I had very clear ideas about what I wanted to buy on my Tokyo trip. With a limited budget I wanted only to get a specific coffee pot, and the nicest notebooks I could find. Wonderful Tokyo-based blogger Hello Sandwich pointed me in the direction of a few stationery shops. The most chi-chi was 9-storey Itoya in Ginza, which stocks these, the most sumptuous range of notebooks I ever saw.

Life notebooks are made in Japan, and you might be able to buy some for yourself here – I love the coral ones. My brother displayed the patience of a saint during the epic notebook shop, and his friend Hatomi even took me to a stationery wholesalers in Asakusabashi. A dream come true. I bought these.

Just can’t get enough of the old turquoise and coral. The best shopping of all though was my brother’s suggestion. Kappabashi – or Kitchen Town – is a whole street selling kitchenware and front-of-house gubbins to restaurants. Here I found my Noda Horo enamel coffee pot – much cheaper than in the department stores – and bought what I thought were 25 disposable tablecloths.

The tablecloth negotiations were a bit hairy, bought as they were in a shop selling menus and paper cups by the 100s, and the old guy communicated with us solely through a calculator. Later Hitomi told us that Japanese restaurants don’t really use disposable tablecloths, so goodness knows that this thing on my table really is – but I’ve got a further 24 to experiment with.

Pedal power

While in Japan I learnt – to my pleasure – that it’s considered fine for a business man to ride around on a pink bike. Bikes were everywhere, as well as funny little mopeds. Here are my favourites.

Golden Gai

One of my favourite sights in Tokyo was the quirky oasis of Golden Gai, home to over 200 bars, most with room for only 5 or 6 customers. Many bars are themed according to their owners’ interests, including various classic bands, obscure films, a psychoanalysis bar, and a Hawaiian one (below). It’s a warren of […]

Penalty fare

Taking time out from my Tokyo report to give a knee-jerk reaction to something I hate. Transport for London’s Travelcard Cushion will surely strike a chill into the heart of every Londoner. It’s like having a gas bill-print cushion. This is the thing that symbolizes deadly daily routine, delays, overcrowding and expense. Who would want it printed huge […]

Secret Tokyo

Yes! It’s Tokyo week here at My Friend’s House, as I’ve just returned from a trip there to see my brother. It was just as I imagined it, and also better even than that. The first thing I’m reporting on is my brother’s neighbourhood, a little ‘town’ within Tokyo that even lots of Tokyo-ites haven’t […]