What Did I Buy in Tokyo: 2024 Edition

I’ve been documenting the things I purchase in Japan for almost 20 years, and it’s really cool to see how my tastes have changed as I’ve grown up.

Back in 2008, when I went on a big tour of the whole country, it was a lot of keychains, clothes, beauty products, magazines, and Starbucks tumblers.

My trip in 2017 was different: I still bought magazines, beauty products, and clothes, but the magazines were coffee mags, not just fashion ones, and the clothing was Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto, not just thrift store finds. Also: sauces, salad dressings, and my favorite stationery brand, Delfonics.

In 2024, I went alone, and shopping was pretty much my goal—so I really made up for the years I missed and bought a lot of cool things.

Coffee

I have been buy coffee beans everywhere I visit since 2022. Unfortunately I did not like any of the beans I got in Japan - I think I just have different tastes that the Japanese.  Well, I had to try. 

Magazines

I have been buying Japanese magazines for years. My habits are mostly the same: fashion magazine with an emphasis on streetwear, coffee magazines, and now also Taiwan travel magazines.  

Food

I discovered my new favorite salad dressing ever at the market in Azabudai Hills. I also discovered that I really like Muji curry and am relieved that I can restock and order more in the US. 

Beauty Products

I discovered Le Labo in Tokyo after washing my hands with the best smelling soap in the world at Cafe Kitsune, only to realize that it was Le Labo, and that a store was mere footsteps away. I bought a lot, then realized that I can actually get it in the US too. Oh well. 

Japanese Beauty Products

I am not as into Japanese beauty products anymore, as I prefer Korres for skincare and Urban Decay for make up, but I forgot some brushes and lotion and essentials on this trip, so I bought them from a local cosmetics store.

Pride Merch

I had the good fortune for showing up in Tokyo on Pride week, totally unplanned. Last time I was at Tokyo Pride was in 2014. There was not merch for sale (not really) so we made our own T-shirts and painted them. This year Pride has become more commercial and mainstream, so there was a ton of merch. Of course I had to support my community and buy some shirts and a towel. 

Gifts

Japan is still my top destination for buying edible gifts. This time, a lot of my family members requested mochi and cookies, and cakes, so I had to make a special trip to Tokyo station to purchase these.

Delfonics Stationary

I was sad to discover that my favorite Delfonics store had closed, but the goods news is that they have expanded to having a space at many large department stores throughout Tokyo. Every since Delfonics started shipping to the US, I have not had the need to purchase so much from Japan, but I did find a few cool things. 

Gifts for my Daughter

This is the newest category on the list. Now that I have a young daughter, I cannot return home from a trip without getting her some gifts. I found lots of small cute things, and instead of giving them to her all at once, I give them out over time so she appreciates them.

Arabica of Tokyo

There are two cafés I didn’t include in my original post about new cafés in Tokyo: % Arabica. That’s because they’re so special, they deserve their own post.

I first discovered % Arabica when I visited Kyoto, where they started. During a short trip there in 2017, I managed to visit all three of their cafés. Since then, Arabica has received major investment and expanded globally. I’ve now visited their locations in Morocco, New York City, and Taipei.

At the time of writing this, there are only two shops in Tokyo—bizarrely, both are in the same mall, just four floors apart. This made visiting both incredibly easy, even if it meant I had two Kyoto lattes within the span of two hours.

One is located on the top floor of the Azabudai Hills mall, with both indoor and outdoor seating. 

The other Arabica is located on the ground floor of Azabudai Hills, near the TeamLabs exhibit. There’s very limited seating.

 

New Coffee Shops in Tokyo

The last time I went to Tokyo, in 2017, I somehow managed to visit and document 18 coffee shops in the span of a week. However, when I look back on that trip, all I really remember is trudging through unfamiliar train stations into remote neighborhoods for the sole purpose of visiting one café after another. It was almost like a business trip that left no room for exploration or discovery—only checking off my long list of cafés.

When I went back to Tokyo on my own in 2024, I only really had four full days to myself, and I didn’t want to use my precious time simply visiting one café after another. That said, I did look at what was new and interesting, and I picked a short list of places I could visit on the way to other sites.

I spent a lot of my time in Shibuya and Harajuku on this trip, but I also visited Shimokitazawa (which has become so gentrified since I was last there in 2012).

This list represents seven cafés I visited within four days in Tokyo.

Camelback
Camelback was recommended by a friend, both for their coffee but mostly for their egg sandwiches. Even though I had already had two coffees and lunch by the time I visited, I still ordered a coffee and sandwich just to try. This is a sweet little shop nestled in a quiet part of town near Yoyogi park, so I got to visit the Monocle shop nearby 

Chop Coffee

Chop is in a very heavily trafficked part of Shibuya and Harajuku, which was very convenient for my shopping needs. nice seating, but I took my drink to go. 

Eight

Eight coffee was not on my list at all, but I found it randomly near my hotel on a day when I was meeting a friend and didn't have time to stop somewhere intentionally for coffee. I had low expectations, but I must say  little Eight really surprised me with an expertly prepared latte. I visited twice on this trip and will go again.  

Ogawa

Ogawa was another recommendation from a friend. They are based in Kyoto but have a shop in Shimokitazawa. You have to wait in line and the whole process is very formal. I really did enjoy my coffee though, and can understand the hype. 

Onibus

Onibus was also recommended to be my a friend. This cafe was perhaps the most out-of-the-way one I visited on my trip, but it was still about a 20-minute walk to the Tsutaya books in Daikanyama, which I always visit. I loved this cafe, the building the coffee, the whole experience. 

Mameya

Mameya came highly recommended by the internet as the place to buy special beans. There were a lot of varieties, but I prefer Central American beans and I have come to realize the Japanese prefer Ethiopian and Kenyan beans. I got a small drink with a little milk - this is much more of a drink-your-coffee-black kind of place, and I will always prefer lattes. 

Cafe Kitsune

Maison Kitsune is a popular clothing brand in Japan and it is common for clothing brands to have their own cafes. Even though I do not own anything from the clothing brand, this cafe looked really cool so I decided to visit. It was bustling but I got a seat by the counter and ordered a latte and sandwich. This was one of the only cafes where I sat down to enjoy my drink instead of taking it to do. 

Armagh Library

As you probably know, my travel trifecta includes visiting a library, a cemetery, and a grocery store whenever I’m in a new country. On my business trip to Ireland, not only did I hit the trifecta, but I also managed to visit two libraries. The first was Trinity College, which, let’s be honest, feels more like a tourist attraction than a functioning library. The second was in Armagh, and I absolutely loved it. Our small group had the entire place to ourselves! This is Armagh City Library, which is the oldest public library in Northern Ireland, from 1771. 

The Return: Japan 2024

The yasukuni-dori, same view for the last 20 years

Until today, the last time this blog featured a post about Japan was in 2019, about a trip I took in 2017. Hard to believe that much time has passed since I’ve been to Japan. I was planning to go in 2020, but the pandemic delayed me. When the country finally opened back up to tourists in 2022, work obligations prevented me from going. I kept putting it off—until one day, in December 2023, I said enough and planned a six-day solo trip to Tokyo.

I picked a random week in April, when the flights were decent and I could get a full weekend in Tokyo. I booked my hotel that same night and paid in yen. Once both reservations were made - so suddenly, without asking anyone for permission or approval or advice...the trip became final.

These next few posts will be about my solo return to Japan, after seven years and a decade after living there. So much has changed, which is remarkable for a city that seldom changes and still has all the landmarks I remember from when I was in high school, twenty years ago.

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From my diary, April 16th, 2024, on the JAL flight:

I meant to write something else in this entry. Something about returns.

I haven’t been back to Japan since 2017. I haven’t been there alone in a decade. Something feels right about this trip and its timing. Something feels right about me going alone. I’ve gotten used to traveling alone—since I’ve done so often for work these days. But this time feels different. It should feel different. This is not a trip someone forced me to go on. I am not here for work. I am here for me. I chose this.

Four months ago, on December 12th, just days before I started to fast, I was sitting on the couch with my partner. I was sick and tired of complaining about how much I miss Japan and how we’ll go there soon, soon, soon, this year, next year. It was all talk. I was tired of waiting. Tired of waiting for my friends to get back to me. Tired of waiting for work to lighten up. Tired of trying to plan around my daughter's school or partner's work.

I looked a few months out, found a week when she’d be in school and I wouldn’t have work travel nearby, and I booked it. The airfare and the hotel, because those had to be done right away. And now I am eight hours away from landing in Tokyo. I can’t believe it. Soon I will see my friend and be eating my beloved kaisendon. Ten years since I left.

I return to the same places because that is how I measure what a different person I am. What a different person the place is. We meet each other again as changed entities.

My first cocktail, within 3 hours of landing

Armagh Ireland Photo Diary

Armagh wasn’t even on my radar during my work trip, but the client decided to hold a meeting there. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this quaint town and found myself wishing I’d had more time to explore its charm.

This is a sign fro a pilgrimage (I had to ask)

Blast from the past

Cafes of Casablanca and Marrakech

I wish I’d had more time to dive into the coffee scenes of Casablanca and Marrakech, but, as is often the case with work trips, my free time was pretty limited. Since Arabica had locations in both cities, I couldn’t resist stopping by to check them out. Still, I managed to squeeze in a visit to one lovely café in each city, which felt like a small but satisfying win.

Bondi Casablanca

Definite a digital nomad cafe, very Australian vibe

Thirty5ive Marrakech

Labor of love, old vinyls, very Tokyo vibe

Marrakech Photo Diary

Marrakech is famously photogenic, but I don’t think this photo diary quite does it justice. Instead, it’s more like an archive of the quaint, intimate moments from my short time there—relaxing at the riad, dancing in the dessert, enjoying good company, and taking in a few sights along the way.

Coming home at 2:00am from a work after party

The party

The surreal burger bar in the dessert