Kojima in Kurashiki City is known as the "Holy Land of Jeans."
Last year (2023), "THE DENiM," which made a comeback after four years, was held again this year (2024).
I visited the fashion event, which has powered up with an increased number of vendors, on the opening day of April 27.
This is an annual festival where Kojima brand jeans, which attract denim lovers from around the world, can be purchased at low prices.
What is "THE DENiM 2024"
"THE DENiM 2024" is one of Japan's largest denim events.
It will be held in Kojima as part of the "2024 Spring Kojima Festival #Senisai" on April 27 and 28, 2024.
The festival venue includes three areas: around Kojima Station, the Sanbaku City area, and the Kojima Jeans Street area. "THE DENiM 2024" will take place in the Kojima Jeans Street area.
On April 27, when I went, there was a street performance and kendama performance show from 11:00 AM to 11:40 AM, which energized the venue.
A BINGO tournament will also be held from 1:00 PM on the 27th and 28th.
There were plenty of prizes, including jeans, denim accessories, and bags.
▼ For more details on the vendors, please see the image below.
The event lasts for two days
The venue for "THE DENiM 2024" is the Kojima Community Center lawn.
The opening hours are as follows:
- On April 27 (Saturday), from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
- On April 28 (Sunday), from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
On the day of the coverage, April 27, the weather was unfortunately bad, but it was the first day of Golden Week, and many people were there.
The nearest parking lot to the venue is a municipal paid parking lot, and there were many cars with out-of-prefecture license plates.
I noticed many families and foreigners among the visitors.
The event venue, utilizing the lawn, had booths set up in tents for each brand and store.
Get famous Kojima brand jeans at low prices
The booths that had long lines were "Momotaro Jeans" and "JAPAN BLUE JEANS," which shows their popularity as brands.
I was surprised when I peeked inside the lined-up booths at the prices.
World-famous popular brands were priced at less than half.
No wonder people come from outside the prefecture.
"What? Momotaro Jeans for 10,000 yen?"
I thought I must have misread it.
This is cheap!
Payment was cash only, and returns or size exchanges were not allowed.
Each booth also has fitting rooms.
A wide variety of leather goods, accessories, and hats
Since it's a denim event, it's easy to focus on jeans, but there are also many other products not to be missed.
Booths featuring leather goods, bags, hats, T-shirts, and biker goods were also bustling with many visitors.
There were also sales of just fabric.
High-quality leather products were also sold at reasonable prices.
The American feel at the booth entrance is typical of a fashion event.
Denim fabric bags are uniformly priced at 2,000 yen before tax. Moreover, each one is unique, and there are no identical products.
With this level of craftsmanship, isn't 2,000 yen a good deal?
Cute small fabric pouches made of denim and cloth caught the attention of female visitors.
Denim straps. One for 500 yen in a gacha.
You can make it yourself.
It's not just shopping
After walking around the booths for a while, you start to feel a bit tired.
Children also start to get bored.
The festival featured not only shopping but also street performers, kendama performance shows, and BINGO tournaments to entertain the visitors.
Additionally, the "Let's Walk Across! on Community Center" allowed limited-time access to the rooftop of the community building, providing a panoramic view of the venue.
You can access the rooftop of the Kojima Community Center "Exchange Building".
The stairs are dome-shaped and a bit unstable.
The event would have been canceled in case of rain, but the rain stopped a few hours earlier, allowing access to the rooftop of the community building.
By the way, the photo features the author's "Momotaro Jeans".
Wearing jeans to a jeans event is part of the fun of participating.
The venue as seen from the rooftop.
In the back is the municipal parking lot.
When you get caught up in shopping, your stomach starts to growl
When you get caught up in shopping and events, it's not uncommon to realize that it's already past noon, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced this.
Naturally, your stomach starts to growl.
The food booths featured local favorites such as "Tsuyama Hormone Udon," "Bizen Black Beef Skewers," and "Momotaro Fried Chicken," along with sweets and cafes, ensuring no worries for breaks or lunch.
The "Chuka Soba Kouta" shop, which has a location in Kojima, also had a booth.
The shop is popular enough to have long lines, but the booth also had many customers.
Since I was really hungry, I decided to have ramen for lunch.
The taste was just like at the shop, with the combination of soy sauce tonkotsu and seafood broth and thin noodles being excellent.
In Conclusion
By the way, I wondered about the difference between "denim" and "jeans," and upon researching, I found that "denim" refers to the fabric state, while "jeans" refers to the processed state (type of pants).
However, it seems there isn't a clear definition.
Considering this, with the sale of fabric and denim bags and accessories, the event name "THE DENiM" is indeed appropriate.
Visitors included people of all ages, from both inside and outside the prefecture, as well as from overseas.
The day may soon come when the "largest denim event in Japan" in Kojima, Kurashiki City, becomes "one of the largest denim events in the world."
The event is held once a year, but most of the brands that participated this time are located on Kojima Jeans Street.
Why not visit the "sacred place of jeans"?
Data for THE DENiM 2024
| Name | THE DENiM 2024 |
|---|---|
| Date | April 27, 2024 (Saturday) from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM April 28, 2024 (Sunday) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM |
| Location | 2-2-38 Kojima Ajino, Kurashiki City, Kojima Community Center Lawn |
| Participation Fee (including tax) | Free |
| Website | THE DENiM 2024 |
