The Street Where I Live

I really like where I live in Tokyo. The first two days I was here I went apartment hunting and it was crazy stressful but I am really happy with the choice I made.  I think my neighborhood has the best of both worlds. To the West is an area called Hiroo that is populated with a number of expats and embassies. By the way, the men I have seen at the French Embassy down the street are super hot. :)  Further West is the famous Shibuya area. To the North is another fun area called Azabu Juban with shops and restaurants and just past that is Roppoingi Hills where I work.  Immediately to the south is the closest subway and Starbucks and a nice grocery store and the next street over is the one I frequent the most and has the local and small businesses. I can walk, bike, or bus to work. I could take the subway but it would take just as long or longer as the other options.  The buses in my area can take me to a number of popular places in Tokyo. I have yet to explore most of them. Tokyo has convenience stores and restaurants EVERYWHERE. I have especially surprised at the number of Italian and French restaurants here. There are a ton of bakeries and pastry shops as well.

 

Here is a pic of my building. It is along a busy Tokyo street but my apt is near the back so it is really quiet.

 

 

 

 

Here is the entrance to the "main street" across form my building. It isn't busy at all and is mostly residential.  The street plays music while you walk around which is actually kind of nice.

 

 

 

Here is the bicycle shop just a block and a half away. The owner speaks English and will do routine maintenance for no extra charge. I am super happy with my bike purchase.

 

 

 

Here is the small mom and pop fruit and vegetable store. I love this place. They have awesome fruits and veggies here in Japan and this place has good prices too. Sometimes there is a man in a little street vendor shop across the way and he also has good produce and prices.

 

 

 

 

 Here is the local grocery.  I have to plug my nose while in the back of the store because they have so much fish and seafood and I HATE the smell of it. So gross. This store doesn't have everything I need or like so sometimes I go to Hiroo or Azabu Juban to the expat stores to get things where I can actually read the labels and to also get some comforts of home.

 

The next street over on the way to the Starbucks area has this tiny electronics store. When I got here I needed a three prong adapter for my computer cord because I didn't bring one. I went to some of the large big name electronic places to find one and nobody did.  I found one at this store though and once again I learned to check nearby first before going further away.

 

 

 

 

 Here is the local 7 Eleven. They are on about every other block or so. Here the sign says "7 & Holdings." This city has them everywhere but NO SLURPEES! AAAAAHHHH! There are convenience stores everywhere in this city. The other two popular ones are Lawsons and Family Mart. You can pay your bills at most of them and buy tickets to different concerts and events too.

 

 

 

 Local Flower shop. I still need to make a purchase or two here.

 

 

The Dollar Store! I love this place. They have so many things and they are good quality too. They don't sell the cheap crap like they do at the dollar store in the states.

 

Here is the local hair salon. There are a number of hair salons between my apartment and work and some speak English. This one doesn't so I won't be going there for services even though it is significantly cheaper. 

 

Local Tailor. Right now I don't have a need for one but if I keep losing weight then I will.

 

Okay so this store I need to make sure to visit every now and then because I found the cutest second hand clutch purse there. This is the Kimono store and they have all these cool fabrics to make traditional Japanese clothing.  

 

 



 

Stationary store. Anyone need Hello Kitty or Disney pencils and junk? Here you go.

This is the local shoe/purse repair store and they also copy and make keys.

 



 

Okay so I can't believe I haven't been to this place yet because it is literally right next door to me. This is the Olive Spa and it is a massage place that is a local Tokyo chain.  They are open all night so if it is midnight and I need aroma therapy massage then I can just head on over in my pj's. I must make it a priority to check this place out. 

 

Hope you enjoyed this quick tour of my neighborhood. :)