Kusuyama Japan Fine Crafts

They have amazing watches very high quality. They even have hand made hello kitty iphone cases, very cute and elegant!

This store really reminded me of Tokyo. This is the only city I have been to in Japan and I have never been able to stay for more than a day or two at a tome (sometimes less!), that said, this store had a combination of modern edgy vibe, cute tech convenience and elegant restrained reflection on past art forms that have been refined over time. There were new takes on old forms and old takes on new forms and that is what made me think «This store feels like Tokyo.»
I loved the watches and the iPhone cases. Great bags and adorably shaped incense. Staff was friendly and helpful and very polite. I’ll be going back soon.
If you are planning a visit to Japantown San Francisco, make sure to save up for one of the beautiful handmade cases for iPhone 4 or 5. The colors are luminous and vibrant. If you’re looking for a younger, hipper/​artsy feel, they have that too. Ientioned watches. I personally fell in love with one really well designed handmade piece in which the gears are visible. There is also a really nice collection of art and some beautiful wooden pieces.

I always wanted the traditional Japanese looking iPhone case, and finally I found one here! Of course, it’s made in Japan. I’m so tired of buying crappy iPhone cases on ebay made in China although the pictures look so nice.
Kusuyama has all kinds of stuff made in Japan and you can tell the great quality by looking at them. I’m so glad I finally found the real Japanese store unlike ones in Japan town mall.

Kusuyama is an interesting store since it has all sorts of things I have never seen anywhere else. It’s perfect to find gifts for hard to buy for people because it has a lot of cool technology accessories, home ware, purses, scarves, and such. I bought a deco watch there during the cherry blossom festival. It was $ 36 and has a little leather band with a big face that has a little clay cat and flower decorations inside. Hard to explain, but very cute. There are also a lot of really pretty purses and wallets with Japanese flower designs I may have to go back for.

It’s hard to be surprised these days. Any new news is made instantly obsolete by the twitters, viral videos on the youtubes show us the most raw, shocking footage, and you can learn about your friend’s obsession with their cat through the constant stream of photos on facebook. Therefore, it’s a wonder that Kusuyama, located in the New People building in Japantown was able to capture my attention amid all of the distractions mentioned above.
I’ll be honest, I visited the New People building once when it first opened, and took a look around. There were only a few things which piqued my interest, and upon looking at the outrageous price tags, my New People excursion became a game of The Price is (Not) Right. Despite this horrifying experience, I was drawn to Kusuyama because of their grand opening party, which promised free food and drinks.
Kusuyama is actually a pretty interesting store. They aim to take traditional Japanese arts and crafts, and apply them to modern, practical items. This ranges from lacquered iPhone cases, bags and purses made of the same cloth from Kimonos, and scissors made of stainless steel. The intersection of tradition and modernity is actually quite interesting and sophisticated, unlike some gaudy «Japanesey» items you will find in other stores, Kusuyama opts for a more subtle approach, leading to a sophisticated, mature, subdued type of Japanese which accurately reflects its cultural origins.
If I had one complaint it would be that many of the items are also susceptible to The Price is Right, like the Hello Kitty iPhone Case for $ 200. However, in this case (pun totally intended), the items do have a distinct design flair and build quality that is probably worth it if you can afford the items. In fact, I almost walked out with a pair of their stainless steel scissors which reminded me of robots.
So if you’re in the area definitely check out Kusuyama to experience the fusion of traditional Japanese art and design, applied to modern items, and get a sense of how Japanese culture has been able to adapt to the modern day and stay relevant and interesting.