Daikanyama is a nice neighbourhood to stroll to from Shibuya - a good shop to aim for is Okura- a branch of Blue Blue Japan - the indigo/ denim specialists - quite the store, they may still keep chickens on the upstairs balcony
It’s a very nice stroll/ mooch, away from the crowds with some interesting stores and places to eat along the way
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If I was going (which I’m not) I’d check out Steve Powers’ shop there https://www.instagram.com/espokyo/
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a few Tokyo spots:
the sogetsu foundation building in Tokyo is a good spot, its an ikebana school on the upper floors. but the ground floor is a huge indoor sculptural park made by isamu Noguchi. you can get a really good view of it from the little cafe there too. really special place. https://maps.app.goo.gl/XVn5Qw7kevHt3DTs6
this museum is really beautiful, Japan Folk Crafts Museum, mixture of European and Japanese works https://maps.app.goo.gl/3mwyZMNN6YW6AZec8 it’s in a very quiet area, you can walk to shimokitizawa from there after, which is a nice walk through tiny backstreets. once in shimokitizawa, it’s worth checking out city country city, nice recordshop / great bar/pasta restaurant. https://maps.app.goo.gl/4NZNAAMSyurUiBYj7
in osaka, I haven’t been here yet, but this little set of shops are in a complex designed by tado ando https://maps.app.goo.gl/SbyCUkp4YGtphZF2A and looks well worth visiting if ever in the city centre.
lastly, there’s sento’s all over place, and it’s worth going to as many different ones as possible. one of the places I went to is in koenji, and it was such a nice spot. again, a little hidden away, but really great area to check out one evening anyway. https://experience-suginami.tokyo/2019/06/kosugi-yu/
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I had the best coffee I’ve ever tasted in Osaka at Glitch Coffee. I didn’t think it was possible to extract that amount of flavour from coffee beans.
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I’m gutted I didn’t make it there. It was on my list but I couldn’t fit it in.
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They have a “brother” called Bar Track not too far away if there aren’t any seats at Martha, but if you get there early it should be OK.
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I’m at Naoshima right now. It’s amazing. Well worth the trip if you manage to reserve a room at Benesse House, which is the Tadao Ando complex that includes many of the museums. Very serene, very nice atmosphere. You need to take trains and ferries to get here from the major cities (Kyoto/Osaka much closer than Tokyo) but it’s worth the trip if you like art, or just want to see something different.
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