yesterday

with B at Lion
(apologies for my crappy photoshop skillz. i don't get how you can scan something on the same machine, on the same setting, within one minute of the other, and get two different shades like this. pros?)

Sakuragaoka Café

Here's a laid-back lounge in Shibuya’s backyard. 

I like this spot for a coffee and a some quality time with my laptop.

Peep the Nihon-ga.

Just a few minutes away from the hugger mugger of Hachiko Crossing, you'd swear Sakuragaoka Café was in a different world, or at least a different station. This spacious, mellow lounge filled with soft lighting and low-slung couches that invite you to linger longer doesn't feel like Shibuya. More like Seattle.

Rum and cherry coke, caramel latte, or a coconut curry. The staff will loan you a LAN cable.

Open until the wee hours. Shall we have a drink in Udagawacho?

frenchy

Well, I meant to submit this to a website but someone beat me to it.

I had a lovely date a couple of weeks ago with a great girl, and she seems to know all the good Gallic spots in town.

Viron is a boulangerie and patisserie in Shibuya, and though I didn't get to try the downstairs bakery, I can attest that the wine and dessert bar upstairs is very good.

Nice coffee.

Pretty atmosphere, open late-ish. Curiously, they don't seem to have a website, but you can check the CNN link for information.

We'll always have Shit Axe.

I went to karaoke in Shibuya.
I didn't mean to, but I met up with an out-of-towner at an izakaya there and when I mentioned karaoke, his eyes lit up. He really wanted to go.
And Shidax was right down the street. (Aside: what are they trying to get at with this name? Another friend complained that their branding is bad because unless you know what it is, you have no idea what it is.) As it happened, out-of-towner is an architect, and one of his co-workers designed the first floor of the building, affectionately called Shit Axe by architect and co-architect. Actually, it's a monstrosity, which they freely admit.
Shit Axe had the best slogans printed on the walls of the rooms. And now it will forevermore be known by me as Shit Axe, where the Sloth Floats while the lazy oar plies harder.

easy like sunday morning

D. and C. came over for our first Japan Sunday brunch. It was so nice that I hope to make it a much more regular occurrence in the future - brunch is just not a concept here. I tried my hand at my first tofu quiche, first tasted at D. and M.'s post-wedding brunch last year. It was so good that I bought the cookbook that the recipe is in, Vegan Vittles, but hadn't gotten around to making it until this last Sunday. Excellent! Rave results all around, and very easy to make. I. also whipped up some tasty blueberry pancakes and roasted potatoes.

After we watched H's videos and then trooped off to Shibuya to see Iron & Wine's free in-store appearance at Tower Records. They were lovely, much lower-fi and less rock than the show the night before. Lots more intimate. All in all a super day.

a night of rock

Went to see Iron & Wine with Calexico at Club Quattro in Shibuya. It was quite expensive, but I&W is all I've been listening to this year, so I was eager to go, and besides, it was my birthday.

Arrived at CQ in hectic 'Buya, and went up to the club on the 4th floor of a Parco building. It's kind of weird to go to a show in a department store, passing displays of golf clubs and rock tees, but well. We went in to front, stashed our stuff in the thoughtfully provided bank of lockers, and went into the dark smoky club. The usual mid-sized rock venue. It had been awhile since I had been to a show like that.

I&W started promptly, just Sam on his guitar and his sister Sarah singing backup. Very nice, they played several old songs and a few new ones. Sam Beam is a poet. I mean that in the most complimentary sense. As the new songs came out I was hanging on to each verse, watching the lyrics form.

Calexico came out and I really enjoyed them. I was surprised, because I hadn't cared that much for them on the radio, but they were good solid rock, and impressive in all their instruments and music nerdery - they had a couple of trumpets, an accordian, a stand up bass, the usual guitars and drums, a harmonica, a lap steel guitar, and some kind of xylophone. No wonder the show was spendy - hauling all that shit had to be insane! They are, as their name implies, a mix of American and Mexican-influenced music, with tones of indie, mariachi, Chris Isaak crooning, and the desert. They had some good imagery and the token Chicano guy played some mean horn and sang in Spanish. They also did a shout out to Mano Negra, singing "cuando llegare", which can't hurt things. I&W came on stage to sing with them from their album "In the Reins" that they did collaboratively.

Over all, I really enjoyed it, though I&W was a bit amped up, more "rock" than on their albums. They made up for it the next day, though.