Tatsuno city emerging as Japan's leather hub

Tokyo [Japan], Nov.30 (ANI): Tatsuno city in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture produces the largest amount of leather in the country.

Every year, the city hosts an annual leather festival.

Mikio Nakashima, Executive Committee Chairman, Tatsuno City Leather Festival, said, "We hold the Tatsuno Leather Festival every November. It is a large local event where about three 30,000 residents out of 70,000 residents of Tatsuno City visit. The fundamentals of the festival are industry, education and municipal administration. The most important is the value of education, while industry and political administration are secondary."

The leather industry has developed within a rich, natural environment in Tatsuno.

Traditional making of leather has been passed down for 62 years since the foundation of Nakashima Leather Company.

The company maintains consistent production from hides to finished materials.

Nakashima further said, "We have an ideal climate, clean water, and the best location near Ako city which produces fine salt. Salt is the most important part of our leather production. The leather industry developed within this endowed, natural environment. The leather industry of Tatsuno began about 1,000 years ago from most historical accounts. The leather was originally used to produce armor for samurais, which over time led to the development of leather being used to produce clothes such as leather jackets, then bags, shoes, belts from about 50 years ago. Tatsuno city now produces about 70 percent of total leather production in Japan. It has exhibited its products in Milan and fashion shows like Fashion Week of Paris."

Here is the fashion show of hand-made leather clothes made by local students.

The art of leather making, produced through a thousand years of traditional technology and processes has become a fashion of glamor: a garment that decorates people's personal belongings.

The leather goods market has not only spread from Tatsuno city to other cities in Japan but to everywhere in the world.

Japan is seeing an increasing number of visitors from overseas.

Various industries and retailers are making efforts to benefit from the business opportunities they provide, as many of those tourists are keen on buying Japanese products.

Bic Camera is one of Japan's leading consumer electronics retailers. BIC CAMERS stores are located next to many main stations in Tokyo.

Here you can find a wide selection of toys, videos, computers, laptops, cameras and audio equipment, including high-end items.

There are many home beauty devices displayed and one of the popular items among foreign female tourists is the face roller which is used for soothing skin care with a beauty massage.

A staffer at BIC Camera said, "Not only in China but also customers in Taiwan and Indonesia purchase the face roller. Since this product does not use electricity, it can be used easily and safely while bathing. Also, it is popular among those who want to use it for a short time, such as watching TV."

A huge variety of tooth brushes are available for every age, even for children as young as six month old.

The staffer said, "These are for children from 0 to 2 years old and these for 3 to 5, while those are for 6 to 12. They are precisely made for each age. Such brushes are not made abroad so they are very popular here."

Also rice cookers are popular items. Here you can see overseas models in different sizes. They can work with a higher electricity voltage without the need of using a separate converter.

Another staffer said, "This rice cooker is popular because the inner bowl is thicker than the bowls of other models. This helps to keep the heat for a longer time thus the rice stays warm. At the same time this model does not allow much lost of heat. Many people chose to buy this popular rice cooker to enjoy the warm rice that it can keep for a longer time."

Tax free service is available in BIC CAMERA stores.

A visitor from Taiwan said, "Ten years before I came to Japan first time. I know this place because camera is very cheap here."

A visitor from The Philippines said, "So far we have been shopping for our family, Christmas is coming soon, so we are bring gifts for our family and relatives in the Philippines. We have a little baby girl who loves to ride a bike. We have some chocolates for our friend and family as gift. We have five children. Four boys and one girl."

A large number of visitors coming to Japan enjoy shopping. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI