flea market – kyoto. tokyo.

one of my favorite spots in kyoto is the flea market held at to-ji temple, “koubou-ichi“, just south of the jr station. the flea market is held on the 21st of every month from 6am-4pm. it is one of the larger flea markets i have been to in japan. for the curious, this is a great place to own some parts of japanese history – it is becoming harder to find bargains now with the increased interest in flea markets, but it is still a fun activity. take a break and indulge in some of kyoto’s famous bean curd, “yuba”. it is really worth trying it. it comes in different flavors.

how to get there:

Tokyo Flea Markets
Click on the following link for a listing of some of Tokyo’s more well known flea markets. http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyoculturearchive349/316/tokyocultureinc.htm

architectural bars….vienna. tokyo.

if you find yourself in vienna, and don’t have time to tour some of adolf loos’s work, surely you can make time for a good vodka martini at the american bar (or kaertner bar) – a cozy space representative of loos’s design style. loos, a seminal figure in early 20th century architecture, was critical of the prevailing style of his period, the viennese seccession (austrain art nouveau). the bar is conveniently located off the main central pedestrian area in vienna on a side street called kaertnerstrasse, which is located of stephansplatz (where the cathedral is). the bar celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and they are open till 4am every day.

when you catch your flight to tokyo the next day, head to the only standing (albeit reconstructed) example of frank lloyd wright’s original imperial hotel interior.  if you’re looking for classic wright design, good martinis and attentive service to boot, don’t miss on this gem of classic architecture.

these are period pieces and are not hip bars by any stretch… a post on this will follow shortly, hang in there

American Bar   +43 1 512 3283
On adolf loos         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Loos

The Old Imperial Bar
Imperial Hotel 2F, 1-1-1 Uchisaiwai-cho, 1-1-2 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
call +81 3 3504 1111
Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight