FAQ

Q.Do you speak English?

A professional interpreter will be with you for your entire appointment, at no charge. Our tailor does not speak English, so please speak to us in English and tell us everything you have in mind.

We used to rely on AI translation, but the fine points of a fitting — a few millimetres here or there, and what you really care about — never came across completely. That is why we now bring in a dedicated interpreter.

Because the interpreter has to be booked in advance, please write to us as early as you can, and allow us to propose the day and time — the appointment has to fall when an interpreter can be there. Guests tell us it is the part that makes the difference: not only the words, but what you actually meant, reaches the person cutting your suit.

Q.How should I get in touch?

By email, at lecrin0707@gmail.com. We cannot take enquiries in English by telephone.

Email suits us both better in any case: it leaves a written record of what was agreed about your cloth, your dates and your measurements, which is the surest way to avoid a misunderstanding.

Q.Do I need an appointment?

Yes. We work by appointment so that one customer has the salon to themselves for as long as it takes. You can book online, or simply email us with the dates you are in Japan.

Q.What do you make?

Suits and shirts, with the jackets, waistcoats and trousers that belong to them. We do not make or sell shoes, bags or other accessories.

Q.How long does it take?

Forty-five days as a rule, counted from the day the order is placed.

If you would like a basted fitting — a trial garment tacked together, tried on you and then corrected — allow about two months and a second visit.

A suit is therefore not usually finished during a short stay in Japan. Most guests are measured on their visit and either return for the final fitting or have the suit sent on. Tell us your travel dates when you book and we will recommend the best option for you.

Q.How and when do I pay?

Payment is taken when the order is placed: either the full amount, or 50% as a deposit with the balance when the suit is finished.

We accept cash in Japanese yen, and credit cards. If you would like to settle by card, please say so when you book, so that we have it ready.

Q.Can I bring my own cloth?

As a rule we ask you not to. Cloth we have never worked with can shrink or move under the iron in ways we cannot predict, and once it has been cut there is no second chance.

If a particular length of cloth means a great deal to you, please ask us anyway. We may take it on, on the understanding that the making charge is higher and that we cannot promise the result. We would rather say this plainly beforehand than disappoint you afterwards.

Q.How do I receive it?

We would rather you came back for it. A made-to-measure suit is finished on the body, and the last fitting in the salon is where it becomes yours.

Q.Can you send it to my country?

If returning to Nagasaki is not possible, yes — we can send it on, with the carriage payable on delivery.

We ask for your understanding on one point: a suit that leaves us without a final fitting has to be accepted as it arrives, because we cannot correct the fit from a distance. Where we can, we will use the basted fitting to make that risk as small as possible.

Q.Another tailor told me what I want cannot be made. Will you?

Very possibly. Guests have reached us after four other shops turned down a traditional Japanese pattern for the lining of a jacket; that is exactly the kind of work we take on.

Cranes and seasonal flowers inside a plain navy suit, your name embroidered inside in kanji — see Visiting Japan for what is possible.

Q.Nothing at home fits me. I am slimmer than the sizes sold there.

That is the ordinary case here rather than a difficulty. We do not work from a size label at all: we record the particulars of your body and cut a pattern for one person only.