milk hall kamakura

Wave first showed me this place a few years ago. She brought her bike, because she is a local. It's in an alley, and if you are a tourist you probably wouldn't find it.

Outside Milk Hall in the alley. Photo by Nami.

I came again with N a year or so later, but it was under renovation. There was a tiny corner open for business, with a handkerchief bar. We ate ice cream, they played records.

From their website

Matt and I have met here for coffee a couple of years in a row. It's dark wood and glass, a kissaten juke joint. It's moody and varnished and they have good taste in music. Milk Hall Kamakura.

cafe shozo nasu

   

We decided to make the trip up to Nasu to see Matt's show there and I'm so glad we did.

Pulling into the town on a crispy fall evening, we found a warmly lit cafe with a rustic clothing shop below. Glass jars of coffee beans gleamed on the shelves next to packets of handmade shortbread biscuits. Once upstairs, we chose a corner table next to a heater in the yellow glow, with pretty lamps and stylish clientele scattered around. The Wien coffee and cake set was delicious.

When it came time for the doors to open, we made our way next door and up the narrow staircase to the venue. A bar was positioned in the back, serving drinks and hot soup and a few other nums. Mismatched chairs lined the area in front of the stage, which was lit by dozens of candles.

This country is filled with the most beautiful of little shops and cafes in the unlikeliest of places. Cafe Shozo in Nasu. 

fleas abound

At our flea market booth at the Koenji festival, we met many dog friends who were happy to snack on the rawhide Crunchkins greeting cards that were our stand's special omake.

bar derek and the dominoes

On a small shotengai leading from Shin Maruko station in Kawasaki there is a tiny roots bar called Derek and the Dominoes.

It's small and dark and offers many kinds of whisky and frequent live music, specializing in artists and styles from the U.S. American South.

I saw my friend Matt there this time and Scrappy Jud Newcomb three years ago. You can find the coolest stuff in the unlikeliest and most unassuming of places.

Sorry I'm late

The station masters give out these little cards when the train is significantly delayed (more than a few minutes) so you can give them to your boss or fuming boyfriend to prove you're not lying about the train being late.

Delayed train certificate