Saturday October 24, 2009
Roppongi Hills and Daikanyama, Japan
Cloudy, Gray and feeling that chill that comes with Fall
Last weekend, my cousin and I went to the SuperNeedle trunk show and also decided to explore Daikanyama.
SuperNeedle is a very unique jewelry line designed by two Japanese artists. The name of the line is horrible but the designers are so talented that their jewelry was displayed at the Victoria and Albert museum in London. We accidentally discovered the line while exploring Roppongi Hills a few weeks ago. Estination - a chi-chi store in Roppongi Hills carries the line and the sales lady invited us to the trunk show. The jewelry is handmade using crochet techniques and beading. The beading is so intricate and complex that it makes very unique jewelry. I was going to just buy a brooch but I ended up also getting 2 brooches and a necklace! Because each piece is unique and everything is hand made it is quite expensive. The 3 pieces cost me a bit over 1000 USD. Oh well, it is a goodbye gift to myself and I deserve it (well, that's what I keep telling myself to justify the expense :)). The website of SuperNeedle is under construction but can be found here. Isetan Shinjuku and Hankyu in Osaka also carry the line but Estination carries the most selection. They are quite unique and beautiful.
My SuperNeedle Jewelry
We then headed to Daikanyama which is a Soho NYC like neighborhood with small art galleries and unique boutiques. It is quite a lovely neighborhood with many cafes, trendy restaurants and of course, the only outpost of the Michelin 3 star restaurant Paul Bocuse outside Lyon, France. And they serve his signature dishes including Truffle Soup VGE and the Sea Bass cooked in puff pastry with lobster mousse (it will only set you back 10,000yen though). I'll have to go there for lunch and report on it.
We stopped by some interesting stores but I only ended up buying some holiday cards and a bottle of Italian wine as there was an Italian gourmet store. It started to get cold and rainy, so we called it a day around 5pm and headed back home. We agreed to go there again and try Paul Bocuse but only for lunch though as dinner is EXPENSIVE!! But then again, it will be cheaper to try it in Japan than flying to Lyon....Hmmm.
A lovely textile store.
It seems many families live in Daikanyama as we ran into a lot of families with kids which is rare in Japan where there is negative population growth.
The patio of Maison Paul Bocuse
An interesting store
A modern designer boutique inside a traditional Japanese store.
A very cool hat shop by the train station.
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