There’s an expression that says Sugamo is “Grandma’s Harajuku” because it’s packed with stores that sell granny pants and snacks and lifestyle goods for the old woman set. I like to think Jiyugaoka is “Housewife Harajuku” for related reasons – think about the concentration of middle-aged clothing, accessories, homewares and snacks, and you’ll know what […]
cafe
Miracle Fruits Cafe, Ikebukuro
This place is inside Namja Town, an odd little bit of Sunshine City that’s described in some more detail here. Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay Y300 per person to gain access to the delights of Namja Town, including MFC. Miracle Fruits have gained popularity in the last couple years, it’s fair to […]
Nana’s Green Tea, Ochanomizu
This looked nice when Seat visited, so I wanted to try it. One after while at the guitar stores seemed like the right time to go, and go I did. Being already after lunch, there wasn’t so much I could do about the menu, which stretches from plate lunches through tea drinks and desserty options. […]
- coffee
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Bear Pond Espresso, Shimo Kitazawa
Never let it be said that Shimokita is not quirky and fun. There’s a whole store selling ‘rescue’-themed goods, like this silly shirt. Ever since seeing it on this blog, I’ve been regretting not trying the coffee at Bear Pond when I first went to Shimokita around this time last year. It looked like a […]
- Italian
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Gopal, Shimokitazawa
Shimokita: Lunch, a little clothes shopping (the Thai and Vietnamese fake Polo shirts are getting old), look for the great espresso place I saw last year but didn’t visit…just a normal day off, but thankfully not a Saturday or Sunday. A Thursday. Seeing this cold pasta on someone else’s plate made me want to order […]
Mother Kurkku, Harajuku
The little Kurkku chain seems to be straddling all sorts of concepts, not in a bad way. There’re organic ingredients, hip atmosphere (turntables), cafe food, bar bottles, and a full restaurant, all in two places next to each other in an obscure bit of Jingumae. It was pleasant! Look at the web site and you’ll […]
- coffee
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Kiki, Kamiyamada (樹樹)
Saturday morning in Kamiyamada, I woke up early and spent the morning walking around, being cold and taking pictures of old buildings. The weather was beautiful and clear, but the day-onsen only open at 9 or 10 AM, and at some point I just got too cold. Fortunately there was this kissa…which was very ordinary, but this […]
- bistro
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Figaro, Aoyama
Bit of a dissapointment here – looking for a cafe to kill some time between lunch, shopping and dinner, this seemed like the obvious choice in Aoyama (since, for example, the Henri Le Roux cafe was packed to the rafters, and has nothing to do with him beyond the name anyway). For those few readers […]
Ciappucino, Yoyogi
A funny little place that looks like a bistro but in fact specializes in…tea and pancakes. Like 20 varieties of tea, which you can get all afternoon as a set with a cupcake, and a large number of pancake varieties, for example the daily special of Caprese – pancakes with mozarella, basil and tomato. Ooooo-kei. […]
- Otemachi
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Luck, Otemachi
Once, many moons ago, I went to a nifty exhibit of Japanese postcards culled from the collection of a rich Bostonian who had a yen for taking home thousands of Japanese art objects (I bought the exhibition catalog too; it’s on the bookshelf in the bedroom, bottom right). I never really understood where the museum […]