"Shopping Japan With Four Pins" is an ongoing series in which Amardeep Singh takes us on a tour of the country's best shops. See them all here.
Part VI: Floraison, Osaka
Floraison is a shop that took me completely by surprise. Cluelessly wandering around, slightly lost, riding a new friend's girlfriend's very short bike on the way to have dinner at a place I wasn't told the location of, we made a pit stop here right before the shop closed. It was one of the few shops in Osaka that thoroughly impressed me, enough so that I made it a point to come back a couple days later and find out more about it.
My favorite piece at the shop, a pair of very expensive boots by Marmolada, was the first thing I saw and it was an immediate signifier for me to actually take my time in browsing because if they had boots that good and unique that I hadn't heard of before, they probably had a bunch of other good, unique things I hadn't heard of before, and those are easily my favorite kind of things to look at. I was not disappointed at all. Alongside brands I was previously familiar with, such as Ten C and Henrik Vibskov, there were a whole host of hidden gems, most notably Arts & Crafts and Comoli. Alongside these impressive, unique, previously unheard-of brands, I found even more goodness in the well-curated selection of vintage pieces by Lily1st Vintage, although I did recoil a bit when I saw the pricing. Nonetheless, I left the shop with the thought that I had just found my new favorite shop in Osaka, a feeling I was anxiously waiting on after going through so many straight up terrible shops my first few days in the city.
After speaking with the manager, Shinya, and learning that Floraison had already been there for a few years, I was happy to see that a shop like this could survive in Osaka. Along with the aforementioned boots by Marmolada, some other favorites were a pair of vintage grey corduroy trousers, a coat and an oversized royal blue pullover sweater all selected by Lily1st Vintage, and a navy Cordura backpack by Arts & Crafts.
But again, as is the trend with most of the shops I'm discovering, the webshop is only in Japanese, so it might take some work if you want to place an order. I wish you the best of luck. I can read a little bit of Japanese and I had absolutely no idea what was going on when I tried to checkout.
Floraison
4-13-1 Minamisenba
Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0081
+81 06-6245-1245
Amardeep Singh is a writer and photographer living in New York. You can see more of his work here and follow him on Twitter here.
