Kagurazaka

For Today’s travel I want to bring you to Kagurazaka, a small neighborhood of Tokyo which is often compared as the ” Little France”. In fact they used to be two French schools nearby which explains why this area has this “French touch”. Actually the French Lycée (high school) has moved away quite recently so it may not have the same French crowd as it used to be. Nevertheless this trendy neighborhood is worth a visit. Kagurazaka also used to be an entertainment district during the Edo period with numerous Geisha houses and restaurants. Some of them still survived in the narrow backstreets.
Let’s get started !

Waiting for the train at Kichijoji station. Using the Chuo Sobu line , it takes about 35 minutes to reach Kagurazaka.

And there we are !

Once you get out of the station you can start “hearing” some Frenchness in the air. In fact some speakers around the main street were playing some Acordeon French music. Quite “Cliché” but funny ^^

Quaint and trendy district. Many French eateries around.

Even our dear friend Paul is here.

Raclette and Fondue Cheese. Anyone ?

Some more French restaurants. The backstreets are quite nice. Many small terrasse could be seen here , just like the way we have back home. Terrasse are not so common in the Japanese culture and especially in the Concrete Jungle that is Tokyo.

But you remain in a Japanese city and this feeling never is lost.

Beautiful smell for afar. Some roasted tea in operation. I think this was “Kuki Cha” tea. Kuki means Stem in Japanese. This sort of tea is only made out of Stems and not the leafs. So you don’t have any caffeine therefore it is especially recommended at night or for people sensible to caffeine. I love it !

One of the oldest Japanese sweet store in the area.

I tried this Mochi type sweet which had the shape of a small Boar. It was pretty good and very fluffy. I believe Japaneses love Fluffy texture in their food. The rice they eat is Fluffy , the sweet are too and even the Pancakes ! It’s interesting to taste the local food of a country. It gives you some insights of their preferences.

Traditional narrow street which was probably home to the Geisha’s. Actually some of theses houses were still opened. Some fine dinings and traditional tea houses can be found here.

Talking about tea house , I have heard about this place which was apparently atypical. So I tried to find it but my map seemed wrong. I couldn’t see any Tea house around. Till I realize that the Tea house was hidden behind a “forest” ..

This is “Mugimaru 2” entrance. Hard to find isn’t ?

This place was an experience I can say. The owner was pretty eccentric and so sweet.
Inside was a mix and match of very old items. The atmosphere was special.

This Tea House is very cool actually. Entering inside is like opening the door to a whole new world. Just like going in a traveling machine. The owner was interesting and fun.

Sencha tea and some baked bread with a green bean paste. This food was delicious , the bread was slighlty baked on the inside , fluffy inside and the green bean paste (as weird as it sounds) was yummy. The sencha was also good. I paid 900 yen (7,5 euro) for this set. Totaly worth it for the quality of the food , the sweet owner and this interesting setup. I would highly recommend this place for the experience. When I first came in I was alone in the room so he did felt special and enjoyable too. This feeling of being disconnected from home yet very connected to another home.

Furry friend.

Kagurazaka was a nice district to get lost in. I haven’t seen many French people around but it was around 16h so I guess scholars would be in school. This area is super relaxed and I feel it would be good place to meet friends and to share some quality time. Also many small boutique all around , so if you like shopping in small yet trendy stores this would also be great.

Au revoir Kagurazaka 🙂
A bientôt pour de nouvelle aventures.