My 48 hours in Tokyo: fashion designer Limi Yamamoto shares some of her favourite haunts
Fashion designer Limi Yamamoto is brutally honest about her relationship with Tokyo. At first, she insists it's just a place of work to her. "It's very convenient, but commercialised and congested.
Her father is the master dressmaker and fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, but her label, Limi Feu, which is approaching its 15th anniversary, is very much her own creation.
At first sight you have to agree with Limi: Tokyo comes alive at night as a neon playground, the exciting advertising contrasts with the pendant lanterns of small restaurants and bars. During the day it's very much a concrete conurbation. It took until 2012 when the Skytree opened for it to have an internationally recognisable tall building, which means unlike Hong Kong or Shanghai there are few tall landmarks to help a tourist navigate their way around. Instead, because of the city's rather challenging address and building numbering system, you need to acclimatise to Tokyo's street level details and its low-level sights — and tastes.
One thing you learn quickly about Tokyo is the high standard of food — it has more Michelin restaurants than any other city — but even when you order a simple fresh pastry or salad you'll find it excellently prepared and packaged.
Limi recommends two classic Tokyo culinary establishments — both cafes, which locals love; they seem to be the focus of eating and socialising in the city, more so than restaurants and bars.
The Toraya Cafe in Aoyama is a 30-seat place next to Aoyama-itchome station. "This place is a traditional Japanese sweet shop with a 500-year history. I adore their shaved ice desserts." These kakigori are tea or fruit flavoured ice shavings that are usually served with soya milk and red bean paste. "They cost 1,200 yen (HK$90) and are only available in the summer."
Her second recommendation is a popular corner of Paris in the city: "Everything in Aux Bacchanales in Akasaka is French: furniture, interiors, food — and the people."
Aoyama itself and the neighbourhood of Omotesando is also a great place for spending an afternoon strolling and people watching. It's Tokyo's high-fashion area with flagship stores including Prada, Tod's and 10 Corso Como. For highstreet fashion head to Shibuya where you'll find the likes of Opening Ceremony, United Arrows and 109.
Half an hour's walk from Shibuya station, you'll find the neighbourhood of Daikanyama, with its interesting boutique and bar scene. It's where Limi chose to site her Limi Feu flagship store, down a narrow winding road next to a train line. "I chose Daikanyama because I prefer quieter and more hidden places. There are many alleys to walk down and discover interesting shops such as AQUVII, which carries vintage clothes, arts and imported gifts from Europe. It is a lot of fun to shop there, and I wanted my customers to have a little difficulty finding our store. I didn't put up any signage and there is no logo on our shopping bags," she says. The only clue is a large cut-out 'L' in the shop's wooden door.
The interior feels like an apartment: "Yes, that is intentional," she says. "There's a Cassini sofa which used to be in my home."
Strolling around Daikanyama it's easy to see why someone who searches hard to find the softer edges of this city would chose this area. It's noticeably more relaxed, and a great area to spend an afternoon shopping.
A short walk from her store you'll find CA4LA (pronounced ka-shi-la), one of a small chain of hat stores selling baseball caps, beautiful top hats and a dressy millinery for women. Nearby is Tsutaya T-Site, arguably Tokyo's best fashion and cultural bookstore. It has a relaxed ground-floor cafe, a great upstairs bar, and thousands of books with plenty of space for a quiet read.
From cavernous nightclubs to hole-in-the wall dens and the irrepressible izakayas, Tokyo offers a nightlife for all tastes. Limi has a definite rock'n'roll preference and two of her regular places are in the main entertainment areas: "My favourite places are Train Bar in Roppongi, which is run by a nice Indian man. It's full of people from all over the world enjoying the rock and heavy metal music.
"Then there's Tombstone Bar in Shibuya. This is a kind of secretive place for famous people, the music is rock and punk. It's a great little bar."
So where can one escape the concrete jungle and crowds? Limi walks her dog in Arisugawa Park near Hiroo, but her main place of refuge is the Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine. "It is located right next to Harajuku, which is a noisy and commercialised shopping district. But once you step inside the shrine's grounds you see lots of trees, there's clean air and silence plus you can see blue sky without any urban distractions. It's soothing and somewhat spiritual."
Alternatively, she suggests the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Shinagawa. "It's a modern art museum away from the centre of Shinagawa, which makes it a little more special. It is very quiet, and has a beautiful garden."
