I am obsessed with bringing back jewellery from almost every place I travel to, from delicate round earrings and a bracelet from Taxco, southwest of Mexico City and a town celebrated for its silversmiths, to chunky designer trumpet-shaped earrings from a hole in the wall on La Rambla in Barcelona.
My latest purchase is a beautiful pair of undulating discs sculpted from tin by Otera Katsura, founder of jewellery and homeware brand Kohachiro, which I bought from Otera’s shop at Antique Gallery Otera, a historic metalware store in Takaoka, in Japan’s Toyama prefecture.
When we meandered to the front of the house to see what was holding up the payment process, we encountered a Visit Toyama tour guide leading a group of Japanese-American visitors. After observing us with curiosity for a few minutes, he finally spoke and asked us where we were from and how we found the shop and gallery.
“We didn’t,” I said. “We just thought it looked like an interesting place for a break and a cold drink in air-conditioned surroundings on a very hot summer day.”
Impressed, he explained that Gallery Otera was a must-visit stop on his itinerary because of its long history. We nodded politely, but were itching to go: we had many other bucket-list places to check out in Takaoka before the sun set.
Earrings made by Otera Katsura are displayed at Gallery Otera. Photo: Rebecca Lo
Finally, Otera rushed over, bowing and apologising profusely. “So sorry – we got very busy all of a sudden!”
AloJapan.com