Even if you don't know the name TRANSIT, in Tokyo, chances are that you've frequented some of their slick cafes (OFFICE, Sign, TOKYO SWEETS FACTORY), bars (Kita-Aoyama Salon), or even hotels (Claska, Dojima Hotel). It's no surprise then that the company has decided to export its brand of stylish cafe/bars, starting with the Tokyo Bar in New York. With an interior brimming with Japanese-inspired pop graphics — the logo is by Kashiwa Sato, who produced the look of Uniqlo's entry into the US — and a menu that promises "new Japanese comfort food" (which means a taste of the typical Japanese/western mix found in Tokyo cafes), you get a good sampling of the Tokyo cafe/bar experience.

Tokyo Bar [Official site]

It would be easy to write a month's worth of posts on Tokyo's Akihabara district alone — the "electric town" certainly has a lot to offer, especially if you're on the hunt for the latest and best deals in electronics and/or otaku culture. Even though the area has been undergoing startling changes to better cater to the less hardcore (translation: a mass sanitization effort), there's still reason for the collector to make a stop. If gachapon — toys sold in plastic capsules from vending machines — is your thing, then you can't really miss the Gachapon Kaikan.

The store is famous for being made up entirely of gachapon vending machines, and it probably has the best collection of such machines (over 300!) you're likely to find in the city. So make sure to keep all that loose change handy; it's souvenir shopping for everyone in one cheap go.

Gachapon Kaikan [Official site]

[Photo: Jean Snow]

Girly Harajuku-style fashions are known the world over. Although a few American knockoff brands have popped up, there is still only one way to get to the true source, and that's by coming to Japan and checking out the shops. Shopping department Marui (OIOI) has always been a friend to the girl in need, and luckily for the rest of the world, this past weekend saw the launch of their new international online store. If you have brands such as Super Lovers, Sexy Dynamite London, or Baby, The Stars Shine Bright on your shopping list, rejoice — they're now but a credit card order away. Japanese pop culture guru Patrick Macias (of Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Subculture Handbook fame) is one of their consultants, and he'll be contributing original content to the site as well.

MARUIONE.JP [Official site]

If you're in town as a tourist, chances are you're not really looking to burden yourself with furniture (for great souvenir ideas, see the MUJI Xmas collection of suitcase-friendly items). But the thing with the best interior shops — especially in Tokyo — is that they pretty much double as sleek design museums, with all the latest and greatest in the world of Japanese (and international) interior design on display, and with free "admission" to boot. Do make a point of checking the sleek stylings of the Maruse store, located midway between the Shibuya and Daikanyama stations (2-12-205 Sarugaku-cho, 03-3461-7330). Designed by Makoto Koizumi, expect an interior that matches the items on sale. Keep in mind that interior also covers glasses and tableware, so you may in fact be able to find a souvenir that matches the size of your luggage after all.

Maruse [Official site]

One thing to look forward to every year is the arrival of MUJI's Christmas collection — a series of tastefully selected items from around the world with the express purpose of providing perfect gifts for friends and family. Some are festive (like a blocky tree-shaped advent calendar with little drawers for presents) and some are not, but they all share some common traits: They're small, affordable, and cute enough to please pretty much anyone. And since this is MUJI, you get a good amount of functionality thrown in (handkerchiefs featuring maps of cities). The best place to experience all of this is of course the MUJI flagship store in Yurakucho, where you'll be greeted with some very festive knits (pictured above). You can also experience the full catalog online (on this page, scroll down and then click on the wide red banner image with "MUJI Xmas" on it).

MUJI Xmas [Official site]

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I don't just write for magazines — I also have an extreme love for them, one that can get, I'll admit, a bit dirty. It's therefore my obligation to point out the current exhibition taking place at the Ginza Graphic Gallery, "Welcome to Magazine Pool: Ten Creators Crossing Boundaries for Magazine Design." In celebration of the Japan Magazine Publishers Association and the Japan Book Publishers Association's 50th anniversary, the show brings together the works of ten top magazine art directors and designers, with the first floor dedicated to work created specifically for the show — and also published as a special limited print run issue of the Singaporean magazine WERK. The second floor is devoted to examples of each participant's groundbreaking work.

Curated by Yasushi Fujimoto — himself a top art director and responsible for the look of quite a few titles currently found on Tokyo newsstands — it brought back memories of the very first show I ever saw at the GGG. Covering his work and that of CAP (the design studio he founded), it was the first time I was able to take in entire walls covered in magazine page layouts, which awakened certain, ahem, senses in me (as I said at the start, my love for magazines does get dirty). Not to be missed; the exhibition runs until November 27.

Ginza Graphic Gallery [Official site]

[Photo]

You're at Tokyo station, about to hop on the Shinkansen or maybe the Narita Express, and you've just realized that you forgot to pick up some obligatory souvenirs (in Japan, the omiyage industry is huge and usually takes the form of food, as in cookies or snacks), or maybe you forgot to pick up a bento (single-portion boxed lunch) for the long train ride. You've always had access to a reasonable selection at the station itself, but now things just got a bit better. Accompanying the newly opened GranTokyo North Tower shopping/office complex is the opening last week of a new branch of the Daimaru department store (B1F to 14F). Daimaru is a Kansai institution — Tokyo is ruled by Tobu and Seibu — but the convenient new location just outside the ticket gates to the Shinkansen tracks offers up a ground floor and basement level filled to the brim with souvenir options, as well as more bento choices that you can reasonably deal with. I'm a big fan of picking up a bento before I board the train, and now I'm looking forward to a trip just to sample some of the Daimaru offerings.

Daimaru [Official site]

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Continuing on my tour of the Shin-Marunouchi Building's 7th floor "(marunouchi) HOUSE" area — see previous posts covering the Wonderwall-designed Henry Good Seven cafe and the Soba Kichi restaurant — next up is Rigoletto Wine & Bar (03-6270-0520). Offering a fusion of Spanish and Italian, everything I've had there has always been stellar, and I can't recommend their lunch menu enough — ¥1,500 gets you an entree of tapas, salad, choice of main dish, dessert, and coffee. And yes, the extra ¥300 for one of the pizzas, served as a calzone, is well worth it. Evenings also make for an attractive setting for drinks (which you can take outside to the building's terrace).

I've become a big fan of that floor's "unwind and dine" concept, and I now make regular stops at Tokyo station (I recommend going using the Marunouchi subway line, since the ticket gates are just outside the Shin-Marunouchi Building's entrance), which is something I never did before.

Shin-Marunouchi Building [Official site]

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I've covered plenty of Tokyo cafes and bars — that seems to be my regular beat in terms of drink/food related outings — and of course I always try to stay on top of the most interesting new retail openings. If there's one area I don't think I've ever covered, it would be something sports-related, and I think I've finally found a good example. The Nakataku Lounge in Nakameguro (1-3-13 Kami-Meguro, 03-5722-2860) is, well, a ping-pong lounge, where you can practice the admittedly geeky sport in the funky surroundings the area is known for. Produced by the same company that created many other great Nakame hangouts (the flash-based site doesn't permit direct links, so click around), it's just the sort of place that should make for memorable night out.

Nakataku Lounge [Man Fusion System official site]

Design is in the air, and that's because today marks the start of the annual Tokyo Design Week, in which a few big design events — Tokyo Designer's Week, 100% Design Tokyo, DesignTide, and Swedish Style — join forces to bring lots of great exhibitions, events, and yes, parties to the city. Tokyo Designer's Week and 100% Design Tokyo return to the Jingu Gaien grounds, near Gaienmae station on the Ginza line, and this year's DesignTide, the main site at least, has moved to the nearby Olympic Gymnasium. Of course, events and exhibitions are also taking place in countless shops and cafes throughout Shibuya, Harajuku, Aoyama, and even Roppongi this year (check out Design Touch at the Tokyo Midtown shopping complex), so it shouldn't be too hard to get in on any of the action. Most of the festivities run until November 4, with Swedish Style going until November 8.

The Tadao Ando-designed bunker-like satellite store for hhstyle.com's flagship shop in Harajuku has not disappeared, but a slight change has taken a hold of it as of this month. Gone are the furnishings of the luxurious Armani Casa line (and the old name of hhstyle.com/Casa), and in comes hhstyle.com/Limited (6-14-5 Jingumae, 03-3400-8821). It's a new concept store that looks to mix things up with a collection of interior goods not normally available in Japan, as well as a line from Vitra. The store has always been a popular stop on any retail tour of the area, and this renewal should make it that much more worthy of a return visit.

hhstyle.com/Limited [Official site]

With a name like Tokyo Sweets Factory, you more than likely know what to expect: lots and lots of sweet-tasting desserts. After the opening of their first shop in Jiyugaoka (Fino JIYUGAOKA B1F, 5-28-1 Okusawa, 03-5483-8811) earlier this year on a rather auspicious day (July 7, 2007, or 07/07/07), quick success has led to the addition last month of a second branch, this time at the Printemps department store in Ginza (B2F). Why use the name "factory"? When you go to the original shop, you can actually see all of the sweets as they're being made, and a restaurant area lets you order specific desserts that are prepared on the spot. How sweet is that?

Tokyo Sweets Factory [Official site]

Tokyo Midtown seems to have gotten most of the attention this year in the Tokyo mega-shopping-complex sweepstakes, but I'm here to remind you that the Shin-Marunouchi Building is not to be overlooked. I've written about it in the past, as well as its Wonderwall-designed Henry Good Seven cafe, and now I'd like to point out the Soba Kichi restaurant (03-5222-5133), also located on the 7th floor food area.

Why highlight a soba shop, of which there is certainly no small amount in this city? For starters, even though other restaurants in the building are on the, well, pricier side of things, you can get a great-tasting meal there for 1,000 yen or less — just the other day, I had their delicious oyakodon (egg and chicken on rice) with udon, a nice-sized meal for that amount. Even better, you can either sit inside the shop, in the comfier chairs found in the surrounding hallway, or have your meal outside on the terrace, with a terrific view of Tokyo station. One caveat: The menu is entirely in Japanese, but that's to be expected with Japanese restaurants, so just have a look at what others are eating, and point away!

Soba Kichi [Marunouchi]

[Photo: Jean Snow]

When the Tokyo Midtown shopping complex opened its doors earlier this year, one major tenant was conspicuously absent — the much-hyped Billboard Live TOKYO venue. Finally opening last month (in the fourth floor's Garden Terrace, part of the Galleria section, 03-3405-1133), the 300-seat venue and restaurant is already hosting a very busy schedule of live shows (pretty much every single night of the month is covered), with some big-name acts that are expectedly accompanied with big ticket prices. Unfortunately, this is something that you will experience with shows pretty much everywhere, as live music does not come cheap in this city. You can save a bit by staying in the "casual area" (as opposed to the "service area"). If Tokyo is not part of your Japan travel plans, they also have branches in Osaka and Fukuoka.

Billboard Live TOKYO [Official site]

When I bring up Tyler Brûlé's Monocle magazine in conversation, I seem to get two basic responses. People either love it — and I am firmly included in that camp — or think that the mix of topics somehow doesn't work (although everyone seems to love the design). Whether you love it or hate it, it has to be said that the web component has slowly been creating a separate if complimentary experience, adding a lot of great original content. One of the latest features on the site has been the creation of a "Quality of Life Index," which is mostly an excuse to highlight some great spots from around the world. As you'd probably expect, I take particular interest in their Tokyo selections, and certainly agree with a lot of what's been covered.

From wine bars to curry shops to Tokyo Midtown (more than once, even), they do seem be on top of things.

Quality of Life Index [Monocle]

When I wrote about the Sanya area of Tokyo earlier, I just covered the cheap lodging options. The area actually has more to offer, including great retro eateries (just go where people are waiting in line) and a terrific location (walking distance to Asakusa, and a short train ride to Akihabara — "Electric Town" — and Ueno station, which connects easily to Narita Airport). But if you're looking for just one recommendation, it would have to be to Cafe Bach (1-23-9 Nihon-Zutsumi, 03-3875-2669).

Despite its modest exterior, the cafe is a real standout. Boasting some of the best coffee in the city, they were the supplier of beans to one of the G7 summits during the Clinton years. Clinton himself, though not a coffee drinker, was even said to have proclaimed his love for the Bach coffee — and believe me, it really is that good. Well worth the trek, even if you're not staying in the area.

Cafe Bach [Official site]

[Photo: Jean Snow]

In general, I imagine most readers of this site probably do not fall into the backpacker/budget traveler category, but there may come a time when some of you would like to spend time in Tokyo without breaking the bank — or maybe with a priority on shopping and not lodging. If you have access to the NHK World network, this week's episode of their Tokyo Eye program includes a report by me on the Sanya area, located just north of Asakusa. Known for its numerous (more than 170) cheap hotels and the day-laborers who stay in them, recent years have seen Sanya focus on backpacker customers, with hotels and hostels catering to the super-budget traveler.

Some are more traditional — small tatami-mat rooms — and some look just like the youth hostels you'd find in Europe, but they all share one thing in common: rooms or bunks range from 1,5002500 yen, which is definitely not the sort of pricing you'd expect to see in this city (that's even cheaper than capsule hotels). Pictured above are the bikes available for rent (only 500 yen) from the New Koyo, one of the hostels featured in the report.

[Photo: Jean Snow]

My love for MUJI knows no bounds, which I'm sure pretty much anyone I know will quickly acknowledge once they spend a bit of time with me. Let's do a MUJI update then, this time in regards to major renovations that took place at the flagship store in Yurakucho, making this already must-see space even more attractive (if that's at all possible). First up, the introduction of a new "MUJI to Go" corner, which brings together all the MUJI travel goods you could ever need (and some you haven't yet realized you need).

The slightly pricier and more fashionable MUJI LABO line of clothes has also been expanded, occupying the main space as you enter the store. Lastly, a lot of moving things around resulted in the disappearance of the smallish, closed-in ATELIER MUJI gallery space, moving it to the large open area as you come off the escalators on the top floor (the current show is a presentation of their REAL FURNITURE line, which is only sold at the Tokyo Midtown branch). Let the MUJI mania commence.

MUJI Yurakucho [Official site]

[Photo: Jean Snow]

It's fair to say that a lot of visitors to the city would like to experience the beauty that is the Japanese garden, and now you can do it within the stylish confines of a new Nakameguro cafe. RAKURA (Court Modelia Nakameguro, 2-7-4 Kamimeguro, 03-5879-7021) really does care about its interior, nicely mixing concrete with the overwhelming greenery placed throughout, and the giant tree that greets you as you enter should quickly give you a good idea of the intended vibe. How much do they care about their plants? They actually sell some as well, so think of it as a new entry in the growing field of mixed-use Tokyo spaces — this time, flower shop/cafe.

RAKURA [Official site]

Gamers in the city have only one thing on their mind this week: the Tokyo Game Show. The gaming extravaganza, held every year at the Makuhari Messe convention center, is the place to experience the future of gaming — you get to try out unreleased games and sneak a peek at where the game industry is heading. Thursday and Friday are business/press only, but doors open to the public on the weekend (September 22-23). Even though lines to try out games are notoriously long (forget about trying out anything Final Fantasy-related if you don't have the patience for a two-hour queue), but don't let this stop you; just taking in the atmosphere is worth the trip, which includes massive screens throughout the center to preview plenty of gameplay action, and of course the cosplay contingent sporting the best game character costumes you'll ever see. Can't make it? Check out full show coverage on sibling site Kotaku, to which I will be contributing.

Tokyo Game Show [Official site]

The idea of mixing fashion and art spaces is not new — see last week's post on the Center for COSMIC WONDER — but it's a very welcome trend, and one that continues with the opening of Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama (6-3-3 Minami-Aoyama, 03-6418-5323). The first floor is where you'll find the retail — this is a store, after all — but the entire second floor is devoted to a gallery. Current shows include Hirofu ISO/Komainu's "Once Night Falls" on the first floor (until January 20) and Hiroki Tsukuda's "Doctrine" on the second floor (until November 18), this last one curated by NANZUKA UNDERGROUND, and part of Diesel Japan's Art Support Project.

Diesel Japan [Official site]

[Photo: CBCNET]

The latest must-see retail stop in Tokyo's Aoyama district? That would have to be the recently opened Center for COSMIC WONDER (5-18-10 Minami-Aoyama, 03-5774-6866), a shop/event space for the hip fashion brand. If you manage to find the place — it's down a small residential alleyway off Kotto street, so check the map on the Flash-based site — you'll be treated to an all-white exterior and interior that plays with the idea of presentation. All the clothes are hidden behind panels that you have to open yourself, sort of like checking out a friend's closet. The idea is to use the space for events as well, including film screenings and concerts, and other COSMIC WONDER-related projects.

COSMIC WONDER [Official site]

[Photo: Jean Snow]

Sometimes, just the act of traveling in style is enough to justify a costly flight, but until the end of the month you get the best of both worlds thanks to Starflyer. The very slick airline that debuted last year with only one route, between Tokyo's Haneda airport and their homebase of Kitakyushu, has just added a Tokyo-Osaka route. And to celebrate the launch, a one-way flight will only cost you 8,000 yen. So not only do you get to fly in one of the most stylish rides around, but you get to do so at a ridiculous price that even beats the trip by Shinkansen (Japan's bullet train). Get in on it while you can!

Starflyer [Official site]

If news of the Claska's impending demise has got you worried, keep in mind that Tokyo certainly isn't lacking in choice hotels, and the latest on the block is the Peninsula Tokyo (it just opened September 1). From humble (well, maybe not so humble) beginnings in Hong Kong back in 1928, the Peninsula has brought its brand of five-star luxury to a very select group of cities (next up is Shanghai, set for 2009). At the Tokyo branch, the 314 rooms and 47 suites — the Peninsula Suite will run you 850 000 yen, but if you're not that high a roller, rates do start at 60 000 — are accompanied by a range of restaurants, bars, ballrooms, and all the things you'd except to find at this level of service and lodging, with a view of the Imperial Palace grounds and Hibiya park that certainly won't hurt the property's chances for success.

Peninsula Tokyo Hotel [Official site]

Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro, one of Japan's beloved manga series telling the story of a friendly monster and his family, has gotten a big boost in popularity this year with the release of a live-action film and a new animated series on TV. Now you can get in on the action with the current retail/event space (until August 26) on the 9th floor of LOFT in Ikebukuro (occupying three floors at the top of the Seibu department store). More than just a corner selling themed merchandise — although of that there is plenty, including some great cans of juice, or rather, ahem, monster soup — they also have some large prints on display. One wall has panels from the original Shigeru Mizuki manga, and the other sports detailed dissection diagrams of the various characters from the series. Certainly worth the stop if you're otherwise in the area.

[Photo: Jean Snow]