Exploring the Kuramae area, Tokyo's Brooklyn. Visiting the stationery store "Kakimori" and visiting cafes.
//Summary - Level-B2//
Kuramae, often called Tokyo’s Brooklyn, blends traditional craft with modern creativity. Located near the river, it offers renovated warehouses, cosy cafés and artisan shops. Start your visit at Kuramae Station and enjoy handmade goods and baked treats at CAMERA. Explore the Button Museum to discover global history through beautiful antique buttons and even join a workshop. Relax by the Sumida River with views of the Skytree. Finish your trip at Kakimori, where you can design your own personalised notebook. Kuramae reflects the harmony of old and new craftsmanship.
A)
The Kuramae area is a place where artisans and shops coexist in harmony, and the culture of craftsmanship has flourished here for a long time.
As well as traditional stores, there is also a growing number of contemporary establishments, such as cafés and general stores that have been renovated from warehouses, making it an increasingly enjoyable place to stroll around.
Located along the river, the area bears many similarities with Brooklyn in New York City, a place known for attracting creative individuals, and it has recently been referred to as 'Tokyo's Brooklyn'. We'll share some detour tips as we walk through the Kuramae area.
B)
Start your detour journey at Kuramae Station:
Take the subway from JR Tokyo Station, which is about 20 minutes away. Lined with wholesalers, workshops and shops, the Kuramae area is home to many stores where you can purchase products reflecting the passion of their makers, as well as offering numerous opportunities to try crafting something yourself.
C)
Enjoy a cosy lunch at a café attached to a general store:
First, head to 'CAMERA', located along Kokusai Street, about a five-minute walk from the station. This shop combines a café serving baked goods from the original "CAMERA BAKE" bakery brand with a sales space for the original "numeri" leather goods brand.
D)
You can drop in to browse handmade leather goods such as bags and wallets, or enjoy a chat over freshly baked goods baked in-house daily. The shop's name, CAMERA, means 'little room' in Latin and was chosen in the hope of creating a space where people with different purposes could come and go and intersect, like a 'room'.
E)
Button Museum:
A museum that unravels world history through buttons.
Next, take a short walk to visit the Button Museum, which is about 25 minutes away from CAMERA. Run by Iris Co., Ltd., a major manufacturer of clothing materials, this museum's permanent exhibition is dedicated entirely to buttons.
F)
This museum collects domestic and international documents and literature related to buttons. It exhibits around 5,000 buttons and 2,000 buckles from all over the world, each with its own story.
Around 1,600 of these items are on display under the supervision of Loïc Alliot, one of the world's leading researchers of antique buttons. Visitors can enjoy spending time unravelling the cultural history of Japan and the rest of the world as told through buttons.
The exhibition has three sessions per day and requires reservations, allowing you to enjoy the exhibition in a relaxed atmosphere with a small group and avoid crowds.
G)
An installation of sparkling buttons hanging from the ceiling greets you at the entrance to the museum building. Depending on the angle, the buttons reveal different expressions, delighting visitors. Take the lift to the second floor, where the museum reception is located.
H)
This is the only place where you can trace the history of buttons through the ages. Highlights include the 'fibula', an ancient Roman fastener said to be the origin of buttons; the 'Enamel Buttons of the Revolution', created to commemorate the victory of the French Revolution; and the 'Combined Buttons', made during the fashion boom of the 1960s when attaching high-quality buttons to custom-made women's clothing became popular.
Combined buttons are aesthetically pleasing buttons that combine various plastics with materials such as string, metal and beads.
I)
Also worth seeing are the 'Satsuma buttons', which were made in Japan by the Satsuma Domain in the late Edo period. Made using Satsuma ware techniques, these buttons were exhibited at the Paris World Exposition at the end of the Edo period and began to be exported to Europe. At that time, a Japanese art boom (Japonism) was taking place in Europe, and the buttons were very well received.
J)
'Hunting buttons', which feature motifs of hunting equipment and prey, were popular among hunting clubs in Europe and America during the 18th and 19th centuries. This particular button is especially eye-catching.
K)
This hunting button was crafted using the 'reverse intaglio' technique, whereby a hemispherical piece of transparent glass was carved from the back, and the bottom of the recess was painted.
This creates the appearance of a three-dimensional fox face floating in the glass when viewed from the front. It is said that aristocrats used these buttons, commissioning their skilled carvers to craft them, to display their status.
After admiring the buttons, you can experience what it was like to live in the past by participating in one of the museum's workshops. One of these (fees apply; no reservations required) allows you to customise your own 'covered button' using your favourite patterned fabric and fasteners, and finish it off with the same specialised tools used by professionals. It only takes about 10 minutes to create your original button. Anyone, from children to adults, can easily take part, and these unique buttons make the perfect souvenir.
L)
Sumida Riverside:
Relax on the calm, green Sumida River:
After visiting the Peony Museum, take a one-minute walk to the river. A beloved canal since the Edo period, this river is an essential spot in the Kuramae area and a place to relax.
M)
As you stroll along the riverside promenade, surrounded by water and greenery, you can admire impressive bridges such as the Umayabashi, Komagatabashi and Azumabashi bridges, as well as charming houseboats. Other highlights include the impressive Tokyo Skytree and the 'Flame Object' on top of the Asahi Group Hall building.
O)
Dandelion Chocolate Factory & Café Kuramae:
Encounter chocolate with a touch of craftsmanship.
On day two, we visited the Dandelion Chocolate Factory & Café in Kuramae, a renovated 60-year-old warehouse located about a three-minute walk from Kuramae Station.
The staff personally visit cacao farms in over ten countries to source ingredients, and all processes — from sorting and roasting to grinding, tempering and moulding — are carried out in-house. Originally from San Francisco, the store's arrival in Kuramae is said to have raised awareness of the town.
P)
Dandelion Chocolate is unique in that it uses only single-origin cacao beans from a single farm and variety, along with cane sugar, to allow the purest cacao flavour. Using distinct cacao beans and a unique roasting process brings out the unique flavours and nuances of each bean.
Q)
Kakimori: Create your personalised notebook at this stationery store:
After enjoying a meal at Dandelion Chocolate Factory & Café Kuramae, take a 10-minute walk to this unique store, which is exclusive to the area.
R)
Opened in 2010 as a place to inspire writing, Kakimori has become a landmark in the Kuramae area. It offers a selection of timeless stationery to inspire your writing. It's a fun place where customers can design their stationery, such as custom ink and notebooks.
The store's motto is to nurture the seeds of "joyful writers" and spread them throughout the world, conveying the richness of communicating and sharing thoughts through writing.
S)
When you visit, be sure to try making your custom notebook by combining the cover, back cover, paper inserts, rings and clasps to create your personalised notebook.
First, decide on the size of the notebook (B5 or B6), then choose the cover, back cover, and inner paper. You can also select the colour of the rings and fasteners, such as the rubber band, seal, and button.
T)
Then, within 30 minutes to an hour, your unique notebook will be ready. I opted for a cover featuring a hand-drawn design. A carefully handcrafted notebook has a distinctive, tasteful appearance that makes you feel even more attached to it.
U)
During the Edo period, Kuramae was a place where artisans who made Buddhist altar fittings and silverware gathered to rebuild temples and shrines that had been destroyed in the Meireki fire.
Eventually, wholesalers who purchased goods from these artisans for resale emerged, and a wholesale district for toys and miscellaneous goods was formed. This district is still popular today.
This time, we have introduced some special shops that have brought a new sensibility to this town. Experience the joy of a "manufacturing town" where the old and the new intertwine.
Exploring the Kuramae area, Tokyo's Brooklyn. Visiting the stationery store "Kakimori" and visiting cafes.
https://www.viewtabi.jp/articles/23050901
Add info)
Reiko Mitsuboshi Solo Exhibition "Singing Bears and Prayer"
https://frobergue.storeinfo.jp/posts/57139079?categoryIds=63803
mitsuboart
https://www.instagram.com/mitsuboart/?hl=ja
@mitsuboart
