Hareniwa Marche 〜 A Marche Event Organized by an Apparel Brand: Savor Carefully Selected Flavors at the Momotaro Jeans Kojima Ajino Main Store

Hareniwa Marche is a market event run by JAPAN BLUE, the company behind the Japanese jeans brand Momotaro Jeans.

During holiday periods, the backyard of Momotaro Jeans Kojima Ajino Main Store fills with restaurants and general goods shops from Kojima and across Okayama Prefecture, bustling with tourists visiting Kojima Jeans Street.

I visited Hareniwa Marche, held on March 19, 2022, and enjoyed local flavors and making a leather keychain.

Here’s a look at Hareniwa Marche, organized by Momotaro Jeans Kojima Ajino Main Store, a long-established apparel shop on Kojima Jeans Street in Kojima, Kurashiki City—the home of jeans.

What is Hareniwa Marche?

I visited Hareniwa Marche, held on March 19, 2022.

The sky was unfortunately overcast, but the soft light made it pleasant weather for spending time outdoors.

It looked like the perfect place to take your time and enjoy a market event.

Overview of Hareniwa Marche

Hareniwa Marche is a market event held in the backyard of Momotaro Jeans Kojima Ajino Main Store.

When Momotaro Jeans Kojima Ajino Main Store renovated its building and reopened in April 2021, a backyard was created as a place for visitors to Kojima Jeans Street to take a break.

Hareniwa Marche began using the store’s backyard to let tourists visiting Kojima Jeans Street during holiday periods enjoy the flavors of Kojima and Okayama.

Since its reopening in April 2021, it has been held seven times, including this Hareniwa Marche.

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Participating shops at Hareniwa Marche

Restaurants and general goods shops active in Kojima and across Okayama Prefecture take part in Hareniwa Marche.

The following shops set up stalls at Hareniwa Marche on March 19 and 20, 2022.

What I tried at Hareniwa Marche!

Apparently, the staff invite their favorite restaurants and general goods shops to Hareniwa Marche.

I got to try some of the staff’s favorite flavors, so here’s what I thought!

AYUSTAM

AYUSTAM is a hamburger shop.

It serves hamburgers made with carefully selected ingredients—meat, vegetables, cheese, and bread.

▼ The generous ingredients spilling out from the bun caught this hamburger lover’s eye!

▼ It’s so big you can’t take a bite even if you open your mouth as wide as possible!

The patty inside is made from 100% beef.

Juices overflowing from the patty, rich cheddar cheese, and crisp, crunchy vegetables!

It’s no exaggeration to call it a top-quality hamburger.

JP’s vender 61

JP’s vender 61 is a chicken over rice vendor with a shop in Nishikicho, Kita Ward, Okayama City.

Chicken over rice is a dish popular at New York street carts.

According to the staff, chicken over rice is a dish that evolved from halal food eaten in Muslim communities as it became popular in New York.

It is typically served with chicken, lettuce and other vegetables, spices, and chili sauce over white rice.

▼ It’s colorful, making it a treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds!

It looked quite spicy, but the heat was just right for me.

The sweet-and-spicy chili sauce mixed with the soft-boiled egg for a mellow flavor.

And, surprisingly, it went well with the rice, so I couldn’t stop eating.

Fukafuka Tiger

I’d heard it was a roasted sweet potato shop, so I pictured a mobile vendor playing the familiar tune, “Yakiimo, yakiimo, delicious sweet potatoes!” But I was surprised when I saw the menu!

▼ It was my first time encountering a roasted sweet potato shop offering several varieties.

I wanted to compare the flavors, but eating several roasted sweet potatoes that would sit heavily in my stomach seemed difficult.

Resisting the urge to try lots of varieties, I ordered Awa Roman.

▼ Of course, it was piping hot and fluffy!

Since I only tried one variety, I couldn’t compare the flavors, but as the menu described, Awa Roman was indeed moderately sweet.

I couldn’t try more because I was already full, but next time I’d like to come hungry and compare the different sweet potatoes!

Hareniwa Marche workshops

Hareniwa Marche holds workshops related to clothing.

I was curious to see what kind of workshop an apparel shop would host!

Workshop overview

At Hareniwa Marche on March 19, 2022, visitors could stamp leather using offcuts from leather belts.

In this workshop, you choose letters and stamp them onto the leather by pressing metal dies engraved with the alphabet onto its surface.

I took part in the workshop and made a leather keychain, so here’s how it came together.

I tried a workshop!

There are two types of leather to choose from for stamping.

▼ A sample leather coaster.

▼ The jeans-shaped keychains come in five colors.

I decided to take part in the workshop to stamp a jeans-shaped keychain, and chose blue, the same color as jeans.

▼The workshop booth.

All the tools needed for the workshop were provided at the booth.

There was no need to bring any tools, so it was easy to join in.

▼These are the metal stamps used to imprint letters on the surface of the leather.

The tips of the stamps are engraved with letters of the alphabet in reverse.

Once I had decided what to stamp, I prepared the necessary stamps.

▼The letters I used.

Can you tell what I’m trying to write?

▼Before stamping the keychain, they let you practice on a piece of scrap leather.

As I practiced stamping, I adjusted the spacing between the letters.

Hitting the stamps with a hammer is a simple task that seems easy, but stamping letters at even intervals and to the same depth is surprisingly difficult.

After practicing thoroughly and getting a feel for how much force to use, I moved on to the keychain I would stamp for real.

▼Before stamping, wipe the surface with a towel dampened with water.

This softens the surface of the leather, making it easier for the letters engraved on the stamps to transfer.

I carefully stamped the letters, making sure not to get their order wrong.

▼Here’s the keychain I made!

We’re Kurashiki Tokotoko, a web media outlet sharing “Kurashiki today”!

“KURASHIKI” and “TOKOTOKO” had too many letters for the available width, so I struggled to stamp them while keeping the letters close together.

Incidentally, it was only after the workshop ended that I thought maybe “TOCOTOCO” was the correct spelling of Tokotoko.

I thought, “Oh no,” but there was nothing I could do about the letters stamped into the leather—it was too late.

I put so much effort into making it that it’s become one of my favorite keychains!

Next, we interviewed a public relations representative from JAPAN BLUE Co., Ltd. about the background that led to the Hareniwa Marche being held.

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