Today we're taking a walk around Koenji
A quiet area just outside central Tokyo
With independent bars
Cafes and thrift shops
Lots of people ask me how much money you need in Japan
So along the way
I'll show you how much I spent
To give you an idea of how much things cost
100 yen for a bottle of water from the vending machine
I'll also point out some cute characters I spotted
As a designer
I just love how so many places have cute character mascots
You can spot them even where you really wouldn't expect it
If you like this sort of thing
Have a look at my Is Japan Cute video
Where I spotted loads of cute characters
Around Ueno
There's new Japan videos every Thursday
Just walking through Yoyogi
I've spotted this guy outside an office
His name is...
Babakun
I'm guessing he's some sort of mascot
We're thinking, as he's called Babakun
Maybe he's the mascot of a barbers?
Because he's holding a razor
Oop!
165 yen
From Harajuku to Nakano Station
I've got lunch from my favourite bakery
Bonjour Bon in Nakano Broadway
We just stopped off on the way to Koenji
This is a sweetcorn & kabocha roll
Never tried anything like that before
Looks good, looks quite yellow actually!
This is a little mochi cheese roll
It feels quite squishy!
It was so hard to decide what to get
They've got so many delicious-looking things
There's nothing there that I really recognised
So I had to read all the signs
In Japanese to work out what everything was
Here's my sweetcorn & kabocha bread
To be honest, it doesn't really taste of that much
But the texture of the bread's really nice
It's really soft
And pretty doughy
*squeak squeak*
Lunch from Bonjour Bon
The bakery in Nakano Broadway
It was 226 yen
Phil's got his curry pan
For 250 yen
And a cake from Cozy Corner
For 421 yen
Here's Phil's chocolate gateau from Cozy Corner
That looks really chocolatey!
It looks really good!
Their cakes are so nice!
This afternoon we're in Koenji
I've never been to this area before
But I've heard it's an alternative, indie area
With lots of secondhand shops
And lots of independent places
It used to be where the Tokyo punk scene was
There's also loads of live music venues here
So it's a lovely, sunny, warm afternoon
We're going to have a look around & see what's here
We've headed right out of the south exit of the station
We're going to this Pal shopping arcade
Apparently that's the way to the main area
We're in the Pal shopping arcade
There's everyday sort of shops down here
And a few places to eat
And cafes and things
It's actually a lot less crowded than where we were just now in Nakano
This is Look Street
The main street in Koenji
Here's a cute character you see around a lot
It's the Suica penguin!
This is the mascot of Suica
Which is like an Oyster card in London
for paying for your trains
He's so cute!
He's here on a vending machine
To show that you can pay with your Suica card
130 yen
For a melon soda from the vending machine
Drinks from the vending machine
Are usually between 100 and 160 yen
It's a Thursday afternoon
And it's really quiet here
There's a few people walking around
But it feels really chilled
And relaxed, especially when we've come from Shinjuku
This Look Street
Escaped the damage
In World War 2
So it's got a kind of retro feel to it
The buildings are slightly older
It's not really old
But you can see they are a bit older
Here's a cute little bear
He's on the logo for a dentist!
A cute little donkey spotted on the window
Of this shop
I'm not sure what sort of shop or office this is exactly
There's another one here
Look at these little guys!
I think it might be a pharmacy looking inside
Well if you're going to name your cafe
Cafe Matching Mole!
They've definitely got good cafe names here in Koenji
This one is Daddy's Socks!
A jazz cafe bar
There's lots of cute little places like this
No one locks their bikes here
I've heard that crime levels are low in Japan
But no one seems to lock their bikes up
There's a lot of people cycling
Quite a lot of the time
We've had to walk in single file
To avoid getting run over
We've just walked up Look Street
There's lots of vintage clothes shops
There's loads of little cafes
And bars
And quite a few really cute little places
There's not a whole lot going on here
It feels a bit more like a town
Than being in the big city like when you're in the centre of Tokyo
It's been an interesting place to have a wander around
I think if you're into photography
Or you're really into Instagram
You could get lots of good pictures
Of things like peoples' bikes
Leaned up against cute little cafes
And things like that
I get the feeling there's a different atmosphere at night
When the bars are open
Or maybe at the weekend
When it's busier
Hair Garage Razzle Queen
Look, they do different colours of hair dye
I got an ice cream top from this really cute shop
It's called Kiki2
They've got loads of colourful things
And pastel stuff
They've got used clothing from lots of kawaii brands
I'm just going over a pedestrian bridge
Over a major road
And there's this dog on the ground
I don't know why it's there!
There's a few more animals up there as well
It's just a bridge crossing over this road
There's a koala
And a panda
I really don't know why these are here
I'm not sure what this sign is saying
She's got an axe
And she's riding a bear?!
It's a really nice afternoon
So we've walked to find a park
This is Sanshi no Mori Park
Here's the map
It sounds like it's got a waterfall
Think it's got a waterfall across there
Nice
And here's a cute little character on a poster
I'm not sure what this poster's for
He's got a camera round his neck & a map
So he's some kind of little tourist
Wow, this is more of a waterfall than I was expecting!
Just for a little city park
It's actually really nice to rest our feet
We've been walking about 10 miles every day
Around Tokyo
So we're back at the station now
We've just been up and down Look Street
Then we walked along to the park
And back again
So we haven't spent very long here
But it seems like a pretty chilled, relaxed sort of place
Overall I wouldn't say Koenji's a must-visit place
But maybe for your second or third trip to Tokyo
If you want to see somewhere different
Somewhere quieter
A more everyday sort of place
Or if you like thrift shopping or photography
There's lots of cute Japanese streets & cafes
If you want to come here
It's on the Chuo Line
We came from Shinjuku
It's a JR overground line
It was a few stops but it didn't take very long to get here
It's quite near Kichijoji & Mitaka
Which is where the Studio Ghibli museum is
If you want to see more of what I've been getting up to in Japan
There's loads more videos on my channel
Lots about other areas in Tokyo
And other parts of Japan as well
So subscribe if you want to see all the rest
And have a look at my designs
On cakeswithfaces.co.uk
I like drawing cute & colourful things
I put them on t-shirts
And dresses
I did design this one I'm wearing today
But you can't get that one in the shop
This is a one-off just for me
But there are lots of other dresses on there too
So have a look
Cakeswithfaces.co.uk