Jim H.
Yelp
I'm not sure how it happened. We always wanted the kids to be a little more cultured, when it comes to their entertainment choices. We subjected them to PBS over the Disney channel , WXPN over top 40 pop hitand Harry Potter over teen magazines. When it came to movies, we had all the Disney flicks like everybody else, but we wanted to also expose them to the wonderful stories and animation of Hayao Miyazaki. Films like " My Neighbor Totoro" and " Kikis Delivery Service" were staples in our house.
On her 5th Halloween, my daughter Sarah wanted to be the delivery witch, Kiki. My wife did a fantastic job on the costume, however the character wasn't exactly a household name and many people asked who she was and nodded in fake recognition when we told them.
This love of Japanime has stayed with Sarah ever since and at 12 , she is the household expert. From drawing and reading Manga to eating macaroni with chopsticks, she is hooked on the entire culture. When the Japanese festival came to philly, our presence was required. It was a cool event, and both children spent the majority of their time at the Omoi booth. They were both itching to spend their dough on the cool Japanese baubles, but it was hard to decide on one thing. When I found out that they ran a shop in Philly, I promised Sarah I would take her there for another look.
This week, I made good on the promise. We made a special trip into the city to see the Omoi mothership. It was a small but charming little shop, just enough room for our party of 4 to maneuver. Sarah was thrilled and loved looking at all the Japanese lunchboxes and toys.
The owner was friendly and accommodating , often apologizing for the clutter, explaining that they were cleaning and reorganizing. I think I speak for all of us, that it only added to its charm. When all was said and done, we all found something that caught our eye and needed to come home with us.
The most disturbing to me was a book of Japanese culture and ettiquette which Sarah had to have, as she plans on visiting the land of the rising sun, in the near future. I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet so its good to know that I can give her a taste of Japan, on Pine St in Philly. Thanks Omoi.