Strolling in Daikanyama

· Decoration, Fashion, Illustration, Travel

It’s been quite some time… but here is my last post about Tokyo before telling you all about Onsen Akita area and Hokkaido island. It might be a bit weird to see photos with snow in the middle of May but I think it’s never early if you want to start preparing your trip for winter 2019 !

So today I’m taking you to Daikanyama, a neighborhood I quickly visited during one of my last trip. People usually compares it to the Marais in Paris or Brooklyn.

 

You can catch the bohemian style and trendy ambiance, full of people reading Kinfolk Magazine and drinking a nice coffee slowly filtered by a Chemex machine. I’m exaggerating a bit but it’s kind of true!

I didn’t take much photos that day as the temperatures were freezing but I still want to give you a few shopping or yummy addresses, which worth to stop by. Anyway, I am pretty sure you would find nice places just by wandering around.

 

My shopping addresses

The shops in this neighborhood gather everything I like in terms of decoration and clothes. Right cut, simple and good quality.

In terms of decoration, I mostly took this chance to find inspiration (as our luggages were not expandable) but as for fashion I found a coat that you’ve seen me wearing quite a few times lately. Here are all the shops that I liked and you might be interested in!

 

TENOHA DAIKANYAMA (20-23 Daikanyamacho)

A concept store mixing decoration, groceries, a little bit of fashion and a restaurant. I really liked this place full of tableware, furniture made of wood and foliage plants.

 

You can consider bringing back a few plates but as for the rest it’s more like ‘touch with your eyes!”… not because of the price but once again for the size of the luggage! Here is a quick glance at was is available on their website, just if you want to have a look before going.

 

THE TENT (1 Chome-35-5 Ebisunishi)

It’s the shop where I found my Prince of Wales check coat made by the brand Munich (the name is a bit misleading in term of geography!).

The shop is made of two parts, first with a choice of different brands of clothes and don’t ask me why but the second part is for pet grooming!

The selection of clothes is more ’nature’ style than sophisticated. Prices are quite expensive (thankfully they had sales) but you may find your hidden treasure like I did! Here is the website to give you an idea of the style.

 

UNICO (1-34-23 Ebisu-nishi)

A decoration shop with a style very Kinfolk/bohemian: wood, leather, natural fabrics and once again foliage plants.

 

For this one too, you can have a look at their website and dream about a cosy ambiance such as the ones I like. The “Staff’s room” part (quick glance at the employees interior decoration) is very inspiring and will give you an idea of what you can find in the store.

 

PATINAS VINTAGE CLOSET (2 Chome-17-11 Ebisunishi)

For vintage lovers, a second-hand shop where you can find clothes, bags and accessories.

 

CUSHU CUSYU (1 Chome-31-16 Ebisunishi)

Here, a choice of kitchen tools and other small decoration items easy to carry back home in a suitcase. I don’t think everything is nice but you may find one or two valuable things. Here is the instagram account.

 

Yummy addresses

This quarter, as in Shimokitazawa has a lot of Instagramable coffee shops. Here are some yummy addresses we have experimented and other ones, potentially interesting. Enjoy !

 

ONIGIRI ICHIGO (2-14-10 Ebisu Nishi)

I am not sure this Onigiri shop is a permanent store or if it was only a pop-up (Japanese love pop-up stores) but in this case, it seems that it’s part of group, which owes other restaurants you can easily find in Tokyo.

An onigiri is actually not very special: it’s a ball of rice (sometimes stuffed with salmon, meat, …) wrapped with seaweed but if it’s made with quality ingredients, it becomes very tasty, which was the case during this winter day.

 

ORGANIC CAFE BOMBAY BAZAR (20-11 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

During winter time curry become one of the unmissable pleasure: spicy and large portion, it’s the perfect meal against the bad weather.

To access this place, you need to go downstairs in a very ‘natural’ place (decoration with pieces of wood, unmatched chairs and vintage tables). Bathrooms are also quite exotic.

 

We can feel the importance of ecology, fresh and organic products. Service was a bit long (they may try to follow the concept of ’Slow Life’ !) but I keep a magical and nostalgic memory of the curry I had: the Seasonal Vegetable Yellow Keema Curry.

Quite spicy but sweet and creamy at the same time, everything was all gone in my bowl, excellent!

 

MATSUNOSUKE (〒150-0033 D-11 Hill Side Terrace 29-9 Sarugakucho)

I didn’t have the to try but from what we saw it seems to be the place to be to have apple pies in Tokyo. Pancakes can be also found.

 

GOHANHYA ISSHIN DAIKANYAMA (30-3 Sarugakucho,
Sous-sol du Twin Building Daikanyama)

A traditional Japanese restaurant hidden from the crowd of hipsters. Sashimi, tempura, grilled mackerel. This address might worth too stop by if you already had too much of pancakes and salads.

 


My Outfit

Coat Samsøe Samsøe (already seen here)
Suit “Cooperative” Urban Outfitters (already seen here)
Cashmere turtleneck La Redoute
Sneakers Stan Smith Adidas
Tote bag Madewell
Scarf Acne Studios

Earrings Les Partisanes
Watch Cluse
Necklace Minetta Jewellery

Isle of dogs

· Art, Fashion

You know how I like the movies from Wes Anderson, don’t you? I was pretty spoiled as I got the chance to attend the premiere screening before the official release on April 11th, and as expected I really enjoyed it.

Japan, Wes Anderson, stop-motion animated movie, detailed sceneries, cute dogs… the perfect mix to spend a good time.

 

A japanese kind of Sunday

“Daimyo, seigneurs de la Guerre au Japon” 3 part exhibition ( here at Guimet museum)

 

And this weekend, as my SO couldn’t make it to watch it the first time, I decided to watch it with him a second time (this time with french voices… to compare with the original version in English).

Our Sunday plan was almost fully Japanese as we combined the “Isle of dogs” with a “Daimyo, seigneurs de la guerre au Japon” exhibition about the powerful lords Daimyo at the Guimet museum, just to remain into the Japanese ambiance.

 

So here are a few shots taken during this visit, to plunge back into the XV-XIXth century with these Japanese warriors, to admire their armors, helmets and ornaments with so many mind-blowing details.

 

“Le corps analogue”: 3rd part of the Daimyo exhibition, by George Henry Longly at Palais de Tokyo

 

About my outfit, nothing very sophisticated on my side with this heat: I was proudly wearing my Teeshirt from the movie and I couldn’t refrain myself to take a few characters for a walk during this Sunday afternoon. (English translation by Quiterie)


My Outfit

Tee-shirt “Boss” Isle of Dogs (gifted by 20th Century Fox)
Jeans ASOS (already seen here)
Flats Mango (already seen here)

Earrings Mango (already seen here)
Watch Cluse

Eyebrow crayon Brow Drama Pomade « Châtain » Maybelline NY
Mascara “Volume effet faux cil Waterproof” YSL
Lipstick “Authentique 302 Mademoiselle” Rouge Baiser
Nailpolish “Red Apple” Color Show Maybelline NY

Five senses #8

· Decoration, Fashion, Food

Let’s start a new episode of Five Senses to discover what delighted my senses lately.

 

SMELL

Raincoat Rains (already seen here)
Lotso bag Tokyo DisneySea
Minnie ears Tokyo Disneysea

 

For those who don’t know Lotso, my favorite character from Disney/Pixar, you might not understand the link between this outfit and the smell… but it’s actually easy! Because the evil bear from Toy Story smells like strawberry!

I brought back this small bag from Tokyo DisneySea (as well as these pink and sparkling Minnie ears) and I didn’t hesitate to wear the colors of Lotso during the week at Disneyland Paris.

The occasion to wear once again my pink rain coat you already saw here. Unfortunately, my bag doesn’t smell strawberry (unlike the cuddle toy!) but the scent of popcorn and other yummy things the park could provide!

 

TOUCH

During my winter trip in Japan, you followed my Instastories and advised me (thanks Angie!) to try out the white bread from Hokkaido because I was there: extremely soft and subtle taste… Really Japanese know how to do things!

Back to Paris, on the way to the bakery “Carré Pain de mie” located in Rambuteau street and specialized in white bread made with flour from Hokkaido. The owner Michie Hasegawa is actually Japanese.

 

Plates Wear Lemonade x Monoprix & Habitat
Trivet Serax
Wooden table AM.PM

 

So I went there last weekend to choose the  “Motchi motchi Sattori”  Japanese white bread (they also have more ‘occidental’ ones : the “Sakkuri”) and I was not disappointed at all. The price is more expensive than ones from supermarket (€8) but the softness and sweetness worth it.

It’s perfect to enjoy it plain but I also tried to toast it with a pan and added cheddar (easy for this recipe). The following day, I decided to make ‘croque-monsieur’ and it was delicious!

I will definitely go back to this bakery to try their sandwiches with pork in breadcrumbs, they looked very promising.

 

SIGHT

Two weeks ago, my heart of starry-eyed girl was fulfilled by this “Dawson’s creek” meet up organized by the Entertainment Weekly magazine: all the actors from my favorite tv show reunited after 20 years!

 

They got old (except Busy Phillips who didn’t changed much and Michelle Williams who, in my opinion, really looks better with the time) but what an emotional moment to see them posing and chatting all together, and to be present during this video interview!

I loved so much the warm hug between Jen and Jack, the jokes of Dawson alias James van der Beek (which is much funnier in the real life compared to his character at that time!) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) still himself, full of charm!

 

Photos credits : Mark Hom for Entertainment Weekly

 

What a shame they didn’t invite Dawson’s parents to this reunion, because they also had a big part in this tv show! Now, I feel like I want to watch again the 6 seasons (I’m already season 2!).

As I was saying in these articles here and here, some people don’t really understand my passion but I think (even more with original voices, because french voice version was sometimes censored and a bit silly) this tv show knew how to talk about teenagers, without detour, and with a sensitivity but still straight to the point and a quite realistic scenario.

Even after 20 years it’s still quite relevant (maybe a bit outmoded in terms of cloths but scarcely!).

 

HEARING

Coffee cup Serax
CD Album ” Bad Blood” by Bastille
Golden spoon AM.PM

 

For the past 5 years, I’m still a huge fan of Bastille. I already attended 3 (or 4?) live performances and even got the chance to meet them backstage, totally randomly during a festival, here in 2013. On top of being talented, they are vey nice and I convinced them to pronounce a love declaration in French. But it’s not the point of today’s few words.

The band i currently doing a Tour in UK, for a new orchestration and genuine version of their songs, along with violons, pianos and chorals.

Unfortunately they didn’t plan to cross The Channel so we can enjoy the show too: so I’m dreaming about a “Reorchestrated Tour” album to be on sale after.

In the meantime, I’m comforting myself with YouTube and a few musical extracts, quickly recorded but we can give a quick glance at their performance. This video from 2017 in the Capitol studio shows the emotional potential of a more authentic orchestrated version. I’m melting.

 

TASTE

Platycodons shoots with sesame sour cream at la Taverne de Zhao

 

If you follow my social media channels, you may have seen this video shoot at Hereyoua.re in order to try out 6 asian addresses in Paris (5 restaurants and 1 tea room).

If you haven’t seen it yet, here is the result of our yummy marathon. It was extremely cold that day, and I hadn’t fully recovered from the flu but I really enjoyed and had fun with Julien and Sydney (behind the camera).

 

We filmed all the sequences during one afternoon (yes I know, we have large appetites!) and I must admit that I didn’t have dinner at night, just a cup of green tea. But it was so nice to pretend to be food testers!)

So here are the 6 places by order of preference: Sanukiya, Pontochoux, Happa Teï, Umami Matcha Café, Bangkok street food, La taverne de Zhao.

The Chinese restaurant is the last one because I had the occasion to go back again after the shooting and that day apart from the platycodons shoots with sesame sour cream, nothing very exceptional (but still OK).

 

Yuzu tart from Umami matcha Café

 

As per the Umami matcha café, I also went back and the matcha cheese cake is good without being exceptional. The yuzu tart is really the best at this place.

Sanukiya (its udons and its agedashi tofu) and Pontochoux both deserve the top of the ranking in term of taste. Let me know your thought if you decide to try it too! (English translation by Quiterie)

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