Circles Tokyo opened at the end of last February, and it’s been nearly a year. Staff from Nagoya have been taking turns coming to help out, and for me and Tomoyan, this is our fifth time working at Circles Tokyo since we started last summer. We are planning an event for the first anniversary next month, so please look forward to it.
As for our support work, the staff from Nagoya stays for about two weeks at a time to handle repairs, bicycle assembly, wheel building, and other tasks. It’s naturally a pleasure to see more people riding BASSI BIKES and BIKE FRIDAY in Tokyo and to receive requests for custom build consultations, but as mechanics at Circles, who believe in all genres of bicycles, it is also incredibly fulfilling to see an increase in repair requests for standard city bikes!
Every time I finish my stint in Tokyo and head back to Nagoya, people tell me how much I must have been enjoying Tokyo. It’s true—my philosophy is that if I’m here, I’d be losing out if I didn’t enjoy it! I thought I’d take the opportunity to jot down exactly how I’ve been enjoying my time in Tokyo. Here is my personal way of spending my days off!
My go-to PIZZA spot in Tokyo!
For lunch, I headed to Maple Pizza, a place I’ve visited three times now because I love not just the flavor, but the atmosphere as well. If you have a shop like this near where you’re staying, you’re bound to keep coming back, right? I seriously recommend it! The "Tomoyan style" is to order two New York-style slices from the counter—one classic pepperoni (the pizza with spicy dried sausage on the left) and another chosen based on the day’s mood—along with a bottled Coke! If you’re sightseeing in Asakusa, be sure to stop by along with the Kaminarimon gate!
Enjoying the differences from Nagoya!
While visiting charming places like Maple Pizza is definitely fun, what I actually find most interesting and enjoyable is observing the street trees. The thing that surprised me most compared to Nagoya during my first Tokyo shift was the sheer variety of trees planted in the city.
Sometimes you’ll even see Everfresh trees used as street trees—plants you often see kept indoors—which is a sight I’ve never encountered in Nagoya. I highly recommend checking out the large Everfresh trees planted along Kyu-Yamate Dori in Daikanyama. I thought they might have lost their leaves since it’s winter, but as expected of trees planted directly in the ground, they hadn’t at all; they were flourishing. Anyone who loves plants will be amazed to see what they look like in their natural state!
It’s only because I’m on a bike that I can discover things like this.
My #1 source of personal excitement is the kind of trees that people have planted spontaneously in front of their shops. This seems common in the older downtown areas, and it’s fun to look at the uniquely decorated potted plants placed in the eaves of shops and private homes. If I had a long weekend, I’d be perfectly happy spending an entire day just going around looking at these!
I’ve only been looking around the Koto, Sumida, and Taito areas near where I’m staying, so these days I’m curious about the street tree situation in other areas. If you know of any interesting spots, please let me know!!
An unexpected request!!
Last Friday was the birthday party for Mr. Kurihara, a key figure at BAYCREWS, with whom we collaborate on Circles Tokyo. Surprisingly, I received a request to DJ at the event, so after closing Circles Tokyo, I grabbed my records and rushed over to a club in Shibuya!
My slot was 40 minutes, starting when the event kicked off at 10:00 PM. My personal highlight was being able to play Stevie Wonder’s "Happy Birthday" right as the toast began! Better safe than sorry—I’m so glad I brought it along!
Mr. Kurihara has come all the way to Nagoya to join our Circles anniversary parties for two years in a row (the 17th and 18th), so I’m relieved that I was finally able to return the favor on behalf of Circles.
Until next time!!
The title for this post is "Tomoyan’s Tokyo Work Diary Vol. 1," so please look forward to Vol. 2, where I’ll write about how I spend my time during my next Tokyo shift! My current stay ends on Wednesday, January 22nd. I’ll be back at Circles in Nagoya for a while starting Friday the 24th, so come by and say hello!