Adam Coombes—Creative director and co-founder of Kloke, takes us on a through-the-lens-tour of Tokyo, Japan.
Mid-winter is our absolute sweet spot for hitting up Japan. The perfect break from the sweaty Melbourne summer back home—plus we get to catch up with our agent and hit reset.
Tokyo is ridiculous, just keeps on giving. So much happening everywhere you look. We bring the kids along and just wander around, checking out our usual spots and soaking up all the wild vibes. Our strategy is pretty relaxed—just pick two destinations per day and then get properly lost in between. That's when you stumble on all the random gems you'd never find otherwise.
The light and colour in Japan is its own whole thing. Winter mornings are magic—get up early when the light's still low and nobody's around. Then there's that golden hour when the sun's about to dip and all those glowing street lights are just starting to do their thing. Can't beat it.
Eating in Tokyo delivers the goods. Ramen, Okonomiyaki, Tonkatsu, Sushi, Tempura, Soba, Yakitori, Curry, Gyoza, Yakiniku, Tsukemen … you'll run out of days before you run out of options. Duck down some random alley, follow the train line, push through a wooden door, hang a left, take the elevator to the 25th floor. Or just hit up a convenience store.
Get to your local konbini for emergency hits: DIY 100% fruit smoothies at Seven Eleven, Muji Baumkuchen at Family Mart, and onigiri for breakfast. Don't sleep on the egg sandwiches—seriously life-changing. Amy's pro tip—nothing hits quite like a Strong Zero 9% after a day out—konbini tallboy of doom.
Tokyo bakeries go hard. We like to roll out early before the crowds and find somewhere close to our base, but if you want to make a special trip, we visited some bangers from Julia Busuttil Nishimura's guide, Parklet Bakery and Bricolage Bread & Co. Most cafes don't open until 11 am here … took us a few days to figure that one out. Early risers, plan accordingly.
Tokyo retail is like nowhere else—here today, legendary tomorrow, gone the day after, so hit these while they're still around:
N-id Women Shibuya
Dover Street Market Ginza 6 Chome-9-5 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan. Pro tip: Head to the top floor for coffee and cake when you need a breather.
D&D Department Store Cool store in a suburb you'd never otherwise visit on a short stay, worth the trek. 〒158-0083 8-3-2 Okusawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Rural Mansion 2F. Pro tip: there’s a decent cafe underneath.
1LDK Two stores that stock Kloke right across from each other, plus a cafe with solid food.
Lemaire Tokyo Flagship
Cosmic Wonder Aoyama
Graphpaper 5 Chome-36-6 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001.
Tokyu Hands Love it or hate it, Tokyu Hands is here to stay. Go and get lost on floor after floor of literally everything you never knew you needed.
Check out a complete list of our favourite Japan Kloke stockists here.
Special mention: RIP to Pool in Aoyama, that wild concept store with an actual empty pool and a florist that only existed for three years.
If you like a synth, make the pilgrimage to Five G Music in Harajuku. Gear paradise. If you're partial to a strum, after you're done at Five G, walk over the road and hit the four levels of guitar paradise at Fender.
Pro tip: The North Face is just better in Japan. Hit up their Omotesando store for last-minute cold weather emergencies. Or their Hakuba shop right across from Snow Peak, both have the goods.
Need a shopping reprieve? Walk through Meiji Shrine for some forest bathing in the middle of the city, or check out the temples in Yanaka's ‘Cat Town’. While you're there, visit our friends at Cibi who are always delivering for a late breakfast or early lunch.
When it comes to art and design, Tokyo punches hard. We had our minds blown at the Louise Bourgeois retrospective at MORI Art Museum, with bonus points for the Tokyo City view where you can just stand there like, ‘damn, this city never ends’.
Some other spots we loved:
TeamLab A digital wonderland.
The National Art Centre Rotating exhibitions in a stunning building.
The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo A solid collection, always worth it.
21_21 Design Sight
YAYOI KUSAMA Museum All hail the queen.
Taka Ishii Gallery Consistently good shows.
Perrotin Tokyo International heavy-hitters.
If you're venturing beyond Tokyo, Naoshima Art Island is it's own thing.
For a short stay, our favourite neighbourhoods not to be missed are Aoyama, Naka Meguro, Ebisu, Tanaka & Shimo Kitisawa.
Going further than the bright lights is easy when there is so much to offer beyond Tokyo. We're obsessed Studio Ghibli nerds, and we booked museum tickets only to show up at completely the wrong location and miss our slot. Absolute heartbreak. Don't be us—double-check that address!
