Hotel CLASKA

Hotel CLASKA

Sunday, 16 August 2009

All images are from CLASKA.

CLASKA is one of not-so-many luxury boutique hotels in Tokyo which has renovated an old business hotel started in the 60s in Meguro-dori (street). There are only 9 guest rooms and 26 residential rooms for long term stay. As a resident in Tokyo I haven't stayed at CLASKA but it looks very nice! The gallery shop "DO" on the third floor is one of my favourite shops in Tokyo, and the ground-floor cafe/restaurant/bar "kiokuh" is good too (I didn't think so much of their lunch special though). Why in Meguro-dori? is a common question many people would have as is a little bit out of the major areas of Tokyo, plus it's a good 10 minuite walk from the closest station "Gakugeidaigaku" and can't really say it's convenient. However, from Gakugeidaigaku it's only 5 minutes to get to Shibuya and there is a bus that goes to Meguro JR station in 7 munites from right infront of the hotel.

The name "CLASKA" was taken from a Japanese phrase "dou kurasuka" どう暮らすか (how best to live?) so if you want to stay in Tokyo like living in Tokyo it could be a cool place to stay! It is one of the popular areas to live in Tokyo, and also Meguro-dori is famous for having many interior shops so that is another thing. Otsu Furniture (Japanese antique), boiserie (French antique) and a new shop inspiration (open only on Fri/Sat/Sun) are my favourites, you can find so many more interior shops along Meguro-dori and this is a great website (only Japanese).

CLASKA
1-3-18 Chuo-cho, Meguro-ku (access map)

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Gallery & Shop "DO"

Gallery & Shop "DO"

Friday, 14 August 2009

Another of my favourite shops in Tokyo is Gallery & Shop "DO". ("DO" apparently is pronounced like "dough".) In a large open space, all the beautiful homeware/interior/stationery items of Japanese contemporary designs are presented really nicely. It's a shop and a gallery and I just looooooved looking at each item, wishing I could buy the whole shop to take home!

Their online shop is also great! Unfortunately it's only in Japanese though.

The 2 images below are from their website.

"DO" is actually in a design hotel called CLASKA, it looks really nice - I will post about it later!

The WONDERFUL Baden Baden I also visited last week is in the same area of Gakugeidaigaku though it's not really that easy to find the way between the two shops. (It's about 15 minute walk in the residential area, if you are good at reading maps you'll be fine.)

Gallery & Shop "DO" at CLASKA (3rd Floor)
1-3-18 Chuo-cho Meguro-ku Tokyo
See access information here.

Comments: 9

Taro Okamoto at Shibuya Station

Taro Okamoto at Shibuya Station

Friday, 12 June 2009

Taro Okamoto is one of the most important and most influential Japanese artists from the 20th century.
He started working on "Asu no shinwa" in 1968 and completed in 1969 in Mexico. It was to cover a lobby wall of the new opening hotel in Mexico city. However the construction of the hotel was never completed due to the financial reasons of the hotel owner and Taro-san's mural was left inside the unfinished hotel and went missing.
The mural is called "Asu no shinwa" which means "Myth of Tomorrow" and it depicts the moment of an atomic bomb explosion. "Asu no shinwa" is the largest and most important piece of Taro-san's work.

Miraculously, the mural was found after 30 years by his wife who was searching for it for many many years. It was finally shipped to Japan in 2005, restoration began soon after the arrival and was re-born after a year.
Today, anyone can see "Asu no Shinwa". And guess where? At Shibuya station! This 30-metre-long mural appeared in Shibuya station for permanent installation in November 2008 where 300 thousand people walk pass every day infront of it. It's just so powerful and has such strong message, everytime I walk pass it I get so overwhelmed not just by its size. It was quite surprising that this place was chosen for the permanet installation but I really like it being there and I love looking at it with so many people passing by.
First three images are from Asunoshinwa official website. Bottom three were taken by me about 6 months ago.

Comments: 8

Tokyo Osusume Spot : The National Art Center Tokyo

Tokyo Osusume Spot : The National Art Center Tokyo

Thursday, 21 May 2009

"OSUSUME" means recommended. The National Art Center Tokyo in roppongi is one of the OSUSUME spots in Tokyo. I sometimes visit there for lunch (Brasserie Paul Bocuse Le Musée on the 3rd floor is excellent!) and then go downstairs for browsing the museum shop "SOUVENIR FROM TOKYO" (you would love this shop!!), and of course take pictures - it's a great place for it :) It's a museum but often I don't actually see the exhibition there, there is so much more to this place! You can just pick your favourite designer chair which are found throughout the place and sit down for a quiet time if you get tired walking around, my favourite is the Egg Chair found downstairs.
Great architecture, too.

Comments: 6