Issue 11
What caught our eye
Every week we walk the city so you do not have to. Here are the openings our team stopped for: the rooms, the counters and the shelves shaping Tokyo right now.
Two foreign brands open their first Japanese doors this week: a Paris eyewear house in a one-storey pavilion in Aoyama, and a Korean kimbap chain next to a quiet residential station.
This week's openings
4 openings
Tokyo StationSushi
SUSHI BUS
An open-top double-decker with a conveyor belt upstairs: sushi made in the kitchen below rides up a small lift and circles past 20 passengers during a 70-minute loop of the city. All you can eat, drinks included, from ¥16,000.
ShimbashiOysters and ribs
Gunte Yard
Grill oysters in the shell and pork ribs at your table, then eat them wearing white cotton work gloves. 72 seats in a warehouse-style room, open from noon at the weekend.
NakameguroYakitori
Nakameguro Yakitori B8
Ten seats around one counter, where whole chickens are broken down, skewered and grilled in front of you, with seafood plates and wine on the side. Evenings only, closed on Sundays.
Minami-AoyamaEyewear
Ahlem Tokyo
The Paris eyewear brand, with frames made by hand in France, opens its first store in Asia in a single-storey pavilion on the edge of Nishi-Azabu, designed with Isamu Noguchi and Hiroshi Sugimoto in mind.
Coming up
5 openings
Kamata · 22 OctoberDim sum bar
Gindaco Tenshin Sakaba
The takoyaki house Tsukiji Gindaco opens its second dim sum bar: xiaolongbao rolled by hand on site (¥858 for five), Chinese plates and drinks from noon, takoyaki still on the menu. 44 seats, one minute from Kamata station.
Fudomae · 22 OctoberKimbap
LEE GIMBAP
The Korean kimbap chain, with 33 shops in Korea and 3 in the US, opens its first Japanese shop three minutes from Fudomae station, for eating in, takeaway and delivery.
Shinjuku · 21 October to 3 NovemberLeather goods
Le Tanneur at Isetan
The French leather house, founded in 1898, holds its first pop-up in Japan on the ground floor of Isetan Shinjuku, with bags such as the French-made Hortense tote at ¥155,000.
Yoyogi Park · 21 to 25 OctoberNight market
Tokyo Night Market
More than 50 stalls of street food, crafts and clothes along the zelkova avenue, with bands, DJs and a karaoke sake bar until 10pm. Free entry, from 4pm on weekdays and 2pm at the weekend.
Kiyosumi-Shirakawa · 30 OctoberChocolate
Dandelion Chocolate Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Factory
Ten years after its Kuramae café, the San Francisco chocolate maker opens a three-storey factory of about 990 m², with bean-to-bar production you can watch, a café lounge and factory tours.
Campaigns worth a look
1 openings
Shibuya · until 21 OctoberCollab
Tommy Hilfiger x FRGMT
Tommy Hilfiger's first collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara's FRGMT reworks the brand's 1990s classics in 21 pieces, from ¥13,200 to ¥165,000. Pop-up on the ground floor of Shibuya PARCO.