Cappuccino Thoughts 62: Taking My Long Dreamed of Trip to Tokyo!
And Kyoto. Plus, a Japanese fashion book and real Japanese fashion
It’s hard for a person, place, or thing to live up to the expectations you have in your head. I have dreamt of going to Japan since I was a little girl. Growing up in San Francisco, I lived in the neighborhood next to Japantown and would make frequent trips down the hill to the Japanese supermarket for snacks, to restaurants with plastic food in the windows, and to the dollar store for candy or take apart erasers.
For as long as I can remember, if someone asked me where I most wanted to visit, I would answer confidently, “Japan.” When the right moment finally arrived—a break between jobs, a strong dollar and a weak yen, and the confidence to travel somewhere with such a vast linguistic and cultural difference honed by previous trips to unfamiliar places—I seized it.
It has been an amazing trip, and I don’t know if it’s so much lived up to my expectations as changed them. It’s been easier to navigate than I expected. The people have been more willing to communicate, even if it’s via google translate or hand gestures. It’s been more vast yet more transversable. What has struck me above all else is the duality.
Crossing through Shibuya, the biggest intersection in the world, on Sunday morning, I was visually overwhelmed by the parade of outfits. In New York, it seems like the outfits are either chic or ostentatious. Here, it’s struck me so much how the women dress for other women in a unique style. Lots of women are in oversized coats, pants, and scarves that wouldn’t be considered traditionally flattering, but create an amazing silhouette. Or they’re in sheer skirts layered over jeans worn with chunky boots and delicate blouses. And the men are very put together in tailored pants and loafers or they’re in paint splattered pants and huge orange sweaters. Yet come Monday morning, most people were in black, blue, or gray on the subway to work, their individuality tamped down for the corporate weekday.
The skyline is filled with skyscrapers miles higher and longer than midtown Manhattan, then in an instant the landscape transforms to low buildings with perfect geometric details made of wood.
Yet even in the midst of massive crowds and 38 million people, the streets are silent. Such a contrast from New York, where I routinely have to hang up the phone because the person on the other end says they can’t hear me over the din of ambulances, horns honking, construction jack hammering or subways passing. The streets are visually loud, yet ambiently quiet.
Being in such a different time zone, where everyone I know is asleep while I’m awake and vice versa, and in such a different culture has both quieted my mind and filled it with new inspiration and ideas. In a place of duality, the one constant is the sense of awe and wonder I have felt at every turn.
So, if you’re headed to Japan sometime soon, or just manifesting a trip for the future, here are my top recs:
General travel tips:
-I actually found Japan much easier to get around than expected. Although the level of English is not high here, there are a lot of signs in English and I found people were pretty willing to work with me while I google translated or pointed at things. I would recommend getting an e-sim card (this is a good option) so you don’t have to pay $10 a day on your phone plan.
-Most hotels allow you to transfer your luggage between cities for only around $15. This was awesome because the trains are small and there’s not a lot of room for lugging things around.
-Download the Go or Didi apps before you leave. We found it very difficult in Tokyo to hail taxis, and these apps work like uber for regular taxis. This is also nice because you can enter your destination in the app and not have to try to communicate it to the taxi driver.
Tokyo Top Sites:
-We spent about half a day in each neighborhood we visited. In Harajuku, we loved seeing the Tokyo cool kids’ outfits and funky stores. We especially loved the Beams location here, which had a lot of clothes unlike anything I’ve seen in the US. We also enjoyed the Meiji Temple and Yoyogi Park nearby. For stationery, cotton socks, and delightfully designed postcards all made in Japan, Papier Labo was a lovely curated spot. And, yes, we had to do the 3D coffee designs at Cafe Reissue, pictured at the top.
-Ginza was like the Upper East Side on steroids. We enjoyed all six floors of the Muji Hotel and store and stocked up on lots of little smart inventions like toothpaste tablets and cute snacks. Next time, I’d like to stay there! We also had a ball at Itoya, a 12-story stationery store. And for presents for people you need to impress, Higashiya was a lovely stop with beautifully wrapped green teas and wrapped desserts. Finally, we tucked into the Hermès store to escape the rain—there’s a small cafe on the 2nd floor of this location and we enjoyed a delightful spot of tea.
-Team Labs was honestly the highlight of our time. It’s an immersive art experience, but more interesting and less cheesy than the immersive art experiences sweeping the US. Each room has a different theme, from a computer projected koi pond where you walk through water up to your knees to a room filled with orchids growing upside down. In a world where it’s hard to impress people who’ve seen it all on their smartphones, this place truly made our jaws drop. It’s almost impossible to describe and just has to be seen and experienced.
-We stayed in Shibuya, and our hotel was actually very quiet even though the area is so bustling. We did a lot of our gift shopping at Loft in this neighborhood. Amidst the Tokyo citizens peacocking around in their Sunday best, we went through the famous Crossing, which is the busiest intersection in the world. My mother, the pickiest eater I know, ordered seconds at Flipper’s, a soufflé pancake place that was as delicious as it was photogenic. We also went to Shibuya Sky, which is at the top of a 54-floor building and offers an amazing view of Tokyo. We also realized that the massive amount of steps we had clocked had still only allowed us to see about 0.1% of the city.
-We met up with a family friend who moved to Tokyo 15 years ago and he took us around Ueno, including the park and the University of Tokyo. The park is a beautiful area that also houses several major museums and the zoo. I do have a few more days in Tokyo and I’m hoping to see the National Museum, Mori Museum, and Nezu Museum.
-Asakusa is the more traditional area of Tokyo. We had a very rainy tour of the Imperial Palace (which is free, and we were able to walk in without reserving tickets. Also, the Japanese Royal Family is potentiallyeven more interesting than the British one and has some quite onerous, archaic rules that have created some issues for them.) We joined the Tokyo grandpas for tea at Takemura, a teahouse from the 1930s. Continuing our history segment, we visited Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple. We saw how old traditions are being brought into the modern world at Kimono Shoes, a store that upcycles old kimono (apparently up to a billion pounds of kimono are thrown away every year as younger generations opt not to wear them) into sneakers, bags, and shirts. I, of course, love clever ways of giving new life to existing materials.
-Walking through Aoyama made us feel like we were living in 2050. Many major brands have stores here, but each has its own architectural style, so the whole street is bedecked in glorious buildings that put 5th Ave to shame. The Issey Miyake store, in particular, was very beautiful and the clothes were amazing. We also enjoyed the adorably named Cat Street and The Matcha there. We had a sweet strawberry treat (I have never seen a higher concentration of strawberry items than Japan) at Yoku Moku. We popped into 21_21 Design Sight, an Issey Miyake-funded design museum where the people watching was even better than the exhibit. And we had a very special tempura dinner at Suiren in the Capitol Hotel. My friend C. had recommended it to us, and I didn’t quite realize when I booked it that we had a seating in a room with only four places, where the chef cooked us and the other pair of diners fresh tempura piece by piece. I will never look at a shrimp tempura the same way again.
Kyoto Top Sites:
-We took the bullet train from Tokyo and it got us here in just two hours (versus the six hours it would take in a car). It’s amazing to me how much investment has been put into infrastructure, and how that affects everything else. When the subways are safe, clean, and reliable, you don’t have to stick body parts into subway doors to jam your way on, because the next train will come in just two minutes. It also means that even during rush hour, the streets are empty, because everyone is commuting underground.
-We stayed in the Ace Hotel and it was wonderful. As I mentioned, the dollar is super strong right now against the yen, so this wasn’t as expensive as it is in New York. The building was really thoughtfully designed and all the staff was helpful.
-The Nishiki Market is probably the first spot in any Kyoto guidebook, and it is quite interesting. But just outside of the market is Motoi for Michelin-ranked gyoza. We were starving coming off the train from Tokyo and absolutely wolfed these down. 10/10.
-In our beloved Japantown in San Francisco, we often frequent a little store called Sou-sou. Little did we know that they have basically a small empire here. They have a whole block of different stores including women’s clothing, men’s updated kimonos, kids, home, textiles, accessories, and more. They have gorgeous prints, and we stocked up on napkins in loads of lovely designs.
-We got up at 6:30am and made it to the Ryoan-ji Temple right when it opened. It was amazing to see the temple devoid of crowds. I was really mesmerized by the zen garden there. I realized I had actually studied it in my AP Art History class many years ago. I found it a deeply moving experience and it was worth getting there so early. From there we walked to the Kinkaku-ji Temple, the gold temple, which was beautiful in a much more opulent way.
-The same day, we continued around East Kyoto and went to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, which is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Bamboo stalks shoot up everywhere around us and we were totally immersed in their peaceful canopy. On the other end of the spectrum, we hiked straight up the Arashiyama Mountain to go to the monkey sanctuary. The monkeys were exceptionally cute and it was a little bit creepy how closely they resemble humans. The entire time we were hiking, a voice over a loudspeaker told us that the monkeys were very cute and playful, but we should absolutely not feed them directly or look them in the eyes. Naturally, my mother handed a monkey a peanut straight into its hands, then locked eyes with him, and we fled in a fit of panic and giggles when the monkey inevitably bared his teeth at us. Rules are rules for a reason!
-The Inari Temple is on the west side of Kyoto and is an amazing bright orange-colored Shinto Shrine. We really enjoyed the peaceful walk through the path of shrines, where people were saying prayers or just having a quiet moment of reflection.
I do have a few more days in Japan, so I may share more tips and impressions, but I think that’s enough for now! It’s been a lovely trip and a real dream come true.
If you want my whole itinerary, I’m happy to share! Just shoot me an email.
Updates on the bag project
My Chief Logistics Officer (my ever patient partner F. who acts as my bag mule, shepherding bags in and out of Türkiye) reports that the last batch of bags look fab! To those who pre-ordered, they are coming! And the next batch is now under production.
Look of the week
I love all the style here so much!! I am so inspired to go home and just have more fun with what I wear. The women here really seem to dress for themselves and their female friends, not the attention or gaze of men. It’s pure dopamine dressing. I love how much thought people put in and pleasure they clearly get from getting dressed. This is such a delightful outfit, which clearly started with the red and black print skirt, then emanated out into the black pullover and raincoat (it rains about a third of the time here, so I appreciate the ode to practicality), the pop of the red bag to draw out the color, and then the two different colored shoes! I am dying to know if she owns one black pair and one identical red pair, or if she bought them as a mismatched set. I’ve never seen anything like that in the US. More fun in dressing!!
What’s on the bedside table
Ametora traces the history of Japan’s adoption of American clothing. It’s a really interesting exploration of how the two cultures influenced each other, and why American vintage style has been and still is so popular in Japan. It has to do with war, social politics, Ivy style, and a classic dose of capitalism. I previously read W. David Marx’s quite fascinating Status and Culture and enjoyed the intellectual approach to aesthetics. This book is definitely for the fashion nerds among us, but it’s very well researched and a complex story explained quite clearly.
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Thank you for the great tour. So interesting to learn about the quiet.
Literally spent the weekend planning a Japan trip for later this year — saving this newsletter :)