To-ji Flea Market Treasures

On my recent trip to Japan I had a chance to do one of my favorite things while I am there, visit To-ji Flea Market in Kyoto.  I love poking around the market looking for interesting items and bargaining for deals.

Now that I am back in the US I am having fun incorporporating my newfound treasures into my home.

I have a display of items I have collected in my travels on a bookcase in my living room and the small abacus (¥500) I purchased made a great addition. It was pretty grungy when I got it but with a little cleaning it looks great while still retaining some of the patina it has acquired over time.

Once used by Japanese fisherman to keep fishing nets afloat, the glass fishing floats are now a popular item to see at flea markets. I bought five of them (¥400 each) at the market and had fun sifting through the box that was for sale, picking out the ones I wanted.  I love how each one uses slightly different twine and has a slightly different shade of pale turquoise.  To display them I stacked them inside a narrow glass canister that I bought at HomeGoods so it was easy to see each one individually.

My favorite find from my trip was an old milk bottle delivery box (¥2000). I love milk (As a kid, I dramatically declared "But milk is my life!" when we ran out at home one time) and the green and red printing match the colors of my kitchen. After cleaning up the delivery box I mounted on my kitchen wall and topped it with a small Japanese glass milk bottle I bought two years ago at the Osu flea market in Nagoya and a tiny Fiestaware pitcher I bought on eBay. A lot of the white paint has chipped off the delivery box so I am debating if I want to do some touch ups on the paint but for now I am happy with it.