I have always considered Tokyo the style mecca not only of Japan, but for all of Asia. The moment you step into the airport in this cosmopolitan city, you know you have reached a destination where Good Taste is a national passtime. At the moment, there is a trend towards lots and lots of long layers: belted shirts over lace trimmed leggings, empire waisted dresses with tall, spike-heeled boots. Jewelry was long necklaces, dainty earrings. Hair is long, loose and messy. Silver, gold, bronze and copper metallics reign in over-sized handbags.
In Japan, while young men and women often wear tight-fitting clothes, I was struck by the fact they do not show as much skin–no plunging necklines and bare midriffs.
And definitely not nearly as many tattoos as what we see in the US or Europe!
The first night I arrived, Chiemi and I dined at a a place called Hajime. My nickname for it was the secret restaurant because it was nearly impossible to find unless you were a local! Off the main streets, we wound through narrow alleys and down flights of narrow stairs to find the hidden entrance to the underground restaurant. Several years ago Wallpaper* magazine posted an article when it opened, crediting it for its sleek black and white minimalist interior. 500 sq. feet contained a bar with 12 stools, the kitchen and one booth where Chiemi and I enjoyed Japanese tapas and a really good white wine.
Fall 2007 in Tokyo showing purple and dark blue to be the Number 1 fashion color in Tokyo. From the Ginza to Roppongi, we saw shades of purple in Franc Franc, Beams department store, Wako on the Ginza and in the store fronts at Gaultier.
My second night in Tokyo, Chiemi took me to the beach house she and her husband recently purchased in the bay area south of Tokyo. This two-tiered house sits upon a windy hillside, overlooking a wild, undeveloped forest valley. The sound of wind, birds and insects filled the air as we toured the spacious villa.
I was impressed as I always am, by how multi-culti our homes, fashions and lives have become. Although in this house there are rooms with sliding shoji-screen paper walls and traditional tatami floor coverings, there is also an international cocktail of deco products: Colorful textured paint comes from the US. Hand-made Farrow and Ball wallpapers come from the UK. Furniture from Ikea has been designed in Sweden. That evening we eat cheese from Italy and drink wine from France while I listened to the sing-song cadence of the Japanese language. Later people went outside to sit in the hot tub and look at the stars (we were far enough from the night lights of Tokyo to see them!). For as far from home as I was, the whole experience felt familiar.
In an earlier post there is an interview with Reiko and Akiko, owners of Cafe 8 and Pure Cafe in Tokyo. I was lucky enough to have dinner with them one night, and sample some of the best vegan food in Japan. Check out the tiniest tomatoes I’ve ever seen–the size of peas, I swear! The size did nothing to minimize the taste. Another testament to the Japanese love of miniature things…
