A long while ago I saw somewhere online that tokyo has a 3-storey art supply store. It became a bucket list item for me. We have art supply stores in singapore, but we would be lucky to find something that is a thousand square feet.
It felt like a dream to me, all those months talking about visiting this almost-imaginary art supply store that is supposed to exist in tokyo. Today we finally made the pilgrimage to it:
It turns out that it is not 3 storeys but actually 6. But 2 of those 6 sell frames, whereas the top floor is an art school.
It is somewhat like an artist’s wonderland, and the cost of the items are significantly cheaper than singapore too, especially if you’re into japanese brands.
We also stumbled upon this fancy camera shop that also had multiple storeys of new and old cameras:
It is like going into an apple store in terms of shopping experience, except it is for everything photography. We don’t have something equivalent in singapore, so it was quite a novel experience. It is quite strange, because tokyo can be denser than singapore in a lot of ways, but yet they seem to afford a lot more retail space.
I just love looking at these displays of fake food for some reason:
Went to a kinokuniya, and was amused to see that computer books in japan have their own unique aesthetic:
Yesterday we had breakfast at this cafe that is named Cafe Garage, and I think they literally converted their garage into a cafe. When we got there the outdoor seating was kept and stacked in a corner, but when we asked the elderly couple who ran the cafe they kindly set it up for us, even wiping them clean. It was drizzling slightly, so she told us we could head in anytime we wanted. We did feel bad that they have to come outside to serve us our food. I had one of the tallest and most delicious sandwiches here.
I wrote about my psychological health improving when I travel, I think a part of it is that travelling increases the opportunities for positive and warm human interactions. Because of all the awkwardness that exists due to language and cultural differences, there seems to be a special kind of grace reserved. We do have our fair share of negative encounters but in general there is warmth.
It seems in singapore like due to the economics (most retail spaces are owned by REITs hence only large chains can afford to rent) there seems to be less creative retail spaces owned by mom and pop or small business owners. We often talk about art in terms of art made by artists, but I love experiencing the art that is created through the rendering of creative retail spaces, especially when it is independently owned.