Azabu-juban

Welcome to MotoAzabu Hills, a concrete building that wants to be a mushroom. It’s our home here in Tokyo, and its shroomy nature is actually extra padding against constant earthquakes. We like that it is so tall because it is so easy to find our way home by looking up. It presides over the cozy ex-pat area of MotoAzabu, the older section of Azabu-juban, our hamlet within Tokyo proper. It’s the only area in Tokyo so far (other than major tourist sites) where we have seen many Westerners walking around. There are a few requisite French patisseries, Italian trattorias, and one Irish pub, but largely, the neighborhood culture is still very Japanese. The small unnamed streets are lined with upscale boutiques, pachinko parlors, tea shops, and tiny restaurants. Many people bicycle everywhere. Most people do not speak much English, if any. We have been relying on our mini-Japanese phrasebook and a lot of body language. Although Tokyo is a gigantic metropolis, being in MotoAzabu feels like living in a homey, albeit busy, village.

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