Can I only buy a daruma in Japan at a festival?

Question:

I plan on visiting Japan in the near future and came across something called a daruma (doll with the blank eyes, you make a wish and color in the left eye and if the wish comes true you color in the right eye). But it was described in a section where they were telling me about things bought at festivals. Would regular shops have this or would I only be able to get this in festival time? And if I *can* buy it at a regular shop what kind of shop(s) would I be able to find one in? Thanks alot!

Answer:

No, you can find them all over the place. Any place that sells traditional Japanese items aimed at tourists will have them. I don't know where in Japan you are visiting but if you will be around Tokyo head to Asakusa; there are a ton of stores that sell that kind of stuff. There is also a really large touristy type store that sells traditional things in Harajuku on Omotesando called Oriental Bazaar or something like that. I've never been in it, so I don't know if they sell the dolls or not, but I imagine they do.

Also, like a previous poster said, if you are visiting shrines and temples and doing that kind of thing you will definitely run into some of the dolls.