An unexpected day in Shimokitazawa?

TokyoJoeblow

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So I'm going to meet with a friend at Shimokitazawa station due to convenience for him and his wife.

I have been to some famous spots in Setagaya, but this will be our first time in Shimokitazawa.

I plan to walk around downtown and check out the interesting shops, but are there any must sees there?

I see a lot of really interesting cafes and restaurants to choose from...any recommendations?
 
So I'm going to meet with a friend at Shimokitazawa station due to convenience for him and his wife.

I have been to some famous spots in Setagaya, but this will be our first time in Shimokitazawa.

I plan to walk around downtown and check out the interesting shops, but are there any must sees there?

I see a lot of really interesting cafes and restaurants to choose from...any recommendations?

Shimo is OK, but I haven't been back there since the following experience:

It was a summer evening, I think July, I was having some divorce and visa issues and had to come into Tokyo to try and sort it all out. I had a lot of stress, especially as my Japanese friend had totally just thrown me under the bus on another issue I won't go into here.
So anyway Im on the train to Shimo, minding my own business, and the JR staff start harassing me about listening to music. Was kinda annoying but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. I got off the train and noticed that several women would turn their back on me as I walked down the platform, which was disheartening.
anyway, I had a date lined up at a love hotel, but as soon as I got to the hotel and put on the slippers, I felt sick so I left.
I was now without a date but with blue balls, so decided to check out a local Kyaba. was going OK but got in a huge argument with the bartender and had to leave. So now with even bluer balls, I decided to check out what was clearly a shady Chinese massage parlor, had a good massage but at the flip, any 'extras' were refused. Obviously they were racist. I was so pissed off I punched a whole in the wall. Unfortunately I had shared my contacts with the masseuse, and she is still trying to blackmail me. I then went to another one, but despite being empty they claimed they were full.
As I walked back to the station, many people were randomly high giving me and chanting yare, yare!, which was nice, but then as soon as I sat down on my seat on the train I realized some fucker had squirted mayo all over it.

The next week I tried to tell my coworker all about it but she was too busy deep-throating a banana whilst fingering herself and staring at her boss that she wouldn't listen.
 
Shimo is OK, but I haven't been back there since the following experience:

It was a summer evening, I think July, I was having some divorce and visa issues and had to come into Tokyo to try and sort it all out. I had a lot of stress, especially as my Japanese friend had totally just thrown me under the bus on another issue I won't go into here.
So anyway Im on the train to Shimo, minding my own business, and the JR staff start harassing me about listening to music. Was kinda annoying but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. I got off the train and noticed that several women would turn their back on me as I walked down the platform, which was disheartening.
anyway, I had a date lined up at a love hotel, but as soon as I got to the hotel and put on the slippers, I felt sick so I left.
I was now without a date but with blue balls, so decided to check out a local Kyaba. was going OK but got in a huge argument with the bartender and had to leave. So now with even bluer balls, I decided to check out what was clearly a shady Chinese massage parlor, had a good massage but at the flip, any 'extras' were refused. Obviously they were racist. I was so pissed off I punched a whole in the wall. Unfortunately I had shared my contacts with the masseuse, and she is still trying to blackmail me. I then went to another one, but despite being empty they claimed they were full.
As I walked back to the station, many people were randomly high giving me and chanting yare, yare!, which was nice, but then as soon as I sat down on my seat on the train I realized some fucker had squirted mayo all over it.

The next week I tried to tell my coworker all about it but she was too busy deep-throating a banana whilst fingering herself and staring at her boss that she wouldn't listen.

Hmm, sounds slightly familiar, so,

irony-alert-ironic-jpg.1578


*From TAG's unofficial Irony Spotter

With this gang of miscreants, it's a full-time job!
 
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Shimo is OK, but I haven't been back there since the following experience:

It was a summer evening, I think July, I was having some divorce and visa issues and had to come into Tokyo to try and sort it all out. I had a lot of stress, especially as my Japanese friend had totally just thrown me under the bus on another issue I won't go into here.
So anyway Im on the train to Shimo, minding my own business, and the JR staff start harassing me about listening to music. Was kinda annoying but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. I got off the train and noticed that several women would turn their back on me as I walked down the platform, which was disheartening.
anyway, I had a date lined up at a love hotel, but as soon as I got to the hotel and put on the slippers, I felt sick so I left.
I was now without a date but with blue balls, so decided to check out a local Kyaba. was going OK but got in a huge argument with the bartender and had to leave. So now with even bluer balls, I decided to check out what was clearly a shady Chinese massage parlor, had a good massage but at the flip, any 'extras' were refused. Obviously they were racist. I was so pissed off I punched a whole in the wall. Unfortunately I had shared my contacts with the masseuse, and she is still trying to blackmail me. I then went to another one, but despite being empty they claimed they were full.
As I walked back to the station, many people were randomly high giving me and chanting yare, yare!, which was nice, but then as soon as I sat down on my seat on the train I realized some fucker had squirted mayo all over it.

The next week I tried to tell my coworker all about it but she was too busy deep-throating a banana whilst fingering herself and staring at her boss that she wouldn't listen.

In short, a fairly typical day for any gaijin in Tokyo.
Hey it could be worse: you could have ended up in a Thai restaurant! :D
TJB: sorry, I dont know Shimokita well, but I just remember a hole-in-the-wall curry place which was much better than the usual ones, cant remember the name nor exact location though, but anyway highly recommended!
 
In short, a fairly typical day for any gaijin in Tokyo.
Hey it could be worse: you could have ended up in a Thai restaurant! :D
TJB: sorry, I dont know Shimokita well, but I just remember a hole-in-the-wall curry place which was much better than the usual ones, cant remember the name nor exact location though, but anyway highly recommended!

Ding, ding, ding,

you've just won the prize for repeating the "secret word"



https://tokyoadultguide.com/threads...e-in-the-wall-at-my-wifes-familys-house.9289/
 
I lived there for about 5 years 20 years ago when it still had some character and originality. Had a great rooftop apartment on Ichibangai. Most of the classic bars are gone I think. I haven’t been back in years. The great bars back then were Gasoline Alley, Trouble Peach, Mother’s Ruin and Never Never Land. The best ramen place was Ichiryu. If you are over 28 years old though just leave. Go to Shinjuku.
 
Shimo is OK, but I haven't been back there since the following experience:

It was a summer evening, I think July, I was having some divorce and visa issues and had to come into Tokyo to try and sort it all out. I had a lot of stress, especially as my Japanese friend had totally just thrown me under the bus on another issue I won't go into here.
So anyway Im on the train to Shimo, minding my own business, and the JR staff start harassing me about listening to music. Was kinda annoying but I tried to put it to the back of my mind. I got off the train and noticed that several women would turn their back on me as I walked down the platform, which was disheartening.
anyway, I had a date lined up at a love hotel, but as soon as I got to the hotel and put on the slippers, I felt sick so I left.
I was now without a date but with blue balls, so decided to check out a local Kyaba. was going OK but got in a huge argument with the bartender and had to leave. So now with even bluer balls, I decided to check out what was clearly a shady Chinese massage parlor, had a good massage but at the flip, any 'extras' were refused. Obviously they were racist. I was so pissed off I punched a whole in the wall. Unfortunately I had shared my contacts with the masseuse, and she is still trying to blackmail me. I then went to another one, but despite being empty they claimed they were full.
As I walked back to the station, many people were randomly high giving me and chanting yare, yare!, which was nice, but then as soon as I sat down on my seat on the train I realized some fucker had squirted mayo all over it.

The next week I tried to tell my coworker all about it but she was too busy deep-throating a banana whilst fingering herself and staring at her boss that she wouldn't listen.

Did you just single white male me? lol

The only part of that story that is not true is that I returned home with blue balls. I always make sure to get them emptied. ;)
 
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I lived there for about 5 years 20 years ago when it still had some character and originality. Had a great rooftop apartment on Ichibangai. Most of the classic bars are gone I think. I haven’t been back in years. The great bars back then were Gasoline Alley, Trouble Peach, Mother’s Ruin and Never Never Land. The best ramen place was Ichiryu. If you are over 28 years old though just leave. Go to Shinjuku.

Have you ever been to Village Vanguard Diner? That might be one of the places I go to.

There is a new burger joint called Eight Burger's that opened up there in July.

After checking out images of Gasoline Alley, I'm assuming that there are a lot of hidden gems tucked away in there...