all streets shibuya
A local guide made by walking
Face-to-face haunts
in Daikanyama and Ebisu
Vol.13 Tamaki Ito
(Owner of Sputnik)
2024.06.15
It was in 2021 during the height of the pandemic that Sputnik, an Italian style café and bar, opened along the strip connecting Shibuya and Ebisu. Owner Tamaki Ito was just 26 at the time. Since deciding at the age of 20 to open a restaurant with a name meaning "travel companion", he honed his skills in various cafes and food production companies in Shibuya Ward. We asked Ito-san to take us around the Daikanyama and Ebisu area where his cafe is located. Everywhere we walked, a number of faces popped up in diners, liquor stores, and bars. The path may be the very companion on the journey in the life of a restaurant owner.
Familiar haunts
accompany us through life
"We don't really have anything special, so I'm at a bit of a loss when people ask what the recommendations are." says Tamaki Ito with a wry smile as he serves up my coffee over the counter at Sputnik, made of course with specialty beans. "For coffee and cocktails I just aim for them to be up to scratch. It's not a connoisseur shop with some special niche and I don't want to be everybody's go-to café. It is rather meant to be a space you can drop in while in passing. I'm a firm believer that having familiar haunts in your daily life really makes your life richer."
While out shopping,
pop over to Daikanyama
Ito-san opted for Daikanyama as the location for the opening of his restaurant, whose name is redolent of a travel companion. Why did he choose to expand into a quarter associated with upscale residential? "In order to create a space that could be used on a daily basis, we prioritized accessibility. We had considered the highly refined Oku-Shibuya area, but this location is not only close to Daikanyama Station on the Toyoko Line, but is also within walking distance of Shibuya and Ebisu Stations. I would be happy if people could drop by quickly while shopping or dining out." Sputnik is located along a quiet residential street, in contrast to the Kyu-Yamate Dori Avenue, which is lined with commercial buildings and big-name boutiques.
"If you consider the glamorous Old Yamate Street to be the front side of Daikanyama, this area is the back side, lined with small, privately owned stores. It is a residential area and has a nice lived-in feeling. College girls come here in droves, and elderly men who live in the neighborhood potter about alone. The interesting thing about our shop is that we have different types of customers all lined up at the same counter."
A Weekly swim,
and a weekly lunch
When he's not behind the counter, Ito-san can be found swimming in the nearby Daikanyama Sports Plaza. Once he started swimming for 30-minute sessions, he began to make friends with fellow swimmers. And, after a while, it became a tradition to grab lunch at "Sue-zen" together after the pool.
"Sue-zen is the ideal everyday diner, not just for me but for many others too. Flavors that endure in an ever-changing town. I heard that the owner is the third generation. I can't tell you how many times I've had the
"Grilled Mackerel Set Meal" because it sorts me right out after a swim. I truly come here every week (laughs). I love the variety of side dishes too."
Seeking the relief of
familiar faces and spaces
"Apart from the pool and lunch, another regular destination is to go for a drink. For natural wine, l'll go to 3amours. It's a specialist shop run by our alcohol supplier. For beer I go to "as always" in Ebisu for their foamless Asahi Super Dry (sharp). I just enjoy watching the barman pour the drinks. Another favorite haunt of min is "B-10! In Ebisu, a music bar where you can hang out with the owner while listening to his records." Wherever Ito mentions the name of a cafe, he always emphasizes the owner. Even in Daikanyama, which is often lumped together as a high-class residential area, and Ebisu, a bustling urban area, there are many faces that can be encountered by opening the door and stepping inside, he says:
"I have always longed for hang-outs where I could see the owner face-to-face. I always felt reassured that the same person was always in the same place.......As my network grew, learned that such stores existed in this area as well. That is why we are a small three-person team, open from early morning until late at night. I want Sputnik to be like the stores I mentioned, and I hope it continues to be so."
List
Profile
Tamaki Ito
Spent his childhood in Brazil. While working part-time at a major café chain during his college years, he was deeply inspired by the owner of a café in Shibuya, and decided to open his own café. He worked hard as a barista at a world champion barista's cafe and as a bartender at a well-loved cafe in Yoyogi Uehara, and also worked for a restaurant production company. After going solo, he opened his own restaurant in 2021 with bartender Rin Itabashi as his associate.