Shureido is still alive and kicking. My understanding is that some people left Shureido and started Tokyodo. The dogis are very similar but there is a slight difference in the design of the pants.blackcat wrote:Try this list of suppliers:
Tokyo shureido has changed its name to Toyodo now, but I think that is one of the shops which caters to foreign visitors more frequently as its easy to find.
I would agree with the suggestion to stick to medium or light weight and steer clear of the heavy weight gi, but it comes down to preference.
Ben
I was looking at distributing Tokyodo products in Scandinavia so I have all of Tokyodo's various models here myself. If you want to go the medium weight route I would suggest either the Tokyodo KW-11 (middle-weight 100% cotton) or you could go with one of their poly/cotton blends such as the AT-1. They also have a cotton/rayon blend (the Samurai) which is one of my personal faves. This is also a medium weight guy but softer then both the cotton and cotton/poly combo. I sweat a lot and for me personally, 100% cotton dogis are more comfortable when drenched in sweat. Another upside with Tokyodo is they offer free alterations on your sleeves and pants. Also, it is free of charge with Tokyodo to choose the style label so your dogi can have the cute little wado ryu or wado kai symbol on it instead of the standard manufacturer label. This is available with almost all the brands I have mentioned below but I think it's only Tokyodo that offers it for free. They offer embroidery services fairly inexpensive. They are quite fast from order to delivery of a custom dogi. As Blackcat mentioned Tokyodo has an English website. Here is the link: http://www.karateuniformjapan.com/
I agree with the sentiment that it's okay to splurge a bit on the dogi. A good quality dogi will last 10 years if you are only training a few hours twice a week. I also have Shureido, Hirota, Tokaido, and have had Kamikaze (Tokon in North America). For a short breakdown:
Hirota - I personally think this is the rolls royce of dogis. I have a middleweight (MH-11) and a Pinack for Kata. Awesome quality and if you want embroidery their stitch work really is top class. Downside, Hirota is expensive and I don't think they have anyone selling them directly in North America. This means after shipping the dogi the price will set you back over $300.
Shureido - Can't really go wrong here either. I have a mugen fighter (kumite guy) and have had their heavyweight and middleweights. Also not cheap but as there is a distributor in California http://www.shureidousa.com/ so shipping shouldn't be too bad.
Kamikaze/Tokon - Very popular here in Europe. A lot of people I know have the Europa. It is a good quality 100% cotton middleweight dogi. I had a Sovereign dogi from Kamikaze and while I found the dogi very comfortable, I felt a bit like the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. I see they have a model called the Okinawa that is a bit more slim fit which is fairly priced and Kamikaze/Tokon do make quality products. Check the following link for North America http://www.tokon.com/shop/shop/category.aspx?catid=11.
Tokaido - Also top quality. Also expensive. I grew up with Tokaido dogis so I have always been a fan. They are one of the OG's of dogi makers so quality and a wide selection of models are available. You can buy direct online from them in Japan and they also have a distributor in Colorado which I last used in 2000. Here are the links:
http://www.tokaido-usa.com/
http://www.tokaidojapan.com/ntokaido/
One thing to note about Tokaido is they have some dogi which are produced either in China or Pakistan. They are significantly cheaper but there is a huge difference in quality. I would buying a dogi manufactured in Japan if you buy a Tokaido.
I went through this exercise about a year ago when buying a new dogi (or dogis as the case ended up being) so I figured I'd share my experiences. There of course are many other brands not mentioned here that I am sure offer quality products but for me Hirota, Tokyodo, Shureido, or Tokaido is the way forward. I have heard good things about Shobu but their site is not very English friendly and they are also on the pricier side.
Lastly, there is a store in Japan called Kuroobiya. Here is his link http://www.kuroobiya.com. The owners name is Hamid and if you are considering buying a dogi from Japan I would highly recommend him. He sells Hirota, Tokyodo, and Tokaido, knows all the upsides and downsides of the various dogis and is really customer oriented. He can help with measurements, etc. and if the order goes pear shaped he will sort it out.
Hope that helps... happy shopping.
Cheers,
Chris