Suits you sir: finding a good tailor in Tokyo

Summary

After reading the excellent "Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion by Alan Flusser, I decided it was time cast aside the Aoki and Aoyama off-the-rack jobs, and update my style with a visit to the local tailor. But where to start? After checking out some recommendations on-line, I decided on "Azabu Tailor".

**Parking depends on branch**Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto**For Dad**Opening hours depend on Shop, Kanda branch: 10am-8pm, open all day except Thursday**


Website

Azabu Tailor (Japanese only)

Experience

This was actually the first time for me to visit a tailor, but from what I imagine the experience to be like Azabu seems to offer all of the standard fare. I was looking to get away from the mass produced Aoki and Aoyama style experience, so it was reassuring to find the Kanda branch of Azabu Tailors to be located in a small dingy office building on the 3rd floor away on some side street. This gives the place the same sort of exclusive feeling you get from your other favorite little hideouts found in the nooks and crannies of Tokyo.

The store had exactly the kind of atmosphere I was searching for: A solid tailor dealing in traditional, conservative style while also being sufficiently in tune with modern tastes to avoid looking old fashioned. This was confirmed by the blend of classic paraphernalia adorning the perimeter of the shop, while modern popular music playing in the background suggested that timeless style was being delivered with a modern twist to those who desire it. Also reassuring, for me anyway, was extracts from "Dressing the Man" being displayed on the wall of the shop.

The sale begins with a consultation. Coffee is served as you sit down at a private table and discuss the kind of look you are aiming to achieve with the suit. The selection process begins with color, fabric and pattern. You are free to leaf through a large selection of sample books, with fabric from Japan and the UK being the main stock. The price of the suit is determined mainly by the fabric you select, such that, barring any extras you may opt of later in the sale, you know the price of the finished product based on the quoted price of the fabric. For example, the range starts from just under 40,000JPY for Japanese fabric, on to 50,000-60,000JPY for British wool, going up to 100,000JPY and beyond.

I took the most time with this part of the selection. The salesman was patient and never once rushed my decision. I took photographs of the fabric and took those home for comparison. Later, as I narrowed down the choice, the salesman cut pieces of fabric for me so I could take them home and think the decision over.

After selecting the fabric, you move on to choosing the overall style of the suit. The choice seemed to be between English and Classic Italian. The choice boils down to 2 vs 3 button, style of shoulder, number of vents on the back of the suit, number of pleats in the trousers, angle of both trouser and suit pocket, number and style of buttons on the sleeve etc. There really is no limit to the level you can go into at this point!

After deciding on the style, you move on the the fitting. The salesman had me trying on a variety of trousers and Jackets, and I was able to state preference for the tightness and comfort level of the suit as well as the more common sleeve and trouser length.

The only point of contention I had with the salesman was over sleeve length: I like to show at least an inch of shirt cuff, but I believe the tendency in Japan is to wear the Jacket sleeve too long. We managed to reach a compromise on the agreement that I could have the sleeve adjusted to be shorter in the event I though it was too long at the final fitting.

After the measurements, you have the option to choose from a wide variety of "extras". For an extra 1000-3000JPY you can opt for the "surgeons cuff", full stitching, patterned lining, "Maru Daiba" (A kind of reinforcement of the jacket's inside pocket), sweat guard and several others.

Once this stage is completed, you are done, and all that is left is payment. The suit is ready after around 3 weeks from this point.

Cost

Finished suits start at 36,750JPY for Japanese fabric and from 57,750JPY for imported fabrics, going all the way up to 100,000JPY and beyond.

Extras range from 1000JPY-3000JPY and there are around 10 to choose from meaning an extra 20,000-30,000JPY tops depending on your preferences.

Rating

A very satisfactory shopping experience. I eagerly await the finished suit, and will update this upon arrival.

Pros: Knowledgeable staff, great atmosphere, great range of fabrics and options.

Cons: English language support not guaranteed. Three week wait till the suit is ready.


Rating: 9/10

Grocery shopping American style: a day trip to Costco

Summary

A trip to Costco wholesalers in Saitama. A shopping experience unlike anywhere else in Japan: Rotisserie Chicken, huge pizza, freshly baked apple pie, wine, clothes, toys, books, electronics, frozen food, fresh food, cheese, meat, Mexican, Korean, Indian and much much more,

**Has parking**Saitama Prefecture**Any age**Half day Activity**Admission free (For members) **10:00-20:00**No holidays**

Website

Website - English

Location/Access

3-1-2 LaLaCity, Shinmisato,
Misato-City, Saitama,
341-0009, Japan
81-48-950-0800


Directions/Map

By Train: The closest station is Shin-Misato 新三郷 on the JR Musashino Line. 武蔵野線.

By Car: By car, head for the Smart IC if coming from the Kashiwa/Tsukuba direction 柏・つくば　on the Joban expressway, or the Misato IC 三郷 if coming from Tokyo.

Important note: membership

If you wish to shop at Costco (or even enter through the door), you'll need to become a card carrying member of the store. The queue to sign up is always long on the weekend, so make sure you come early. You will find the sign-up area in the car park on the 1F.

The details can be found on the website here.

Activities

Shopping, shopping and more shopping! There is an Ikea next to Costco, so why not make it a day trip of it and shop for some furniture as well?

The range of products available is very impressive, and also somewhat biased towards goods of American origin, which is great for us foreign folk living in Japan. (The Author is not actually American, but years in Japan have led me to accept Americana as an acceptable substitute for my own culture).

Remember, Costco is not all about food, and there are many 100s of items including electronics, fashion items, clothes, cosmetics, medicines, DVDs, toys, alcohol amongst many others. Make sure to take plenty of cash with you, as non-Costco-branded credit cards are not accepted at the till!

Also, don't be afraid to give in to the "impulse purchase" at Costo; their 100% satisfaction guarantee means that you can simply return any item you are not completely satisfied with for a full money back refund.

Food

There is a huge amount of both fresh and processed food. The highlights for me were: Giant Pizza, Rotisserie Chicken, freshly baked Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Cookies, Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, and Tiramisu.

After shopping, there is the option to purchase whole Pizza, hotdogs, Ice cream and other fast food to eat at the seating areas provided within the building. There are also drinks machines dispensing soda.


Cost

The cost is in-line with what you would expect from a Wholesale store. This means that things are certainly cheaper than buying the equivalent in central Tokyo, but also remember that the volume is large, as the business model is to sell in bulk.

Note that there is so much here, at such good prices, that you may load your trolley to such an extent that you could easily get up to the 50,000-60,000JPY mark at the till. Once again, don't forget to bring plenty of cash!


Rating

A great shopping experience; something for all ages.

Pros: Loads of goods at reasonable prices. Goods from back home that are not available in other parts of Tokyo. A great returns policy allowing you to shop without fear, as you can take back anything you are not 100% happy with for a full refund.

Cons: A little far from central Tokyo, and not really an option for those without a car. You need to pay a yearly membership fee before they'll let you shop.


Rating: 8/10

To the heart of Japanese Celebrity: Fuji TV and Odaiba

Summary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odaiba

**Has parking**South Tokyo**For All Ages**Full day Activity**Admission free**morning-late evening**Always Open**

Rating: 6/10 - Expensive, crowded, but quite a collection of entertainment in a concentrated space


Website

Odaiba

Fuji TV

Location/Access


View Larger Map

By Train:

Yurikamome Line:
Board at: Shimbashi, Get off at: Daiba, Walking time: approx. 3 min.

Rinkai Line
Board at: Shin-Kiba, Get off at: Tokyo Teleport , Walking time approx. 5 min.

By Car:

Metropolitan Expressway No.11 Daiba Line:
From Hamazakibashi Junction via Rainbow Bridge. Take Daiba Exit.

Metropolitan Expressway Wangan Line:
From the Haneda area, take Exit No. 13.
From the Chiba area, take the Ariake Exit.

General Road:
Shibaura route: From Wangan Road, pass the lower road of Rainbow Bridge to reach Daiba.
Harumi route: From Harumi-dori, take a right at Shinonome 1-chome Intersection and go straight.



Activities

There are many activities to enjoy around the Odaiba area. Our trip centered around The Fuji TV studios, a Gundam exhibition that happened to be on while we were there (The giant robot you see pictured above), and the surrounding restaurants and cake shops.

If you're into Japanese TV, then chances are you know at least one of the celebrities/programs from Fuji TV. (Channel 8 in Tokyo). At the time of writing, some celebrities of note would be: Tamori (The guy with the sun glasses), Takashima Aya (The announcer from "Mezamashi Terebi"); and programs would be: Mezamashi Terebi, Red Carpet, iitomo, SMAPxSMAP, Sazae-san etc.

At the studio there are numerous stands set up themed on the various shows/celebrities.




Food

There are many restaurants in the area; the one we picked on the day was "ABC Steak and Bar" in the "Aqua City" building, 4F. Being a steak house, they specialize of course in steak.

There are also a range of deserts and wines to compliment the meal, but if you don't fancy steak, it's best to give this place a miss, as they are very few alternatives on the menu.

Cost

Odaiba is very popular, and quite fashionable, and the costs are thus above average for the Tokyo area. The parking alone was 1500JPY; following was lunch at 5000JPY, cakes at 3000JPY, and other miscellaneous items taking the total for a family of four (One infant, one small child) to around the 10,000JPY mark.

Rating

This would be a great place to visit with plenty of cash, on a rainy weekday. We visited on the final weekend of the summer holidays, and despite an approaching typhoon, the place was absolutely jam-packed. You had to queue for everything, (including the toilet), and due to the intensity the service at the surrounding restaurants was a little below par.

In addition to this, Odaiba is an expensive place; be prepared to shell out 20-30% above what you are used to paying for a similar standard of goods and services elsewhere.

The attractions are fun, but when it's busy the Disney land-like queues can be a bit of a mood killer.

One sales point are the very good restaurants around, and the view overlooking the bay is the perfect accompaniment to a good meal.


Pros: Great food, lots of entertainment, good access, modern and stylish.

Cons: Expensive, and crowded


Rating: 6/10

Buying a house guide 1 - requirements

So you're thinking of buying a house in Japan? As I and my family have recently completed this process, I though it might be useful to someone out there if I wrote a summary of my experience on this blog. In this section, I summarize the minimum requirements you'll need before you take the plunge:

Terms used in this article

頭金 Atama Kin: Deposit
諸費用 Shohiyou: Misc. expenses
永住権 Eijuuken: Permanent residency


Money

- They say you'll need 20% of the property in cash for the "atamakin". This means, for example, if you were looking to buy a 40 million yen property, you will need 8 million yen in cash to put down as a deposit.

- In addition, there are 諸費用, or misc. expenses that you will have to cough up at various stages of the transaction. The amount depends on whether you go for a new house or an old house. For a new house, you can expect these misc. expenses to be between 3-5%. For and old house, the expenses will be around 10%. To return to our 40 million house example, you will need between 1.2 to 4 million yen for the misc. expenses

- This means your your total up front burden for a 40 million yen house will be between 9.2 and 12 million yen.

- In our case, we only had 4 million in savings, yet the cost of our desired property was around 26 million yen. 2 million was for atamakin, and 2 million was said to be for expenses. This means our expenses were around 7% (Which on reflection seem pretty high, as our house was new) and our atamakin was less than 10%, again at 7%. So your millage may vary.

- Not included in the above: Moving expenses, furniture, air conditioning units, TV antenna, curtain rails, lighting. Again, this was our experience, so your deal may vary.

Needed for the loan

- As a foreigner looking to borrow money in Japan, it will help if you have permenant residency or 永住権 eijuuken. For eijuuken, as a rule you'll need to have lived in Japan continuously for 10 years. (5 years if you have been married for 5 years or over, to a Japanese national.) However, I was able to secure a loan and do not have PR. I have been living in Japan continuously for 5 years, which I believe was what tipped the balance in my favor. For those who have not been here that long, it may be worth waiting and saving a little longer before you formally apply for a loan.

- You will also need a sponser, 保証人 hoshounin, who is a Japanese national. In my case, my wife was able to act as my guarantour. If you are not married, then it might be time to get friendly with the neighbors/people at work.

- You should have been working at the same place of employment, for 3 years minimum. In my case, 2 years 3 months proved to be enough, but I was told that people failing to satisfy the 3 year rule of thumb was a frequent cause of being rejected finance.

Summary

If you satisfy the above conditions, then it can be surprisingly simple for you to buy a house in Japan. You should have a good level of Japanese if you want to be involved in the process at all level of details; if you struggle with Japanese reading and writing then you will almost certainly struggle as the range of forms to read and sign is mind boggling. However, with a supportive spouse or close friend (Who you really trust!), the process can be smooth and painless.

In subsequent articles I will talk more about choosing an agent, the merits of new vs second hand, the merits of houses vs mansions, city vs county, constructing a house, details of finance including interest and a breakdown of fees, the quality of Japanese houses as well as other related topics.

It's Yummy! Family themed pension in Nasu

Summary

**Has parking**Outside of Tokyo**For Elementary School Kids**Weekend**Under 30,000JPY for a family of four, 1 night**

Website

Yummy Pension (Japanese Only)

Location/Access

栃木県那須郡那須町 大字湯本206-508
Tochigi-ken, Nasu-gun, Nasu-Machi, Oazayumoto, 206-508
+81 (0) 288-53-6400


View Larger Map


By Train: From Ueno station, take the 東北本線 Tohoku honsen to 黒磯駅 Kuroiso station. From there, take the 東野バスー那須湯元本行 Toya bus, towards nasu yumotohon, and alight at 新那須バス停 shin-nasu bus stop. From there, it is a ten minute walk to ペンション・ユミィ・アネックス Pension Yummy Annex.

By Car: From Tokyo, head towards 浦和I.C. Urawara I.C. From there, take the 東北自動車道 Tohoku jidoshado around 148km to 那須I.C. Nasu I.C. After alighting here, head 19km towards 那須街道・湯本 Nasu kaido/yumoto on 県道17号 route 17.

Activities

Being located in an onsen resort, the main appeal is obviously the hot springs. Yummy has 5 of these, and all are 貸切, or privately reserved baths. These are reserved on a first come first served basis; there are 5 tokens waiting at the reception desk and once you have the token the bath is yours for the next 30 minutes*. This is great, as it means that the whole family can relax in the bath together, without interference from other guests.

There are 3 bath located on the 3rd floor, and 2 baths on the ground floor of the building. The 3 baths on the 3rd floor are 露天風呂 or outside baths, and are designed around the following themes: waterfall, night lights and sleeping bath. All three baths have a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside and each has enough unique charm as to make it worth your while to try and experience all three over the course of your stay. The 2 baths located on the ground floor are in comparison quite unspectacular, and you wouldn't be missing out on much by giving these a miss.

*Note, in the morning, there bath must be reserved in advance, by writing your name on a form, again on a first come first served basis, and it will cost an extra 210 yen per time slot reserved. There is no such cost occurred for evening/night bathing however.

This being a pension for families, there are a whole host of other activities to keep you occupied during your trip. These include: Table tennis on the ground floor, an electronic dart board in the reception, and a play area on the 2nd floor with an assortment of slides and toys. By far the most interesting activity though, is the Sony Playstation 2 located in each room. For game software, simply head down to the reception and choose from an assortment of around 30 titles. All of the above activities can be enjoyed without additional charge.

Food



The food is easily the best thing about Yummy, which is maybe not surprising considering either the name, or the owner's alleged former occupation as a chef. The style is European, and consists mainly of steak, fish, and crab. Dinner begins promptly at 6pm, in the dining hall on the first floor, and continues until 7.30. An interesting feature is the ability to add "all you can drink/eat" items to your course, including steak/crab/cake and wine/sake. We chose to add all but the cake option, and although the additional steaks we ordered did not match the standard of the first that were served (we felt a little cheated as the first steaks were to die for...), nevertheless we were overall pleased with both the quality and quantity of both the food and drink served.

A children's meal was provided for our 3 year old, and this was already waiting on the table by the time we sat down to eat, and a child seat was provided for our 1 year old, making it very easy for us, as a young family, to enjoy the meal.

Cost

The cost of overnight stay, use of all facilities, and food and drink was just under 30,000JPY for our 4 person family.

Rating

This hotel is 100% family orientated, which was demonstrated by the fact that every single guest that stayed there on the same night a us was a family with children in the age ranges 1-3. This is great for people with young kids, as it means you can truly let your hair down and relax without having to worry about your child making a scene in the dining room or breaking something expensive in the lobby. Both the food and the outside baths were highlights of the trip, with the Playstation and play room area adding extra value to the experience. Little touches, such as a baby seat in the downstairs bath area, make this a very family themed place and ensure that those with young children can relax and enjoy themselves here.

However, perhaps as a downside of the family-orientated nature, the facilities are quite shockingly poorly maintained. There are stains on the carpets, rust on the fences, the wallpaper is aged and discolored, the outside car park is covered with weeds, the inside bath has mold on the walls, and there were even some dead insects inside the inside bath when we entered at around 4pm, which is only 1 hour after check-in time, suggesting the baths may not be cleaned out every day. If you can live with this, it allows you to fully relax without having to worry about your children spilling something in the room and ruining the decor. If, however, you prefer your hotels to be spic, span and modern, then you may find this pension to be a little outside your comfort zone.

Pros: Good food, all you can eat/drink, playstation 2, "at home" feeling, themed baths

Cons: Poorly maintained, a little unclean in places, no real English language support, a possible "bait and switch" strategy with the steak.


Rating: 7/10 Not without its flaws, but the best pension I've been to in Japan in terms of being accommodating of young families. If you can live with the slight dilapidation then there's plenty to enjoy here.

Return to the Steam Age: An outing to Ome Railway Park

Summary

**Has parking**Northeast Tokyo**For Elementary School Kids**Half day Activity**Admission 100yen for over 6 years**9:15-17:00**Closed Monday**

Website

Ome Railway Park

Location/Access


View Larger Map

By Train: From Tokyo, take the Chuo line from Tachikawa 立川 which connects with the Ome line 青梅線. Head for Ome Station. From the station, it is either a 15 minute walk or taxi to the park, as there is no bus.

By Car: There is free car parking available next to the park. We took the Chuo Road 中央道 from central Tokyo out the Hachioji Interchange 八王子 I.C. From there it was around 30-45 minutes to the park.

Activities



There are a number of real life trains in the park, ranging from old steam trains, all the way to a (relatively) modern Shinkansen. You are free to walk around the park, and you may climb up right into the driver's seat inside the trains. Here you can see the dials, levers, buttons etc. that were used to power these once mighty machines.



However, this gets old pretty fast, but fortunately there are a number of scaled down train models scattered around the park, allowing both children and adults to ride around their mini-tracks. These rides are priced at 100 or 200 JPY depending on the size.

In addition to the outdoor area, there is an indoor section with a shop, model railway, train simulator and some additional arcade games for children. There is also an observation area on top of the building, although quite what you are supposed to observe from there I found difficult to tell.

Food

Food in the park is almost non-existent, save for a vending machine selling French Fries and sushi(!).

Cost

The cost is extremely cheap as the entrance fee is only 100 yen for adults. The rides inside the park are very basic and therefore do not exceed 200 yen.


Rating

Overall, a fun way to spend a couple of hours, but not enough activities or variety for keep you busy for much longer than that. The area is quite scenic, and the number and range of engines on display is impressive, however, the lack of explanations as to what things are mean you end up leaving the park with more questions than answers. For example, they have a nice photo display documenting the transportion of the Shinkansen into the park. The photographs are beautiful black and white shots, and were a great find as the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the Shinkansen was: "How on earth did they get that thing in here?". However, there were no dates on or near the photographs, leaving me frustrated.

Pros: Great experience for a young child who likes trains. Real-life engines including a Shinkansen. Inexpensive. A nice scenic park.

Cons: A little far from central Tokyo. Not many activities. Not many explanations given regarding the exhibits. No decent food on site.


Rating: 6/10 Worth a trip if you live nearby, or your child is mad about trains.

Kasai Seaside Park

Summary

A day trip to Kasai Seaside Park in East Tokyo. Aquarium, big wheel, flower garden, beach, playground, game center, tour via train

From Wikipedia:
Kasai Rinkai Park (葛西臨海公園 Kasai Rinkai Kōen) is a park in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan, which officially opened on June 1, 1989. The park includes an aquarium and a bird sanctuary, and was built on reclaimed land which includes two manmade islands, a viewing tower and a hotel.

There is a Ferris wheel which opened in 2001. On a clear day, it affords views of Tokyo Bay, Chiba, Edogawa, Tokyo Disneyland, and Mt Fuji.

The park is always crowded during the 'hanami' period of spring, when the Japanese party under cherry trees in bloom.


**Has parking**East Tokyo**For Elementary or Middle School Kids**Full day Activity**Admission free**9:00-17:00 (In some cases 9:00-18:00, 9:00-19:00 depending on the season**

Rating: 8/10 - Huge, huge park with a great atmosphere. Check the weather forecast before you go, though!


Website

Kasai Seaside Park　(English)

Location/Access

江戸川区臨海町六丁目
Edogawa-ku, Rinkaicho, 6chome
TEL 5696-1331


View Larger Map


By Train: 1 minute walk from the Kasai Rinkai Koen Sta.葛西臨海駅 of JR Keiyo Line　京葉線

By Car: Take the Chuo Kanjou　highway 首都高速中央環状線 or the Wangan highway 首都高速湾岸線 to Kasai Junction. 葛西I.C.

By Boat: You can catch a boat/water bus from Odaiba kaihin park お台場海浜公園, on the Tokyo Mizube line 東京水辺ライン (45 minutes)


Activities

The park is filled with activities suitable for a sunny day:

Ferris Wheel
At 117m above the ground, and lasting around 17 minutes for a round trip, this is one of the biggest Ferris Wheels around. From the top you can see many famous sites around Tokyo, as well as Mt. Fuji!

The cost is 700 yen for all over 3 years, although there are discounts for disabled and elderly people.

Aquarium
The aquarium here is famous for it's Tuna fish, or Maguro. The architecture of the building is very interesting; as it is a glass dome that is designed to look as if it's floating over Tokyo Bay.

Bird Observation Park
An attempt to recreate pre-industrialization forest conditions ideal for bird life to thrive.

In addition, there is a train taking passengers on regular tours around the park. Also, there are street performers putting on shows during the summer months, a playground complete with swings and slides, as well as a number of paths laid out for strolling around and enjoying the surrounding scenic beauty of the park.

To top it all of, there's hotel on site, for those traveling from further away and looking to make a weekend of it.

Food

There is a restaurant in the aquarium, where you can enjoy Tuna Curry amongst other seafood themed dishes.

As well as this, another restaurant, called "Blue Marine", closer to the car park, serves up the standard staple; such as: pasta, curry, katsu, ramen etc.

In addition, there are a number of fast food stands on site, selling hot dogs, fries, chicken and other warm snacks.

Finally, if you head away from the park and towards the train station, you will find the omnipresent MacDonalds as well as a number of Japanese restaurants.

Cost

The car park is 200 yen per hour, with the food and drinks being priced at fairly standard rates. Entrance to the park is free.


Rating

One of the best parks in Tokyo, if not the world. A beautiful peaceful atmosphere and a real joy for the whole family. The view from the Ferris Wheel is breathtaking; and the bird watching area, aquarium, train tour and sheer size of the park ensure that there is enough to keep everybody entertained for the whole day.

My family and I live 20 minutes away from this park, and as a result make the trip at least once a month. Even though we've been over a dozen times, we have yet to make our way round the whole area, such is the size of the place.

If you pick a sunny day, you can really have a great time here. However, if it rains you won't be left with much to do. Use the weather forecast and plan carefully!

Pros: Lots of activities, inexpensive, great access, large parking area, huge space, great atmosphere, Huge Ferris Wheel

Cons: no sports facilities, not much to do if it rains, could do with a better restaurant.


Rating: 8/10