Tokyo Day 3: Tricky Travel

Tricky traveling today; used obscure (to me) private train/subway line--I've never been in this area of town.  The ride seemed a little long so I assumed we were going to the suburbs--whatever that means in Tokyo's urban sprawl.

Azabu-Juban station was deep underground.  We guessed we rode up 10 flights of escalators to get to the street level.
This neighborhood was a delightful surprise after two days in central Tokyo.  I even found K's Hair Salon branch on AJ street.  The ambience of Azabu-Juban (AJ) is a combination of Europe and Japan.  The streets are narrow cobblestones.  I think Europeans must have settled here at one time in the past.  Today many of the old buildings have been remodeled to house shops and restaurants.  AJ is old money; a nice blend of East and West.  Noticed larger models of cars-Jaguars, Mercedes, and even a Bentley.

We went to AJ in search of Amy Katoh's "Blue and White" shop, a famous indigo shop.  By a fortuitous wrong turn, we ended up finding Asa no Ha, tenugui shop which Susan says may be better than Fujiya in Asakusa. 

I got some nice cool summer patterns for the dining room.  Found a 100 yen store and had lunch at Windsor Cafe.                                                 It was frustrating getting directions to Blue and White  from various people.  Being sent in several different directions, we finally found the shop up a hill and around a corner, next to the Peacock Market; one block from the station at which we first arrived!  Blue and White may have been anti-climatic because we found the other tenugui shop first.  Blue and White is a short 4 minute walk from the subway station, up a meandering hill--if you can find this street in a city without street signs and addresses.

AJ reminds me of Capitol Hill in Seattle.  Narrow streets with cute, fun boutiques and many coffee shops built on a hilly slope.  Ballard also comes to mind.  And even Paris--the sidewalk cafes where one can sit on a drizzly day and people-watch.

By the way, the rain signals the beginning of the season called "Tsuyu", a warm rainy span preceding full summer.  This rain is a warm shower that only adds to the humid still air.  The subway is the only escape.  Most shops and cafes are not air-conditioned or are abiding by the government's request to lower electricity use during the summer of high demand.

Kahala mall could also be used to describe AJ.  We saw the beginnings of the "green foods" trend and even juicing for health and one natural foods store.  Smelled just like entering Whole Foods and Umeke Market.  Many of the same American products lined the shelves.