Trip to Sapporo: Day 17 - Nitori, Japan's answer to IKEA

(Click here for first day, yesterday or for all trips)

Nitori is easiest to describe as Japan's answer to Swedish IKEA, in more than one way. There are some differences in approach, but they are both basically about selling good but cheap furniture, and to be entrepreneurial in how to reach that goal. Just as IKEA owns its success to its founder Ingvar Kamprad, Nitori is the work of one ingenious man, Nitori Akio, who set out to change how the Japanese can furnish their homes at reasonable prices. Read a very good article on the subject here.

The same type of showrooms as IKEA.

School backpacks for elementary school seems serious business as they will often cost 20-30000 yen (1300-2000 SEK/200-300 USD).

Ow, I really wanted to buy some of these tatami style mats as the prices was just so good. Maybe I will regret not being them, sigh.

Curtains seemed like serious stuff, rows upon rows of them.

These colorful pink baskets was the thing I came closest to actually being. Kawaii!!

The other obvious difference from IKEA was the large number of study desks, which also followed a kind of standardized formula in their size and form.

Looks about the same as in Sweden/IKEA

Nice sofa design

Note the gas oven.

This was the second really nice desk I saw in Japan, the first being the one at Francfranc.

Such a cute desk, don't you agree?

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Trip to Sapporo: Day 2 - Sapporo Factory

(Click here for yesterday or for all trips)
Sapporo Factory consists of several interconnected buildings working as a typical modern day shopping centre with all the complemetary features like a cinema arcade, a restaurant plaza with a garden and entertainment scene, and so on. The whole area used to be the place for the Sapporo Beer production, and this was actually the first place in Japan where beer was brewed, starting in 1876 - though it is rather natural as Hokkaido is the place to grow wheat in Japan.

I slept in today, and then went shopping and also visited the Art Aquarium exhibition, which consisted of lots of fish in aquarium with special lightning effects.

Caramelized popcorns - yummy!

Puppys and kittens for sale.

And a mouse...

Snowshoes of all styles and looking rather flashier than the old style ones I remember having seen back in Sweden sometime when I was young.

 Oh, I think I'm in love and this is the object of my affection. An extremely chic and cool sofa from Francfranc.

And they also had this.

And this.

This actually almost made me get a tear in my eye - newly produced future with a 50s style. In Sweden we only find these in second hand stores. Impressive.

Santa Claus climbing the old Beer Factory Smokestack. Too much Beer? ;-)

Glas art.

Eh…a little strange children clothes. Chotto.

Gaming arcade

ANd the Fish Aquarium exhibition is turned into a disco during the evenings, I believe.

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