This Neighborhood Was Just Named the Coolest in the World—Here’s How to Experience It, According to a Local

Time Out’s annual list of the world’s coolest neighborhoods has just been announced, with the editors tapping Tokyo’s Jimbōchō as the coolest of the cool.

Proximity to several universities has filled the area with used book stores, cheap restaurants, and coffee shops that were ancient before anyone ever heard of Starbucks. Jimbōchō is very retro and a bit dusty but has boho charm to spare, remaining stubbornly independent in the face of the globalization’s  homogenizing force.

For a perfect day in Jimbōchō, we start with lunch at Kitchen Nankai, a tiny counter restaurant that has been slinging classic Japanese curry topped with katsu pork cutlets since 1966. Then, walk off those calories wandering from bookshop to bookshop.

Time Out rightly shouts out Isseido Booksellers, a two-story treasure trove of antique books. The second floor has a substantial foreign language collection, focused on visual arts, traditional crafts, and Japanese culture. Nearby Komiyama is the place for photography books, magnif has vintage fashion magazines going back nearly a century, and the adorable Nyankodo is devoted to all things cat, but there are over a hundred more to explore.

Traditional outdoor second hand bookstore at Jimbocho district area.

Rudimencial/Getty Images

Off the beaten path is Takeo Paper Shop, purveyors of custom stationary from elegant, made-in-Japan paper. In their minimalist showroom, you can touch hundreds of samples, enjoying the tactile pleasure of papers made from materials like kozo mulberry, rice chaff, and recycled cotton.

Coffee shops in Jimbōchō are mostly the old-school variety called kissa, with hands-on proprietors marrying classic pour-overs with a niche interest. At Milonga Nueva, that interest is Argentine tango music. At Mafumi Coffee, calligraphy. And at Cafe Ataraxia, just past the vibrant street art decorating Gallery Kawamatsu, it is classical music LPs played on a hand-cranked Syrena gramophone from 1912 or a Victrola Credenza from 1926.

With book bags full and body caffeinated, head to Ebimaru Ramen for dinner. Their unique mash-up of springy noodles, lobster bisque, and slow-cooked Hida pork elevates the entire ramen oeuvre. Pair with their selection of French wines or pull up stakes for a post prandial at Nihonshu Genka Sakagura, an izakaya offering a rotating selection of over 50 sakes at cost.

After a day like that, you’ll understand why Jimbōchō’s retro, bibliophile vibe is the height of cool.