OKAYAMA, Japan — The company behind the high-end Momotaro Jeans label is stepping up marketing efforts targeting overseas denim fans, touting the high quality of its products made by in-house artisans.

Japan Blue, based in Okayama prefecture, has opened a Momotaro Jeans boutique in Kyoto, near the tourist-packed Yasaka shrine. This location on Shinmonzen-dori, a street lined with antique shops, stands in a remodeled traditional merchant townhouse and its almost nondescript storefront seamlessly blends in with the quiet surroundings.