Tokyo! Day #1

 [So I’m a bit behind with the blogging due to problems with internet access since arriving in Tokyo on Thursday night, but I have also had trouble finding time to post because… well, I’ll let the pictures do a bit of the talking. I’m backdating posts to correspond with the day that I did things, otherwise it gets confusing. The pic above is, of course, not Tokyo, but probably somewhere over Guam… not being great with geography, I’m not exactly sure, but it’s pretty!.]

I started getting reacquainted with my adopted home town today with a stroll along Cat Street (no, not just because I’m a crazy cat lady! Cat Street has heaps of little shops along it and it is one of the back ways to get from Harajuku to Shibuya). Loved this idea for a pom pom chandelier, from the window in Another Edition.

Blatant advertising for a certain beer company… but loved the old-school caravan and outdoor cafe set-up…

Bottles saying “Think!” (instead of “Drink!”?) at a shoe shop by the same name (Think!).

And yes, I was in Tokyo, but one of the things I love about the city is stumbling on little places like Dar Fatima where you can be instantly transported to somewhere else – although with a fair bit of Japanese influence. This could pretty easily be somewhere in Morocco…

 With the sun shining and all the exotic colourful goods in the store, I could easily have been in some souk in Marrakesh!

 Towels WITH TASSELS.

 I have one word for you. TASSELS.

I can’t remember what these are but I think they are for washing dishes… they’d certainly make housework more fun!!

 Pens… with TASSELS.

 Silver candle pot things… and yes… they do happen to have tassels…

There is a little cafe in the shop too which serves things like Moroccan mint tea. I love the simple decorations – pressed silver lampshades, half-coloured walls, black and white photos, embroidered cushions… 

 The shop assistant was lovely and we kind of bonded over a mutual love of… yes… tassels… her headscarf had lots of colourful ones attached to the edge, inspired by the traditional headwear that Moroccan embroiderers used to wear.

 If you’re in Tokyo and wanting a break from, well, Tokyo, without leaving the city, Dar Fatima offers a nice little respite! There are two branches, but this one is off Cat Street, at 5-11-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Just look out for the donkey! 

… but by that stage my feet were somewhat weary and I went to meet up with friends from Vogue for dinner at one of the restaurants in Hikarie, a newish building next to Shibuya station.

 Here’s the obligatory foodie shot! Teppanyaki with stone dishes full of asparagus, mushrooms, yakisoba and okonomiyaki… yum! It was a good way to start off what will no doubt be a fairly food-focused holiday!

木曜日に日本に帰ってきました！４年ぶりの日本ですが、思ったより変わっていないからびっくりしました。一日目には原宿から渋谷までキャットストリートを歩いたけど、途中でDar Fatima というかわいいモロッコグッズのショップ・カフェを見つけて、たくさんの写真を撮ってしまいました（店員さんがすごくかわいくてフレンドリーな方で、お互いタッセルが大好きだからそれでちょっと盛り上がっちゃいました　笑）。機会があれば是非行ってみてくださいね！そしてディナーはヴォーグニッポン時代からの友達とヒカリエのビルにある鉄板焼き屋さんに行きました。「日本は安くておいしいね、やっぱり！」と思いました。。。これからの外食も楽しみです！