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

[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 ?

[dave28]

@Steffen:

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

Highly advisable to learn the basics and have a translator device.
See the Top Gear episode where the lads are in Japan.

[Snowy]

@Steffen:

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

Very much so. i don't speak a word and have been 7x.

[organisys]

Awesome thread, thanks.

[Jett129]

Really fantastic,loving the little videos.

[Dion]

I though the third video was showing the sanforization process first.

[Mustafa911]

Thanks Giles to share the making of the denim. Amazing !!

Love those white bulbs of yarn

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RoxRocks86]

Thanks for sharing! Really cool to see a glimpse of the “beginnings” of the great things to come.

[Matty123]

@Giles you’re looking fit. ::insert jokes here::

[David_pll]

Really enjoying the photos, hope you both have a great trip.

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[Giles]

@dave28:

@Steffen:

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

Highly advisable to learn the basics and have a translator device.
See the Top Gear episode where the lads are in Japan.

I have been coming here for 15 years.  Probably visited 30-40 times, My vocabulary consists of Awesome, Cute, I'm Fat, Thank You, Yes and not much else.  This is not something I am particularly proud of, but it is what it is.  However it does go to show that you can muddle along with not a lot .

Last night Alex and I found a Yakitori joint, that sat no more than 16 people.  Judging by the reaction when we stooped in, we were probably the first Gaijans that had ever crossed the threshold.  The menu was in Kanji and there were no pictures.  We ate amazingly, the cook getting more and more daring as he saw us eat everything he put in front of us.  One of the other diners got a friend who could speak English to come to the restaurant and help, in the end, most of the other diners were our new best friends…..