TEMPUSMASTER PHOTOGRAPHY:

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Last Sunday we went to the annual quilt show. It seems like every year it’s more and more crowded. The show takes place at Tokyo Dome, a huge indoor baseball stadium, that covers the entire ground level/field. It runs for about a week, but gets the most attendance on the weekend. Last year there was very little in the way of food or refreshments, but this year they opened up part of the stands for people to sit, rest, and eat bento box lunches they were selling at stalls right by the stands (no food allowed in the general show area, of course.)

The quilts were fantastic. We tried taking photos, but it was very difficult since the aisles were packed. Not as bad as a Tokyo subway during rush hour, but close. There were also more vendors booths this year – which squeezed the exhibit space. I think there were just as many, if not more, quilts exhibited this time, but the aisles were definitely narrower.

One interesting aspect (to me) was the technology. It’s odd how initially technology almost completely destroyed home handicrafts, but now it’s being incorporated into sewing machines for personal use like quilting, and there seems to be tremendous interest.

The venue is great – centrally located, good access by train, bus, or subway, and has lots of other attractions and restaurants located in the same complex. There were only two major drawbacks. First, everyone had to climb down the stand stairs to get to the show floor, and then back up again when they were leaving. This was very hard for a lot of the older quilters. Second, like the figure skating events, they switched almost all of the restrooms over to women’s but didn’t change the arena maps, so the few male attendees (like me ) had to really scramble to find the facilities. Like the saying goes, “Turnabout is fair play.”