What kind of café do you prefer to hop on? I prefer a place where I could unwind my mind, forget the worries of the external world and spend an exhilarating time. In one such hunt of a calming place on one cold night in Tokyo I bumped into a café, about which I am describing ahead. Image credit : Japan travel Tucked away in between dazzling shops and cafes in one of the many narrow lanes of Shimokitazawa lies an underlit small room. A big glass facing the road and a tilted wooden door often shut that gives signs of yielding is the only view one can get from the lane. Wait! maybe you can get more. The big transparent glass reveals an entire inside of the café’s area. The casual stretched-out position in which people are sitting inside low-lying tools will never appeal to an outsider. But, If the books can not be judged by their cover, so a café should not be judged by its interior. Welcome to Shisha Café, Shimokitazawa. A small room which nowhere fits into the idea of a caf...
What Shibuya is to Tokyo, Shimokitazawa is to Setagaya-Ku. Setagaya-Ku or Setagaya Special ward is one of the 23 special wards (Ku in Japanese) of central Tokyo area. Shibuya is often referred as the throbbing place of younger generation of Tokyo. In that sense, Shimokitazawa is a relatively very small market area within Setagaya-Ku but has a similar fondness among younger lots. Located on interchange point b/w Odakyu Odawara line and Keio Inokashira line, it is the third station from Shibuya on Keio Inokashira line. From Karaoke bars to Dance clubs, from shops of artefacts to souvenirs, From McDonald to mouthwatering Sushi cafes to smoking bakeries you can find everything here. Be it any time of the day, the shops are busy serving the customers of all age group. The buildings are not competing against other to touch the sky and thus the sky space is clear and visually appealing, unlike Shibuya. Significantly cheaper and a laid-back market with no hustle and hurry it is a pl...