Tokyo Midtown

[softgrey]

oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!

this is all sudeki!
...

runner- i definitely would like to go to both museums...the current exhibits look really lovely...thanks so much!
artigato gosaimasu
and vetements- i take your point about going slowly in order to absorb everything.
runner has advised the same thing and i really agree...
i can only do this when i am walking around alone...
when i am with friends, they are showing me what they want to share and then we are rushing to the next thing...
i get the feeling i am missing things...
we cover a lot of ground but it's only on the surface

yesterday was the first day a had a bit of a wander about on my own---
just slowly...i got something from a vending machine and smoked a cigarette and just watched people for a bit...
then i went to found muji- very sweet...
and spent a good amount of time at the drugstore!!!

melisande- thanks so much for the girly beauty tips!!!


i got a few toothbrushes to try and found the mascara as well~!
plus i got soooo many other random things that just seem interested and fun to try...
your tips were a good starting point and gave me the courage to really explore...
it was completely awesome~!
i also got some little snacky things to try, etc...

my friend had told me about Loft- so I will definitely try to get there when i go back to shibuya---along with all those special shops...i want to find lift and beams and isetan and

runner- i guess i will go to seibu ikebukuro on friday when that food fair starts and also say hello to ms. ashida at yohji yamamoto...

 

[softgrey]

^^that message was supposed to be posted yesterday!...
...

i forgot to press the post button...
silly me...

 

[Melisande]

So glad you are having fun and that my tips helped!

Yes I totally recommend Loft, you are going to love it. Lots of Japanese-style things there too.

Two fantastic totally random things all my Japanese girlfriends and I buy in Japan that you can't get elsewhere are cling film and thermoses.

Japanese cling-film ROCKS. Just try the Seran wrap or Kure-wrap and you'll see what I mean...many Japanese I know refuse to use anything else and even travel with them!

And the small thermoses you can get at the Loft kitchen supply floor (I know you love cooking, you'll go crazy there, like me) are plain awesome, they are light, durable, easy to clean and to open (no cups or extra pouring parts) and don't spill and stay scalding hot/cold for 8 hours... Mine is the Thermos brand but made in Japan, and an inseparable part of me all day every day.

OK I'll stop with the advice, and make myself scarce now.

 

[softgrey]

So funny Melisande !
I totally noticed about the cling wrap on the first day in my friend's kitchen. And they have those kinds of thermoses for their kids as well, so I get what you mean.

I didn't know loft also has kitchen stuff, so thanks for letting me know.
Another random and cool thing is the mosquito coil incense burners. We have something like this but in terrible containers and they smell like poison I am now obsessed with this stuff.
And Japanese kitchen sponges are also the best.

I think I'd like to find some iPhone cases for my IPhone4 as well. I don't switch bags often but it's easy to switch a case so I think it would be cool if I could find some fun and cool options.
I went to Asakusa yesterday and saw all the souvenir places. That was a bit overwhelming!
I will go back next week whe I go to kappabashi.

I spent some time in the food area of the Asakusa train station. I also followed a man in a kimono through the back corridors of the station. Lots of little tiny restaurants and definitely older and in disrepair.
I feel like I got a glimpse beneath the shiny surface of Tokyo. A peek behind the facade. This sort of thing interests me a great deal. I hope to get a full picture of life here and not just all of the pretty, happy, shiny things.

Vetements- I hope you're feeling better. Thank you for taking the time to write!

Runner- is that song in the video from Pina? I know it's from some film. So good!

I've gone into full tourist mode now, since I have no chance of really blending in, and have started to just take loads and loads of pics. Lol. I love it!

 

[runner]

it's originally from the last emperor from the late 80's.
of course it should have been used later elsewhere in the background many times.

if you find asakusa interesting, you might also like to explore ueno which jean colonna used to love. asakusa was one of altieri's faves btw.



Y's neutral

sumihito-oikawa.com

 

[Melisande]

That is so funny that Jean Colonna liked Ueno...
I wonder which parts!

 

[runner]

he is a motorcycle guy and ueno used to be a vast heaven for those people.
that element is only a little part of the city now. lots of charming landmarks are gone too and p*rn posters in showa style has become almost extinct on the surface of the city. as it is getting clean, which is good though, it is losing what used to make ueno ueno that is perhaps what he loved.
but some of it remains there, like nothing has drastically changed about the appearances around okachimachi station for over 40 years as far as I know.

it's great that in asakusa the hanayashiki still exists while we have many huge stable amusement parks such as disneysea.



azabujuuban, ccp's favorite, just for reference lol. try taiyaki there only if you happen to think somehow you should get used to bean jam captain.

 

[softgrey]

i saw an amazing motorcycle shop in ueno...
incredible vintage bikes!
now i understand what that was about...

i really liked it around there...

i guess the hanayashiki is the amusement park>?
i was wondering about that...
it reminded me a bit of coney island in new york...
the old style of amusement parks...
very cool...
B)

i have been trying things with bean jam...
it's definitely better when it's fresh...
i think i could definitely get used to it!...


runner- remember those rice cakes with the powdered stuff on them?...sort of a yellow or beige color...
what was that called again?
i had something with that...
it was a small ball of sticky rice with bean jam in the center and that powdered stuff all around...
very good!

also...tatsuya in daikanyama is incredible!......

 

[softgrey]

It's roasted soy bean powder ...
Kinaku- is that right?

 

[Melisande]

kinako!

Yum.
The thing you had sounds like ohagi?

Runner, hmm, that sounds great, I should really get to know Ueno again.
It's far from my home near Shibuya so I only ever go to the Ueno Bunka Kaikan and the museums and park and back to the station.

 

[runner]

yes probably kinako ohagi, there is uguisu (some color similar to tea green) version too.


as you know, summer is back and looks like it will stay for a while.
it may be nice if you have kuzukiri somewhere. you might remember it. something that goes well with tokujin's work.
he would name it water noodle.
something you have with black treacle so that it won't disappear.

 

[softgrey]

...
very clever...water noodle...disappear...

yes- the glass/crystal-like noodles...
i do remember, though i never had the courage to try to make them with the treacle...
i will see if i can find that...
artigato gozaimasu for the recommendation...

to be honest...
i am not so happy with the summer weather...
i really prefer fall...
and this is something i was not really prepared for...

also- i would wear shorts in this weather...
but no japanese people wear shorts with bare legs, i have noticed...
just some very young girls around harajuku...
this makes me quite self conscious, so i don't wear them here...
and it is harder to take pictures in a dress...
sometimes i want to bend over or kneel down to get a better look...
not so cute in a dress...!!!
...

but it is very warm to wear pants...
ugh!...

very annoying......

i don't mind that we have had several different kinds of weather while i'm here, though...
at least it gives me some idea of what the various conditions are like in this place...

btw- seibu ikebukuro is ENORMOUS!!!...
good thing they have maps in english or i could have wandered around there for several days!
......

 

[runner]

it's all because of the typhoon. normally it's not this hot in october.

seibu ikebukuro is part of ikebukuro station. and it is penetrated by the station entrances, by which a few floors are separated and sectioned, and might look as if they were all different individual stores.
if its big picture is not grasped, for example one of the basement halls could be missed.
and moreover the seibu is connected to parco ikebukuro too. btw, the parco used to have one of only a few helmut lang stores in the world back in the early 90's.

the dover street market is located in ginza area.
when you are walking around there, you will find toraya nearby. they have a cafe and serve kuzukiri there.

also, if fall is back and you are around minami aoyama/omotesando, it's not impossible to walk down aoyama st to visit the flagship of toraya. kuzukiri is available there as well.

 

[softgrey]

The Nezu Museum is a treasure! An oasis in a thumping metropolis. Not to be missed!

Thank you, runner, for the excellent recommendation...

I also found Ippudo. I'm sad to say that, while the New York one is very very good, the ones in Tokyo are beyond compare!

On another note-
I think japan is a country of stylists. They take all the best things from all over the world, add a bit of Japanese-ness, and make something new and great!

I can really understand this. And I like it so much. Everything old is new and everything new is old. Everything is equal and everything exists together.
And, perhaps most of all, everything is Japanese.

 

[runner]

then, at mos burger, check japan as an arranger too !

to make it clear, since I guess you might have wondered a bit about it.
there is not any address named harajuku. it's just that people call that vague area harajuku. it's certain area with the address named junjumae where harajuku station and omotesando which refers to that street belong in. btw, they say once omotesando was being used as a runway.
once you cross aoyama st (246), the area sort of slightly more cozy where YY, CdG, etc belong is generally called minami-aoyama, which is consistent with the actual address name of the area.


toraya ginza

more info, the shop referred to as flagship is toraya akasaka.


toraya-group.co.jp

 

[softgrey]

i went to toraya ginza and had kizukiri...
...

it took me awhile to find it...
i confess that i walked right by it...


but it was lovely, especially with the green tea...
thank you for the recommendation runner~!


ginza was kind of amazing on a weekend...
very 'uptown' when compared to nyc...
lots of older ladies and gentlemen in kimonos...
that was cool...

i've also never seen so many people wearing chanel as i have in tokyo...
both in omotesando and in ginza...
and not just bags...
but actually wearing the clothes...
wth very big LOGOS ...


that's something different...

i confess that i did have some trouble understanding where harajuku starts and ends...
and it took me some time to understand about mini-aoyama...
unfortunately, just when i was really understanding and feeling comfortable enough to venture farther on my own, my time ran out...

the good news is that i loved it so much that i am already plotting how i can go back again next year...

there are too many things that i did not see ...
and my friends will probably be living there for another year, so that makes it easier to go back...

tokyo is really unique...
it's difficult to think of something that tokyo does not have...

except that when i got off the plane and my taxi driver here is from bangladesh and we spoke about all the different cultures in america, and in nyc especially, then i knew i was really home and that is something very different about nyc...
but it is something you cannot mail to another person, just like tokyo cannot be told in pictures...

you have to visit in order to understand...

i am so glad i got the chance to visit tokyo...

i wish we had more of the same things here, and i'm glad we are different in some ways...
vive le difference...!!!

tokyo and nyc have an ongoing love affair and it is with good reason...
the two cities represent to best of both worlds...
if only we were not so far apart...

but this trip showed me that we are not so far apart after all...


thank you runner...
you have been an excellent host!

 

[softgrey]

well--more like a tour guide...

 

[Melisande]

tokyo and nyc have an ongoing love affair and it is with good reason...
the two cities represent to best of both worlds...
if only we were not so far apart...

but this trip showed me that we are not so far apart after all...

Thank you Softie for your running commentary of Tokyo; I couldn't participate in the conversation while I was in Cairo but I loved all your comments and got real homesick, and most of all I am so glad that you got to experience a lot of the best and authentically Japanese things that Tokyo has to offer. (Ahhhh craving kuzukiri right now!) Runner is awesome. NY, Paris and Tokyo. If only the cities were not so far apart...and yet they aren't. Amen to that!

 

[softgrey]

runner IS awesome~!!!


i confess, i carried a map and a phrase book in my bag, but i never took them out...
i just went by what runner told me and what my friends showed me...
this meant that i missed some things, but found some other things...

the idea that it was ok to get lost really helped me to be brave and wander more freely...

and by the end of the second week, i decided it was ok not to be japanese and that being from new york was plenty cool, so i started wearing my shorts and being more myself...


i saw some stuff at beams with a tag that said 'gaijin made'...
at first i thought that was very racist!...
...
but i guess it's ok ...
i'll never be japanese, i guess...and that's ok...

i have to say that i was a bit depressed and sad for several days after leaving...
i feel like i've only scratched the surface of an amazing country, with an amazing history and culture...
the people continue to be the most interesting part of japan...

the woman who helped me in the YY flagship store spoke excellent english with an australian accent! she had lived there for several years...
she and i spoke about shopping for some YY pieces and going back and forth trying to determine the correct size, etc...
she commented on how much patience that must have taken...
and i exclaimed that it was really true about the patience...
to that she replied- we have to be patient...
i asked- why?
her response- if we are not patient, we are no longer japanese...

amazing!

i remembered this for the rest of my trip and i will probably remember it for the rest of my life...

today i went to a shop and purchased some light bulbs--
no big deal, right?
but when the man gave me my change, i said thank you and he said you're welcome...
that has always struck me as odd...
i have given him my business and my money and he is acting as though he were doing me a favour...and never thanked me for my business...

it's a very different attitude...
in tokyo the shop clerk would wrap my purchase, carry it to the door for me, escort me out and wave and thank me, waiting until i was out of sight to go back inside...
even when i only purchased some paper goods and stickers in the subway station!

agh!
tokyo is just so civilized..
i am sure this can get exhausting at times and everything takes longer to get done...
but it's just so nice~!

i also went to mos burger...(which was great- thank you runner!)
even there, a seat was provided for me to wait and then when my takeaway order was ready, someone brought it to me and thanked me for waiting...etc...

at one restaurant- a whole table was brought over with an additional set of chairs in order for me to have a place to put my handbag!!!


just unbelievable...!

coming back to new york really feels like coming back to an urban jungle where people behave like animals!...
...
*sigh*...

i was afraid that i might be disappointed after all these years of anticipation...
but it was just the opposite...
and i think the timing was right...

i agree melisande-
tokyo, paris, new york---my faves as well...!

how is cairo?! that seems completely foreign in a whole other way!
you seem to be having quite the excursion/tour!
would love to see some pics of you in that fancy dress you got to wear!
xxx

 

[softgrey]

one thing i was not prepared for which should probably be mentioned for anyone who might be shopping in japan is the fitting rooms...

you must remove your shoes BEFORE entering and then you are asked to use a disposable sheer hood while trying on clothing to protect it from make up marks...
this was challenging for me...
...
i kept stepping into the fitting room and then hopping back out quickly, while saying sumimasen repeatedly...
i didn't understand why all the rooms had a long shoe horn hanging outside at first...
but then i realized how difficult it is to put your shoes back on while standing up...
...

live and learn...