The Bikan Historical Area is home to many shops featuring artisans’ handiwork, including Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft, the second folkcraft museum to open in Japan after the Japan Folk Crafts Museum.
Visitors from Japan and abroad often walk around the Bikan Historical Area, hoping to take home a favorite everyday item as a souvenir of their trip to Kurashiki.
A short distance from the Bikan Historical Area, in Higashimachi, is Nijiiro Shoten, a general goods shop whose concept is to offer “truly good things.”
Until July 2025, it was a cafe serving charming, tightly rolled crepes, but it reopened as a general goods shop in October 2025.
Here, we introduce the new shop and the story behind its renovation.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in April 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Nijiiro Shoten: Discovering the stories behind “truly good things”
Nijiiro Shoten is a small Kurashiki shop where you can enjoy discovering one-of-a-kind pieces and the appeal of handmade work.
The shop is filled with carefully handcrafted items. The following members, who supply the products, hold a monthly management meeting and run the shop together.
- ajisaidrop
Sells comfortable, hand-dyed sashiko thread with a story behind it - Kingindo
Sells products made at welfare facilities and special needs schools across Japan - nui factory
At the Type B continuous employment support facility “nui,” fabric goods are sewn and sold. Quality materials are selected from producers across Japan and used in the products - Cooperative Rainbow Cafe Project
A business cooperative in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, dedicated to supporting the independence of people with disabilities
For example, the items in this photo are made using twill fabric produced by a long-established canvas maker founded in 1888. The company has since closed, making this a rare fabric that is no longer available.
The fabric is dyed with natural materials, including coffee and charcoal. The makers take pride in sewing each item with carefully selected historic materials, a considered dyeing process, and reliable quality.
Pick up each piece and choose your favorite
Most of the goods in the shop are one of a kind.
Even pieces with similar designs differ in texture and color. Pick them up and choose the one you like best.
Dried fruit is also popular, alongside the general goods.
Okayama is a fruit-growing region known as the “Kingdom of Fruit.” However, fresh fruit spoils easily, making it unsuitable as a souvenir for family living far away or overseas.
Dried fruit, on the other hand, is easy to take home. The dried fruit made by the Cooperative Rainbow Cafe Project contains little sugar and lets you enjoy the fruit’s natural flavor. It would also make a nice purchase alongside the cutlery in the shop.
The experience of “making” a one-of-a-kind piece found nowhere else
A “one-of-a-kind piece” doesn’t have to be something made by someone else. Something made with your own hands is also one of a kind.
Nijiiro Shoten also holds workshops where you can make a one-of-a-kind piece with your own hands.
At ajisaidrop’s sashiko workshop, you choose the sashiko fabric you want to stitch and select from several types of thread, allowing you to embroider a design to your taste.
All the thread is hand-dyed, and some comes in gradients. Participants say they love how simply stitching along creates a colorful finished piece.
To take part, book by direct message through Nijiiro Shoten’s official Instagram, or visit the shop and tell a staff member you’re interested.
During our visit, customers who enjoyed sashiko gathered around a table, spread out fabric, and discussed their projects as they stitched. The shop also served as a community.
Guest chef days are a treat—and have even drawn long lines!
Crepe service ended in July 2025, bringing the cafe operation to a close. Since October 2025, however, the shop has held pop-up events featuring guest chefs several times a month.
For these events, the shop’s team has chosen places they themselves “want to eat at,” focusing on businesses without a physical location or those too far away to easily visit from Kurashiki.
At some events, customers have started lining up an hour and a half before opening, with long queues forming before the doors open.
The shop’s goods remain available for purchase as usual on guest chef days, so consider visiting Nijiiro Shoten when a chef you’re interested in is there.
A universally designed shop where you can change diapers with peace of mind
The shop is in the middle of a row of three traditional townhouses in Higashimachi.
Although the townhouse has a large step, Nijiiro Shoten has been renovated to be barrier-free, so you can enter in a wheelchair or stroller.
There is also a universal-design restroom at the back of the shop, so you can feel at ease.
Visitors with children can also use the diaper-changing table.
We interviewed Kameyama Yuka of Nijiiro Shoten about the background to the renovation and her hopes for the future.
Nijiiro Shoten details
| Name | Nijiiro Shoten |
|---|---|
| Address | 1-24 Higashimachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Parking | None |
| Hours | Fridays (1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.) Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays (11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) |
| Closed | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Check the calendar posted on the official Instagram each month |
| Payment methods |
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| Website | Nijiiro Shoten official Instagram |
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