Izu Kogen

I went on a family trip. It was a weekday at the beginning of September, and since the summer holidays for compulsory education institutions had ended, there were no young children in the session I attended. It seemed to be mostly groups of high school and college-aged women and couples. The workshop itself wasn't difficult (choosing your favorite parts, stuffing with cotton, and closing the opening with thread), and yet, because you could express your individual preferences by how much cotton you stuffed, it was enjoyable for people of all ages. Above all, the satisfaction of creating your own unique stuffed animal will be a wonderful memory of the trip. While there were mostly positive points, there were a few things that bothered me. Since 80-90% of the workshop participants were making Totoro, the explanations were somewhat lacking for those who chose other stuffed animals (because the explanations were geared towards those making Totoro). Also, when explaining sewing and knotting, they showed a large sample at the side, but from the furthest seats, other people's bodies and heads blocked the view of the sample, and it was difficult to hear, which was disappointing. It would be better if they showed it once at each end of the workshop room, or asked if those in the furthest seats could see it. I wish they had said something to me (the staff didn't come to the seats in the back very often, so I couldn't ask). Also, this might be due to the season, but the needles were a bit stiff (probably because of sweat from people's fingers, as it's the sweaty season), and because they were long and thick, probably to make them easier for small children to handle, it was very difficult to sew through the fabric. (This is the opinion of someone who uses needles for work.) However, you get a cute bag to put your handmade stuffed animal in (I was happy that the bags were different depending on the stuffed animal you chose, which was a nice touch), and it's fun to weigh it after you've finished making it. What makes me happiest is that every time I look at my stuffed animal, I can remember the fun trip.