Setagaya Art Museum is good for a visit. It’s a healthy walk away from Yoga, and that healthy walk, if done properly on the smaller streets and not on the 6-lane monsters that cut through the area, will be almost unconscionably pleasant. It will include cobbled streets with architectural details at every corner, water features, […]
cafe
Cafe Life, Azabu Juban
In Japan, your apartment is probably small. And that means a significant part of your social life takes place outside it. For some people, their personal life may take place outside the home as well – your apartment is so small that you don’t feel like being there, and it’s hard to cook, so why […]
Asso, Shimo Kitazawa
This place looks sorta nice, and has the great advantage of outdoor seating, though it lost out and wasn’t selected for lunch. But I only ate a grainy matcha-vanilla softcream on the way back to the station, so the real reason for this post is as an excuse for the picture. I’m not sure if […]
Second House Cake Shop, Shimo Kitazawa
I know, I know, the last thing you need after a bowl of ramen and a plate of gyoza is a piece of cake. But after walking around for an hours, you get tired of standing up and looking at old clothes (which is one of the main activities in SKZ). This being Japan, there’s […]
Zen Cafe, Shiroganedai (禅カフェ)
Tokyo is lacking a few things – two of them are quiet, leafy suburbs and pleasant outdoor cafes. There just aren’t enough of these, and in fact could there ever be? Shiroganedai is one of the places coming closest to the description of ‘quiet, leafy’, and this cafe stands out like a sore thumb about […]
Tant Pour Tant, Tsukishima
Nothing follows monja like cake (?), so after lunching at Bambi and strolling around a bit more, it was time to enjoy a quiet coffee and a piece of cake in my maiden aunt’s living room. Not really, of course, but this cute cake shop has a second floor that features the owner’s landscape paintings […]
Hap, Kagurazaka
After being a bit disappointed with the Artist Cafe, I wanted to redeem the evening by walking around somewhere nice – and thought that Kagurazaka was close. Y’know, it’s hard to find stuff there when walking around at random. Hap, I think I had seen before on a random expedition. It’s kinda neat and modern-looking […]
Derriere, Nishi Azabu
After a large pizza lunch, what do you need? Coffee and cake! Derriere is a cute little cafe, ideal for ladies who lunch with their kids and bankers who don’t work on Tuesday afternoons. They have a big cooler full of beautiful, traditional-style cakes (4 types of chiffon! see the web site) and serve coffee […]
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Huit, Nakameguro
Cafe Life (in capitals) appeals to me, but I’ve never been able to relax for hours in cafes. It’s always something – the chairs are too hard, or too soft, or there’s not enough to read…and I can’t just sit and stare. The police told me that if I get picked up for that again, […]
Dolce MariRisa, Denen Chofu
Denen Chofu is what’s properly termed a ‘Garden Suburb’. The whole area was bought up by a developer named Eichi Shibusawa around the turn of the (last) century with the intention of turning it into a cleaner, greener planned suburb (and anyone who’s been to Japan will attest that urban planning is not a deeply-held […]