…because the 25th of each month is the flea market at Kitano Tenmangu.
True, you need to travel a little further than the Christmas tree in the down stairs living room to find those wondrous surprise that await you. But the trip to Kitano shrine is just a 10-minute bicycle ride from my house, and that’s where the fun begins.

In the gardens and streets surrounding the shrine, vendors of every exotic treasure imaginable display their wares in a myriad of little stalls packed one right after the other.

So, stroll past the porcelain, stop to swoon over the Imari, sneak past the sweet shops with their elaborate little treats (you can click on the picture, if you want a bigger peek), spend a few moments browsing the antiques. Then keep going till you come to kimono. Kimono on racks, kimono in stacks and kimono in piles on the floor.

oo-oo-oh! it’s just like Christmas morning!