'A needle is a small blade. The iron is forged like a sword' : a needle shop in Kyoto

Whether a home sewer or a more fashion conscious ‘sewist’, the needle is the essential tool of our craft. Blunt needles in a sewing machine cause missed stiches and broken threads, while a sharp needle is necessary for putting up a hem, or attempting the fine hand sewing of the couture dressmaker. Like most travellers, I used Google to find sewing supplies before I went on my trip to Japan. The blogs universally praised a mysterious needle shop in Kyoto called Misuyabari, cautioning that it was almost impossible to find but worth the effort. My friend knew the location, had often visited the shop selling Buddhist images next door and the knife shop opposite, but hadn’t actually noticed it. It is located in the Sanjo arcade just off the main street, Kawaramachi Dori. Its entrance is almost invisible, along a small unlit corridor behind a palm reader’s sign. The corridor opens into a small formal garden across which sits the tiny single room shop.