japan :: tokyo :: general

[herpsky]

https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2724

 

Inside Tokyo's audiophile venues

[ze kay]

I liked the The Great Burger.

[Xal]

Heading back to japan to visit the in-laws late april/ early may. Just moved into a new condo in the states and looking for new housewares. any recs on places to check out for ceramics, general home goods, books, design etc? I know of the big places like tsite and isetan, any others?

[ze kay]

Maybe the Muju Flagship at Ginza (together with LOFT). HOEK in Shibuya, right next (or better behind) Styles in Daikanyama there was also a small but fine interior store. Graphpaper would be an option as well. 

[Xal]

That's great zekay. Hoek and Graphpaper looks promising, thanks for the recs

Last time I was in Daikanyama I remember finding a homegoods store when wandering around near the APC store, can't remember the name, maybe it's the same one you're thinking of...

EDIT: Was it this place? Tenoha http://tenoha.jp/

Edited January 24, 2017 by Xal

[domdomdomdom]

Any spots with dusty whiskey bottles?  Also looking for recent vintages of BTAC, Willett bottles, and Four Roses Single Barrel Limited stuff.  Similarly looking for dusty Cantillon/gueuze.

[phatbot]

On 1/23/2017 at 1:52 PM, Xal said:

Heading back to japan to visit the in-laws late april/ early may. Just moved into a new condo in the states and looking for new housewares. any recs on places to check out for ceramics, general home goods, books, design etc? I know of the big places like tsite and isetan, any others?

i remember crossing this general store in koenji:

http://cotogoto.jp/

seemed to have a good selection of stuff -- hippopotamus towels for example.

[furien]

Anyone got any furniture store recommendations? 

[herpsky]

depends on the price range you are looking for. cassina, bal, hhstyle, acme. also, depends on the style. 

most OG furniture stores are located on Meguro-dori between Meguro Sta and Gakugei-daigaku.

[youkinorn2]

Coming back to Japan for a solo trip next month. I'll be in Tokyo April 14-18. Staying in south Shibuya/north Daikanyama. Give me some good stuff to eat (especially stuff I can't get in New York) and bars I can go to by myself where people might be nice to my gaijin ass.

What onsen should I go to in Hakone if I don't want to stay overnight? Or is that a waste.

It's my third time in Tokyo, so I've done a lot of the touristy stuff, but any noteworthy stuff going on I should check out?

Also, give me Kanazawa thoughts if you have them. And Osaka. And maybe Okayama (going to Naoshima and staying overnight). And wherever else I might go around central Japan with a JR pass having already spent some time in Kyoto and Nara.

And if anyone is around and wants to hang out and grab some food/drinks, let me know. 

[ze kay]

12 hours ago, youkinorn2 said:

Coming back to Japan for a solo trip next month. I'll be in Tokyo April 14-18. Staying in south Shibuya/north Daikanyama. Give me some good stuff to eat (especially stuff I can't get in New York) and bars I can go to by myself where people might be nice to my gaijin ass.

What onsen should I go to in Hakone if I don't want to stay overnight? Or is that a waste.

It's my third time in Tokyo, so I've done a lot of the touristy stuff, but any noteworthy stuff going on I should check out?

Also, give me Kanazawa thoughts if you have them. And Osaka. And maybe Okayama (going to Naoshima and staying overnight). And wherever else I might go around central Japan with a JR pass having already spent some time in Kyoto and Nara.

And if anyone is around and wants to hang out and grab some food/drinks, let me know. 

There is one small brewery in Nakano really worth checking out. Don't know what the name is but you find it here ( https://goo.gl/maps/jGUiU55QY3U2 ). It's a nice atmosphere.

Another Bar I really enjoyed is Crimjon ( https://www.facebook.com/BarCrimjon/ ). Small basement bar with plenty of vinyl and cds in the back. The guy that runs that bar (Shigeyuki) is really nice, you can sit there for hours listen to old music and have some nice chats with some local guys. 

Than there would be the usual places around Shibuya such as Tight or or Golden Balls. 

[piece keeper]

On 3/9/2017 at 0:44 PM, youkinorn2 said:

Coming back to Japan for a solo trip next month. I'll be in Tokyo April 14-18. Staying in south Shibuya/north Daikanyama. Give me some good stuff to eat (especially stuff I can't get in New York) and bars I can go to by myself where people might be nice to my gaijin ass.

What onsen should I go to in Hakone if I don't want to stay overnight? Or is that a waste.

It's my third time in Tokyo, so I've done a lot of the touristy stuff, but any noteworthy stuff going on I should check out?

Also, give me Kanazawa thoughts if you have them. And Osaka. And maybe Okayama (going to Naoshima and staying overnight). And wherever else I might go around central Japan with a JR pass having already spent some time in Kyoto and Nara.

And if anyone is around and wants to hang out and grab some food/drinks, let me know. 

In Tokyo, if you like udon I was obsessed with Oniyanma...went to the one off the Gotanda station but I hear there's one near Shimbashi as well. 4 - 500 JPY for a bowl. Of all the things I ate in JP I think I enjoyed this the most, and it certainly had the best value.

Onsen in Hakone, not sure. I stayed overnight at a ryokan to get my onsen fix. Perhaps go to Spa World in Osaka for a non-overnight onsen--never been but I hear it's fantastic.

Edited March 22, 2017 by piece keeper

[martin_henk]

planning a weekend trip soonish. there is a deal for a hotel in ikebukuro. is there anything noteworthy to do around ikebukuro? 

[conqueror]

not particularly, but it's still on the yamanote.

[martin_henk]

just read about a china town around there, that eventually isn't as much of a tourist trap like the other's I've been. maybe a good chance to eat something original 

[phatbot]

there's pretty cool lodging called book and bed in ikebukuro, but seeing how you already have accommodation, probably not that interesting. cool space though, lots of art books, magazines, and mangas.

[1M]

hitting tohoku on thurs to sendai, aomori, and hakodate. anything you guys recommend in those cities or vicinity? 

[Xal]

recently hit up some new cafe's and lunch spots

in shimokitazawa. Light up coffee was great, pretty new, I think it opened just a few weeks ago, manager is like japan aeropress 2016 champion or something. anyways, worth going out of the way for. Hit up Glaubelle coffee and Hi monsieur in the area as well. Light up is one of my new favorites though. Try their coffee and tonic on a hot day, super refreshing.

back in omotesando, where omotesando koffee used to be, the owner opened up the new koffee mameya. specializes more in beans and roasts now. really nice little spot and flows a lot better. the pour over i had of one of their light roasts, cant remember which one, was insanely delicious.

also tried out "deli fu cious" in nakameguro and their fish burger. amazing stuff.

[ze kay]

On 5/12/2017 at 8:47 AM, Xal said:

recently hit up some new cafe's and lunch spots

in shimokitazawa. Light up coffee was great, pretty new, I think it opened just a few weeks ago, manager is like japan aeropress 2016 champion or something. anyways, worth going out of the way for. Hit up Glaubelle coffee and Hi monsieur in the area as well. Light up is one of my new favorites though. Try their coffee and tonic on a hot day, super refreshing.

back in omotesando, where omotesando koffee used to be, the owner opened up the new koffee mameya. specializes more in beans and roasts now. really nice little spot and flows a lot better. the pour over i had of one of their light roasts, cant remember which one, was insanely delicious.

also tried out "deli fu cious" in nakameguro and their fish burger. amazing stuff.

I will try Light up coffee and deli fu cious for sure! 

I really like Hi Monsieur, such a cute store/coffee place. If you around Setagaya I also enjoyed On the way cupcakes.

[suprastar]

Need some up to date advice from the Tokyotes 

best coffee joints?

must eat food joints? best burger in tokyo?

what's the best chance to cop sneakers? specifically looking for the flyknit trainer in white, and tom sachs mars yard 2.0..

 

[kiya]

11 hours ago, suprastar said:

Need some up to date advice from the Tokyotes 

best coffee joints?

must eat food joints? best burger in tokyo?

what's the best chance to cop sneakers? specifically looking for the flyknit trainer in white, and tom sachs mars yard 2.0..

 

Coffee:

Omotesando Koffee (he closed, moved to Hong Kong a year ago, then after 10 months closed and moved back to Tokyo in the original space but a new concept)

Camelback Sandwich & Coffee

Good People & Good Coffee

Nem Coffee & Espresso (don't miss this one, a little hard to find, but worth it.  Coffee is amazing and the vibe is top notch)

 

Bakeries:

-Aigre Douce, chef Norihiko Terai, Relais Dessert

-Hidemi Sugino, Relais dessert as well

-A tes souhaits, not in Tokyo like one hour by train but it worth it, Relais dessert too

-Basement flour of Isetan shinjuku and ginza many nice corner of pastries and savoury, daily food at a high end level as well

-In the area of ginza you have a lot like Wako (chocolate bonbon), chocolat de H (bonbon as well), Marcolini (bonbon too), henri charpentier (travel cake)

-Ecole Criollo by Antoine Santos, 4 locations

-Pommier by Frederic Madeleine

-Echiré butter shop.... look the price and people waiting to buy butter and really buttery cakes

-Boulangerie Viron, you have in shibuya and marunouchi, nice brasserie too

-Dessert bar "Le cinq" in the new Tokyu building in Ginza

-Ikkoan, traditional japanese cake

-Kayser even if u have in USA, may be a bit nicer in Japan

-Manneken, a chain for belgian waffle, little corner in ginza and in shinjuku

-Matériel by chef Hayashi

-Sadaharu Aoki

-Decadence du Chocolat

-Jean Paul Hevin

-Pierre Hermé

-Sebastien Bouillet

 

 

[suprastar]

12 hours ago, kiya said:

 

 

 

Nice, Thanks for that. Looking forward to checking out the coffee.
I live in Hong Kong, Omotesando Koffee is still operating, but didn't know the owner went back to Japan. 

Too bad I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I'm a sucker for a good Almond Croissant. If I had time to only check out one place to find it, which bakery would I head to?

[kiya]

10 hours ago, suprastar said:

Nice, Thanks for that. Looking forward to checking out the coffee.
I live in Hong Kong, Omotesando Koffee is still operating, but didn't know the owner went back to Japan. 

Too bad I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I'm a sucker for a good Almond Croissant. If I had time to only check out one place to find it, which bakery would I head to?

Gontran Cherrier or Tolo Pan.

[suprastar]

Good places for curry?

[1M]

2 hours ago, suprastar said:

Good places for curry?

murugi in shibuya
yogoro in sendagaya
curry up in sendagaya if you feelin hypebeast
blakes in sendagaya

[raddy]

I'm doing a month with girl in Aug/Sep next year and looking for high end house rental in/around TKO. Is there a JP clone of One Fine Stay or some such? AirBnB has been WAY too sketch. 

ps yogoro is the best imnho

[Ecotrons]

Going to Tokyo next year for the first time. Have done zero research so far aha.

Should I just keep it that way?

[conqueror]

2 hours ago, Ecotrons said:

Going to Tokyo next year for the first time. Have done zero research so far aha.

Should I just keep it that way?

no.

[martin_henk]

This thread is dead as shit.

Kichiyoji Station is a cool spot I will visit again. Really cool select shops on a another level. Like vintage swedish tableware and whatnot.

Went to ginza6 and it's mental. Some really good things there but bad stuff too. The roof top garden is pretty cool. Saw chinese speaking staff at the food court there hehe

Edited January 20, 2018 by martin_henk

[splash pitman]

CYCLING TOURISTS  , now that I have you're attention , am going do do a cycling holiday late this year or early next year with my brother who is working in Tokyo who will take some time off . So what would be nice is not only some meal recommendations but maybe some drinking company and share some adventure stories . Anyway direction not known yet and could involve a train/ferry journey so am open to suggestions that I can correlate with what my brothers interested in doing as he will be on the ground and have a better lay of the land .

cheers and thanks for reading .