Reading my copy of Monocle on my orange flight back from Berlin I felt a bit nostalgic of Tokyo. I’ve traveled to Tokyo a few times but only for business so far. It’s always very challenging (the time difference, the jet lag, the endless working hours in order to maximize value for flight) but I love it.
Even looking at language programs on the japanese TV late at night trying desperately to find sleep has its fascination. Or stepping out of the bed at 3 am and reaching the nearest Lawsons convenience store for carbs, diving in the velvety silence of the Hanzomon streets.
What I love about Tokyo is the furniture and the music stores. Excellent service means one can listen calmly to all sorts of CDs in pleasant stores, which do not look like supermarkets. Be it japanese groups or bossa nova…Brazil is big in Tokyo.
One of my favourite CDs actually comes from a furniture shop, editing its own music compilations, featuring groups such as The Juju Orchestra (with the beautiful Nao Posso Demorar or What is Hip?).
Japanese groups are the real discovery and it’s a pleasure to receive an enjouee’ complicity look by the record shop owner at Spiral Records when I ask if there’s anything new on the rack by Sly Mongoose or Cro Magnon …
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