Unveiling the Charm of Japanese Dolls: Discover Hina and Kokeshi Dolls
October 5, 2024Earlier this year, a design firm reached out about a new Japanese restaurant inside The Ritz-Carlton in Aruba. They wanted a feature wall filled with illuminated niches—and asked if I could source 80 authentic Japanese sake bottles to fill it.
The brief was very specific: each bottle had to be no more than 14 cm wide, at least 17 cm tall, and no taller than 24 cm. Anyone who handles older sake bottles knows that’s a tough set of proportions—taller bottles are usually wider—so finding pieces that fit those dimensions and still looked good together took some digging.
Finding the right mix
I started with a group of antique sake-shop bottles with hand-brushed kanji— the reusable kind shops kept on hand for customers. They have a quiet, workaday beauty.
I started with a group of antique sake-shop bottles with hand-brushed kanji— the reusable kind shops kept on hand for customers. They have a quiet, workaday beauty.
The designers liked them but were hoping for a little more color and variation. So I went back through my sources and found a series of Kutani-yaki bottles—more decorative, with vivid enamel and gold accents that catch the light beautifully. They were harder to find and a bit more expensive, but once I showed them, the client immediately loved them.
In the end, the final order included 40 Kutani bottles and 40 of the original antique kanji bottles—a mix that balanced classic simplicity with color and warmth.
Packing and the trip to Aruba
Japan Post EMS doesn’t service Aruba, so I shipped via DHL Express. Getting 80 fragile bottles protected while keeping the boxes compact was a real challenge. Each bottle was carefully sectioned with foam dividers to minimize movement. This package had three layers with packing peanuts filling in all the spaces to keep the bottles safe.
After several days of careful packing, everything went out safely in three cartons. Then came the hardest part—waiting. It took about a week of nervous tracking before I finally got word that they had arrived safely.
The finished display
A few days later, these photos came in from the designer. Seeing the bottles glowing in their new home made the whole effort worth it—the quiet kanji bottles and the colorful Kutani pieces balance each other perfectly on the wall.
Projects like this are why we love what we do: old Japanese bottles finding a second life half a world away.
At Chidori Vintage, we collaborate with restaurants, hotels, and designers who want to bring a touch of Japan’s craft and history into their spaces. Each project is unique, and we enjoy helping find pieces that carry the right feeling and story. If you’re planning an interior project or looking for authentic Japanese antiques, feel free to reach out through the contact page.
