Furoshiki design collaboration

Loving the Hennie Haworth Furoshiki cloth designs recently created with Tokyo and LA based design collective Link. They're a fresh, contemporary take on the traditional cloth designs normally made for furoshiki, the ancient Japanese art of fabric folding. Beautiful designs yet functional and a great eco-friendly alternative to the millions of plastic bags which seem to be handed out automatically for even the smallest of items in Japan. Visit 'Craft' for an easy step-by-step guide to the furoshiki wrapping technique. I will be popping down to the iichi Gallery Market in ecute Shinagawa which runs from the 26th September to the 10th October to buy mine. If you're not in Tokyo or can't wait until then, you can order it from UGUisu a gorgeous online shop full of Japanese goodies.

Mogu Takahashi Exhibition at Cafe Drole

Popped down to the Mogu Takahashi exhibition 'Kawaii Ugly San' at Cafe Drole in Nakameguro yesterday which was full of doodle-style wall displays and random colourful objects dotted around the cafe. I really like Mogu's work for its playfulness and free-flowing style. She also makes really cute postcards, notecards and clay tags - Kawaii desu! Mogu is off to Europe next but Drole Cafe is still worth a visit for its quirky décor and oishii cakes. Definitely in the run for being one of my favourite cafes in Tokyo. There's also a second Cafe Drole in Daikayama which I discovered when I got lost on my bike on the way to the exhibition - seem to find a lot of things by getting lost in Tokyo!

Cover Jam and Kate Coffee in Shimokitazawa

Spent the afternoon with Sam-san at Kate Coffee in Shimokitazawa, a really cute place upstairs full of retro mix and match sofas and chairs. They also create their own zines, leaflets and postcards with lots of hand drawn doodles and sell lovely handmade bags and pouches by Kick. Their curry lunch plates and cakes are delicious too! Next stop was round the corner at Jam Cover which has to now be my ichiban shop in Shimokitazawa. It's amazing but beware you could loose hours in here there is so much to look at! It's a hoarders paradise. They have lots of plastic retro jewellery, broaches and hair clips but also create their own fabrics, letter sets and stickers. Pretty much anything stationary you could think of they have - even number stencil sets and label templates to make your own tags. A lot of their designs look Scandinavian but there are also a lot of Parisian trinkets. I love their Russian doll note books and vintage necklaces draped over old books.

Naka-meguro

Heading out on my bike yesterday to find an outdoor pool (temperatures are in the high 30's and 100% humidity so it's fooking hot...) I accidentally rode through Nakameguro which is now, officially, my favourite suburb of Tokyo... well in the top 5 anyway.

Full of independent boutiques and vintage shops, restaurants and cafes along the canal which is lined with cherry blossom trees and beautiful in April (lots of the shops also set up outdoor stalls selling umeshu and other drinks which people sip under the trees). Come here for the afternoon and stroll along the tiny streets heading towards Daikanyama, an equally hip area with yet more independent designer shops and cafes.

There are so many little gems...here are just a few that I found (more info, pics and maps in the Kotori Street Guide to Tokyo coming soon!)

Wall mural inside Hanabi 

HANABI
Aobadai 2-16-11
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

First off Hanabi, a cafe at the top of the canal (take the only exit from Naka Meguro station, cross over Yamate Dori and take the lane to the right of the railway bridge walk straight and you get to the canal. Cross over and turn left, Hanabi is about 10 min walk on the right). Serves great lunch plates with unlimited drink refills, perfect for sitting outside, taking in the river and charging up for a shopping bonanza.

CARLIFE
1-17-1 Aodaiba
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

Walking further down from Hanabi you will see a glass fronted and cacti-lined, loft style clothing boutique Carlife, which has a good, alternative selection of clothes (think Jigsaw's younger, cooler sister) and some awesome accessories. The shop interior is pretty interesting too. I love their light fittings and quilted throws.

Inside Bonill - picture from Sarah's Loft

BONILL
1-15-8 Aobadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

Weekdays: 6pm -12am, Weekends 12pm - 12am
Shop come cafe at night, this mint green gem is set in a small wooden building just behind the river. Turn right out of Carlife, then right again and Bonill is on the corner.

SCREAMIN WHEELS SUPERSTORE
1-15-09 Aobadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

If you're an 80's child like me and still in love with a BMX, nylon t-shirts and embroidered patches then pop into Screamin Wheels, right next to Bonhill.

Pictures from notesfromtokyo.com

AOYA
1-15-10 Apbadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

Just along from Screamin Wheels and Bonill is Aoya, a Japanese restaurant set in an old house from the Showa-era found at the end of a pebbled path (marked with a tired looking paper lantern). It serves healthy Japanese food and the lunch plates are delicious (and only 1200 yen). Make sure you try the gokoku-mai (5 grain rice) and green tea flavoured cake.

COW BOOKS
1-14-11 Aobadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

Being a sucker for shiny lights and 'arty' books, imagine my delight to find Cow Books - a bookshop packed with rare books from the 60's onwards (English & Japanese) with an LED message display scrolling the walls. They also make coffee and their own branded products.

MAHAKALA
Aobadai 1-17-5
Meguro-ku
Tokyo 153-0042

If you don't fancy eating a pudding just yet then pick one up from 'the happy pudding shop' Mahakala's hole in the wall glass counter to take home with you. Their yumsome creme caramels in little glass jars are soooo good! Mahakala is just before Cow Books, down from Carlife.

VASE
1-7-7 Kamimeguro
Meguro-ku
Tokyo 153-0051

Continuing along the same side of the Canal, back towards Nakameguro station and you will find Vase on your right. Watch out as this tiny ramshakled white shop is easy to miss! Look out for the tailor's dummy with an oversized mustard bag. Head through the small curtained doorway you'll find some lesser known European labels for men and women.

THE ARMY GYM
1-21-11 Aobadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo
153-0042

At the end of the canal street is mensware shop The Army Gym by Brit designer Nigel Cadbourn, perfect for the (pricey) rough and ready look. Next stop from here is Daikanyama, but WAIT, before you leave you HAVE to go to the BEST VINTAGE SHOP in Tokyo...

Pictures from A Contiuous Lean

J'Antiques
2-25-13 Kamimeguro
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

Created by avid collector Hitoshi Uchida, this vintage shop is AMAZING! Be prepared for serious 'eyeball overload' though at this shop has everything from salvaged pins, hooks, signs, lights, buttons, wooden frames, boxes, furniture, denim and much much more!

Well folks I hope you enjoyed a little tour around Nakameguro! If you've got an appetite for more, I'll be sure to write about more areas in Tokyo soon...x

A to Z Cafe Omotesando

Elissa eating her 'body friendly lunch'

Loving Yoshimoto Nara's A to Z cafe in Aoyama, a joint project with Graf Design Collective. Sat on the roof terrace and cooked like a true gaijin (it was completely empty) but it was worth the heat for the view over the quirky Aoyama architecture. Tried the 'body-friendly' lunch, translated on their website as 'lunch and try a hot body in a friendly and open space'! Inside is mismatched furniture, decorated with Nara's iconic characters and has a mocked up workshop (a room within a room) in the middle of the cafe showing some of Nara's others works. Cafe/mini gallery/bar. Pretty interesting place to hang out day or night. 

Photo by www.theworldsbestever.com