Tokyo Drift: Pleasure Cruiser
There’s so much to discover in Tokyo: every side street looks inviting, every billboard catches your eye, each corner is crammed sky-high with entertainments and flashing neon. You soon realize that having a guide who knows the best spots is the most valuable connect you can make. As Term 2 begins in Tokyo, we got in touch with Nic “Pleasure Cruiser” Liu, an alumni of RBMA New York City 2013, who moved to Tokyo several years ago from London. When he’s not running his Love Hotel Records label or producing sultry, in-your-face electro disco — which has been championed by the likes of Michael Mayer, Chloe, and DJ Harvey — Nic’s been exploring every corner of the sprawling metropolis he now calls home. We asked Mr. Pleasure to tell us where he likes to cruise around in this incredible city.
Partyland Frozen Yogurt Shop (Shibuya)
Yes, that is a picture of me sitting eating frozen yogurt surrounded by Japanese schoolgirls and gyaru. Partyland is literally a party in your mouth. This little frozen yogurt place has vanilla, lemon, chocolate, and many more flavours, all topped off with an assortment of treats to sprinkle on it.
Hard Off/Mode Off (Koenji/Hachioji/Kawasaki)
A secondhand clothing and electronics store with branches in the Koenji, Hachioji, and Kawasaki neighborhoods. I would recommend making the trek out to the Hachioji branch of these recycle stores. I managed to pick up an amp, monitor speakers, projector, a deck, a Famicom, Sega Mega Drive, and some cool clothes. Not to stereotype, but Japanese people in general look after their belongings, so most things are in good condition.
Lion Café (Shibuya)
Whilst on one of my regular trips through Dogenzaka I accidentally stumbled across this little gem of a place. It is a classical music café with an awesome hi-fi system and some real beauties for its clientele, ranging from otaku (geeky) Japanese men imagining they are conducting an orchestra to ladies doing some knitting. I love this place—it is a welcome respite from the buzzing streets of Shibuya where you can smoke cigarettes and sip on tea and catch a few cherished moments of peace.
Disk Union (Shibuya)
This record store is an obvious choice but it never fails for good finds. There is fun for everyone in the Shibuya store with five levels of punk, heavy metal, hip hop, house, techno, J pop, jazz, groove, and soul. If Disk Union does not fulfill your utmost vinyl digging fantasies, try to pick up one of the Record Map books (I believe the last print is the 26th edition), a little gem of a Japanese record store-shopping bible.
Bic Camera (Shibuya)
An everyday electronics store with massage chairs on the fifth floor. I often go here for a little time out and a cheeky free massage. I don’t think you will find this one in your guide books, but honestly I haven’t had a better massage since Bangkok in 2008. Just don’t stay longer than two massage runs on the chair or you might get the weird “You should not do that” smile from the staff.
Komora Soba (Everywhere)
Cheap and delicious tempura and soba. Don’t let the cheap plastic dishes displayed in the front fool you, this place is awesome. After many deep and long-winded conversations with sararimen about on-the-go soba, this store has always come out on top. I’d recommend a bowl of Kakeage soba for 350 yen. Kakeage is a kind of tempura conglomerate consisting of carrots, onion and sakura (very small) shrimp.
Thrasher (Koenji)
This store is not actually affiliated with the skate magazine... I’m not even sure if that’s what it is called, but it has a lot of Thrasher stuff inside and loads of cool clothes. I recently bought a used jacket from a high-end fashion brand in this store for ¥4000. Koenji in general is highly recommended — there are lots of interesting characters to meet and stores to explore.
Sound Studio Dom (Koenji)
This is a 24-hour studio space; you can go there and smash on some drums, play the piano, fool around on decks, and generally do whatever you want in the dingy little studio rooms. The people who run the place are cool punk rocker dudes. We did a Love Hotel Records event here in July — it was mega-fun and sweaty.
