Category Archives: neighborhoods

The Seedy Bars of Kabukicho

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kenzo's bar

When you ask Japanese people what the most dangerous neighborhoods in Tokyo are, they invariably mention Kabukicho, an area in Shinjuku known for clubs, bars, and gangsters. I’ve only visited a few times and compared to dodgy neighborhoods in other countries, it’s like Disneyland. It shows you how safe Tokyo is, that the sketchiest neighborhood is still nearly crime free. In fact, it’s quite lively. I imagine a 1950′s Vegas to be like this, with young men in shiny suits and hypnotic lights flashing everywhere.
euphoria

My Dutch friend, Laurens, who’s fascinated with all things seedy and edgy, first took me there. My favorite area is a hovel of alleys crammed with claptrap bars with narrow doors. Since it was daylight I took pictures of some of the more interesting doors. At night, many of them are open, with low-key drinkers looking out at you with curious eyes.

jetee

Most of the bars charge a 500 yen fee just to sit down, which is how a lot of traditional bars in Japan work. Each bar has a theme. But it’s mostly the doors that are different. Inside is the usual smoky stench of body odor and liquor. Though, I admit, I’ve never actually set foot in one. I’ll have to wait for Laurens to visit for that adventure. For more pictures of the doors, I put them all in my flickr site.

A Neighborhood of Unentered Doors

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spoonhead

After a discussion about favorite places in Tokyo, one of my students told me about her favorite neighborhood, Nishi Ogikubo. The student, Kyoko, is a super sweet, hardworking, single mother. She has a great funky style. Like once she had a handbag made of Heineken beer cans that was surprisingly chic.

When she learned that I had never been to Nishi Ogikubo, or even heard of it, she excitedly told me of all the cool shops there, and charming cafes. And on the last day of class she gave me this hand-drawn map, with recommended places to visit. That was about 5 months ago and I’ve been itching to go there since.

ogikubo

Yesterday I had a free morning and hopped on the Chuo Line to pay a visit. At first glance it seemed like any other newly renovated local station area: chain restaurants, discount bag stores, pachinko parlors. The map appeared to be separated into 3 main areas. I went to the smallest one first where there was a natural food store, an organic restaurant, and a new age bookstore. Unfortunately, only the food store was open.

So next I went along Fushimi St. By then it was 11am but most of the stores were closed. I noticed that many of the stores were closed on Wednesdays. This is similar to many restaurants in the U.S. that are closed on Mondays. Although in Japan, a neighborhood can decide that day off to be Tuesday, Wednesday, or even Thursday.

Nevertheless, along the side streets there were numerous cafes, most closed. But I got lots of great shots of interesting doors. Nishi Ogikubo definitely has the best collection of intriguing cafes in Tokyo.

Mr. Shallows

Among the few cafes that were open I ventured into Shallow’s Café, which is just out of Kyoko’s map (go to the end of Fushimi St. and turn right). It had been open only two weeks. What drew me in were the displays of 60’s and 70’s rock album covers in the window.

The café concept is to listen to an album from the owner’s collection and drink coffee or eat lunch. I requested something by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. And he pulled out a Stephen Stills solo album that I’d never heard. Awesome! I enjoyed the clean, wood look of the interior, littered with bits of Americana. The owner, who spoke very good English, explained that he wanted to share his collection of music. When I asked him about the name of the café, he explained that his Japanese surname translates to “the shallows of a body of water”.

Also in the neighborhood were many antique shops. North of the station there was a cute street with a great bookstore with lots of children’s books, and folk crafts stores. I found a lot of import goods and furniture that were a fraction of the price in more trendy neighborhoods. I’m definitely going back. But not on a Wednesday. Although, I like the mystery of a neighborhood filled with colorful unentered doors.

Click on any of the pictures to see more from the neighborhood.

Petals and Other Fleeting Moments

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meguro river in bloom 1

Catch it quick because it’s only going to last another week. One strong wind or a heavy rain can end it in an afternoon.

meguro river in bloom at night

Once a year Japan consummates its obsession over cherry blossoms. There have been months of cherry blossom blooming forecasts and updates on the news. People make itineraries to squeeze in as much cherry blossom viewing as possible. College kids and seniors arrive early in the morning at parks to stake out and defend a small picnic area under the blooms. Some of the larger popular parks are crammed with a patchwork of plastic blue tarps filled with revelers drinking beer and eating festival food. The paths are lined with food stalls and if you’re lucky, there may be some dancing and entertainment.

meguro river in bloom at night

It’s a fantastic time. Which is the reason T and I decided to spend our Spring vacation in and around Tokyo this year, instead of traipsing around some tropical locale as usual.

A good tour would balance the famous sites with lesser known places. Ueno Park probably has Tokyo’s best mass display. For the finest night time viewing, walk around the Imperial Palace. It has trees illuminated for a dramatic viewing. Yoyogi Park has the biggest picnic party atmosphere. For more space, you can visit the stately and well-kept Shinjukukyoen. But my favorite spot is the Meguro River in Nakameguro, accessible on the Hibiya and Toyoko lines.

open hedgehogs

Like most rivers in large cities, the Meguro River is nothing more than a concrete-lined stream, but it’s lined with cherry trees with branches that droop down towards the water. The surface of the stream is lightly salted with pink delicate petals. The lanterns illuminate the petals on the trees at night for a romantic cozy ambiance.

Nakameguro is an artsy neighborhood peopled with bohemian designers and artists. The streets along the Meguro River are crammed with inviting cafes, chic restaurants, over-priced salons, and funky boutiques. It has a nice used furniture store full of designer cast-offs and a cool bookstore with lots of odd English books. And whenever I visit I make a point of getting a latte at the Café Madeleine. We happen to run into some friends there.

cafe madeleine

Run out of a the back of a Citroen, the coffees are hand crafted by the humble barista (who has never been to France) in the cramped back seat. I recommend the Madeleine latte, which has an intriguing blend of spices. It takes about 7 minutes to make one. And it comes with a chocolate.

Then continue strolling along the river, contemplating how fleeting and delicate life is.

red bridge and lanterns

On the Trail of the Kichijoji Wildcat

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soap flowers

One of the most popular neighborhoods in Tokyo is Kichijoji. I’d only passed by the station on my way to teach at Asia University once a week, but never had the time to stop off. Much of the area is like any other Tokyo neighborhood with the usual shops and restaurants, but there is one particularly charming street that leads to Inokashira Park. This street has a village feel with a mix of cozy cafes and import stores crammed with folk crafts from around the world. It’s a short street but I loved walking around there.

inokashira bridge

The park is one of the better parks of Tokyo. It encompasses a zoo, the Ghibli Museum, a shrine, a casual pan-Asian restaurant, and a river with giant swan-shaped pedal boats for rent, reputed to be bad luck for couples who ride them together. The park has a local feel, with paths leading out of the park and ambling into quiet streets. It reminded me of Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon, with its long creek, and its vitality.

I visited the Inokashira Park Zoo, which was free with the Grutt Pass. I liked that the zoo focused on native Japanese species instead of stocking itself with exotic species from further afield. On the other hand, I found it comical that many species were tagged with “Japanese”. Like the common squirrel was tagged as the “Japanese squirrel”, or the common raccoon as the “Japanese raccoon”. They were presented as subspecies, but probably should have been labeled as breeds.

I was really excited to see the Amur leopard cat. The wild cat ranges throughout East Siberia and Korea but was tagged in some places as the “Tsushima leopard cat”. Tsushima is a small Japanese island lying between Korea and Japan. I guess it could be a subspecies, except that they both share the same scientific name, Felis bengalenses euptilura. There were so many similar instances of species revisionism that I imagined some drunk nationalistic biologist giggling all night as he “discovered” new subspecies for the glory of the emperor.

The most interesting part of the zoo is the aquarium which featured waterfowl as well as insects and reptiles, including one really big cane toad from the Americas. It was the size of one of the Amur cats, but thankfully wasn’t labeled as the “Japanese giant toad”.

introspective swan

Creative taxonomy aside, I actually enjoyed the casual atmosphere of the zoo. It was more of a park for kids that happened to have animals. Still, like all zoos, it was depressing at times to see the animals pacing nervously in their cages. Watching the 50 year old Asian elephant, Hanako, was especially sad, as she rocked back and forth, gazing off into the distance, dreaming of a faint childhood in Thai forests.