Eating Out In Tokyo is a little more complex these days, especially on these days when both someone and peanut are along, which necessitates a bunch of baggage and a handcrafted luxury stroller. But walking around is still our favorite thing to do, and while there’s not much ‘street food’ culture in Japan, there are […]
Shimokitzawa
Cafe Normale, Shimo Kitazawa (カフェ ノルマーレ)
I am hungry, and yes, yes, it is called love. It is called love in the world. Continuing on with amusing uses of foreign language, we have Cafe Normale. Amusing in this case because cafe should be masculine and get a manly adjective form, but I’m not hung up on that, because the two women […]
- Italian
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North Side Cafe, Shimo Kitazawa
An afternoon of walking Shimokita. Believe it or not, this was outside a music store. It sounds positively filthy, doesn’t it? In a way that’s dirty and yet mysterious, like some kink you’ve never heard of. Indeed. This is not where we ate dinner, but that’s not the subject of this post. The subject is […]
- bar
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Never Never Land, Shimo Kitazawa
Big Bird has some funny connections in Japan – like the former world champion of backgammon. And a pediatric orthodontist who also plays backgammon but has a good side-line in being a generally upstanding citizen of Shimokitazawa. If I were a daft travel writer, I’d spin you a good line about how he came to […]
- bar
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Ushitora, Shimo Kitazawa (うしとら)
Heading out to Shimokita to meet Big Bird, I had all sorts of clever quips planned about how Ushitora is Tokyo’s second-best beer bar. Living near Popeye, I have a specific view of these things. But y’know, I’d actually have to say this is better. That means you’re reading about Tokyo’s best beer bar right […]
- 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 […]
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 […]
- izakaya
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Tobu Sakana, Shimo Kitazawa
Wow, the main course. This is close to the station, and one of the first places we saw when we started walking around. Stayed on my mind all day, and I wanted to go back. This being Japan, the good-looking places get packed, as was this one when we got back (at 6:30). Fortunately the […]
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808 Lounge, Shimo Kitazawa
Ahhh, were we on a roll with this Shimo Kita trip or what? As a means of passing another hour, there was this Hawaiian bar. I like to think this was in honor of McNoonan, who just finished celebrating his layoff with 6 weeks in Hawaii, but in reality I’m a sucker for tiki bars! […]