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| Prowling Cat Street |
Perennially on the prowl, this traveler gave in to the urge to hunt for everything new and unusual while exploring Tokyo for the first time. From fashion finds on sale to new food joints, from must-try to must-eat and must-see, I trod the side streets and unbeaten paths to satisfy my curiosity for the unexplored.
Can curiosity really kill a cat?
It was the first time to walk the posh avenue of Omotesando, Tokyo's Champs Élysées. The luxury shopping scene reminded me of the French capital's. Prada's building is a stunner. Are there more in this hill? Perhaps. But somewhere down the road leading to Yoyogi Park, something more interesting caught the eye. A small street that this prowler seemed to magnetically navigate to.
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| Entering Cat Street from Omotesando |
The street? The Kyu Shibuya-gawa Promenade, or Yuhodo to the locals. The nickname in English? Cat Street. Meow. Why was it named such? Because cats used to wander around this street.
Cat Street is a popular shopping road that crosses Takeshita Dori and Omotesando Dori. It’s quite famous for its combination of upscale boutiques and “trashy shops,” someone said. By "trashy," was it meant as going against mainstream fashion? Most likely, it meant eclectic. The Japanese are known to be very self-expressive (read: rebellious), experimental, and imaginative in their sense of fashion.
In Tokyo, the minimalist and sleek fashion of Omotesando and the maximalist and eclectic fashion of Harajuku coexist in Shibuya. Cat Street's hip vibe incorporates these styles in the establishments standing side by side along its stretch.
Seen along Cat Street.
Sit down in one of the hip coffee shops along Cat Street and people-watch. View the road as one big fashion runway where pedestrians model a good mix of personal styles.
If you need a caffeine fix and a French crepe to go with it, try Elliot's. Who is Elliot? Gen Xers can relate. A bicycle with an extraterrestrial, aka E.T., in the front basket is parked streetside, leading to the coffee shop. For reference, the restaurant's name is La Fée Délice, and E.T. as a restaurant promoter is a novel idea to entice patrons. I just love Japanese creativity and humor.
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| E.T. phone home |
Meow. Curisoity satisfied. This cat leaves Cat Street and lives to prowl another day on the same alley. I'm very curious about how the scene has changed since the last visit.
CONVERSATION