Shimo-Kitazawa is a delightful area in Tokyo that is laid back and filled with sweet stores and dog friendly places. This is the place where the young Tokyoites most want to live. It has great cafes, restaurants,and music venues.
One of the attractions to Shimokita is that it has a lot of small streets and alleys where cars can't go and only small mom and pop shops line the streets, so walking around can be a real adventure.
tiny izakaya:
A favorite store of mine is Marble Sud, it's a small boutique shop carrying beautiful apparel and accessories. I got a pair of lovely wool fair isle fingerless arm warmers, and sweet mushroom key chain there, plus great pin buttons. There are also lots of vintage stores, selling from furniture, housewares, clothing, toys and lots of records. You'll be amazed that you can find some real amazing stuff for decent prices.
One of the many small store, cafe, and bar filled streets:
Another great place was a vintage store, unfortunately I can't find the business card,but it's filled with wall to wall furniture, housewares, toys and just everything you want from the 50's, 60's and 70's. I found I great Japanese ceramic dog from the 50's and my partner found a beautiful Japanese Blenko style blown glass bottle also from the same era. They owner is super cool guy.
A great way to take a break in the afternoon after weaving through all the streets is heading over to Bubbles/Cookie Lab, dog cafe for a snack, coffee, and doggy watching. This cafe is for people and their pooches, dogs are allowed inside the cafe and there is also a really nice outdoor area where you can watch the overly obsessed poodle owners pose their puffy pooches and snap away with their cameras. Next door is their grooming shop where you can look in at the pups getting primped, it's kinda sad to watch.
The train to Shimo-kitazawa
Outside the station:
Dog Cafe
Getting there: From Shinjuku Station take the Local Odakyu line to Shimo-Kitazawa station, it's two stops.
Marble Sud:
2-27-11 Kitazawa
Setagaya-ku
Tokyo, Japan 155-0031
phone# 03-3481-6001
Cookie Lab Dog Cafe:
D*O*G BLD. 2-38-Kitazawa
Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0031
phone#03-3460-1139
Videos I took of Shimokitazawa:
Streets and stores:
Dog Cafe:
Cafes and stores:
***While writing this I just found out the Japanese Government has been planning on putting a large expressway through this lovely little neighborhood, please read more here and sign the petition to stop another neighborhood devastation.
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