En　Ja

All Nippon Airways

Columnist, 2014-2016

From well-trodden running routes to restaurants with hearty meals and charming service to match, our favourite neighbourhood haunts can take on many shapes and forms. Over time, these destinations are written into everyday life and become part of a city’s cultural fabric.

These destinations were the starting point for my All Nippon Airways travel column, which I started writing in 2014 as an extension of my work for The Thousands Tokyo. My aim was to provide a street-level perspective on Japanese culture by highlighting some of my favourite neighbourhood finds in Tokyo — places where you want to return time and time again.

Over the space of 18 months the column painted a picture of Tokyo’s myriad neighbourhoods, introducing places that make the big city feel small and inviting, even for first-time visitors.

In a city that regularly overwhelms the senses, it’s comforting to know that there are green oases such as Koishikawa Korakuen where you can slow down, relax and recharge.

Providing an alternative take on contemporary craft, Pragmata Gallery presents works that combine a mix of tradition and modernity, functionality and experimentation.

As an unmarked house on a quiet corner in Shirokane, Yaeca Home Store captures the lifestyle that surrounds the brand’s carefully constructed, everyday wear.