damn near smiling!  At the same time!

[Giles]

I think someone had just said "you know what, that Steelworker aint so bad after all" 

[Giles]

It is a common misperception that jeans are starched post construction.  The denim warp is made stiff and slippery with the application of a sizing agent (typically starch) before the weaving process.  This gives the warp less friction, so the weaving process is more efficient and warp breakages (which cost a load in loom down-time) are reduced…

Warps being beamed

Beams of warp entering the sizing machine

A warm bubbly bath of sizing agent

[steelworker]

@Signal11:

Those factory shots are great! Thanks.

What he said.

[Giles]

Obviously before the warps get sized, they need to be prepared and dyed…

Beams of warp in position.  Each yarn in a beam is 2,000M long and there are dozens and dozens of warps on each beam

[theshigster]

Great photo tour of the process… Love it ! Domo... Thanks !
This reminds me of having been in Billund for an Inside Tour of the LEGO manufacturing plant...

PS: Your ohashi chops seem to be up... 

[Dion]

I love these behind the scenes images. This is where the magic happens.

[Steffen]

Is it possible to travel Japan without speaking a bit Japanese ?