GINZA is a super elegant, fabulous, luxury area in Tokyo that has absolutely captivated my heart.
I still say OMOTESANDO is tied with DAIKANYAMA as my favorite area in Tokyo...but GINZA comes in a very close second!
On the weekends in GINZA, they close down the street to make room for "pedestrian heaven" which really turns in into a magical place. Ginza is home to my favorite jewelry store, ATELIER SHINJI, along with the world's biggest UNIQLO, the dopest store I have ever been in aka DOVER STREET MARKET, and also the only Faure Le Page store outside of Paris...just to name a few highlights.
Basically, this place in incredible and endless and magical and too expensive for me so... all I buy is FOOD!! haha.
Welcome to my Saturday in this amazing little corner of Tokyo..
First stop: breakfast and studying at CITY BAKERY in the new Tokyu Building. This bakery is actually from NYC, but since i'm a California girl, I had never been to it before living in Japan. They have the yummiest pastries along with strong coffee (yes, Lord) and most importantly...outlet plugs!!! So it's pretty much the prime spot to study and get work done, which is how I started off my Saturday in the city. Btw, that's a huge crispy bacon cheese thingie I ate with a raison honey muffin. yummmm!
In the afternoon, I met up with my two dear friends, Nathalie and Sarah, and we then hit up THE APOLLO, a greek restaurant in the same building as City Baker *Tokyu* to celebrate Sarah's birthday! We had to make a reservation since this place is pretty popular and when we walked in we could immediately tell why. uhhmm...the most beautiful interior, with nice views, hip waiters, and delicious greek food!??? We got the course meal that came with greek salad, hummus, pita bread, chicken and veggies, lemon pie and tea/coffee!!! Absolutely recommend this place to anyone and everyone
After lunch we hit up GINZA SIX, the newest mall in the area. It is the definition of LUXURYYYYY. Honestly. I can not afford a single thing in that mall besides mayyyybe an icecream cone or something haha. We opted to check out the Tsutaya bookstore on the top floor and then the awesome rooftop deck. Both free things haha. It was a crisp and cold day so sitting in the sun felt magical.
After that I cruise around the streets people watching and just enjoying the crisp winter air. Ginza is also conveniently located near Tokyo station so I walked over there later at night to meet my friend Molly for dinner! Love the accessibility of the city and how easy it is to get anywhere and everywhere.
Every weekend I spend in Tokyo reminds me of how lucky I am to call this city my playground. Living here and exploring all the neighborhoods in Tokyo has totally changed me. It's hard to remember what I was doing in life before I knew this city...and I know from here on out, I'll always find my way back to these streets.
Grateful for a Saturday in Ginza ;)