all streets shibuya
A local guide made by walking
Going Deep in
Shibuya’s Hatagaya area
Vol.17 Jun Hirayama
(Head of NEUT MEDIA)
2024.07.03
In April, "TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE 2024" was held in Yoyogi Park, a haven of relaxation in Shibuya Ward. It was a festival and pride parade to celebrate diversity in sexuality and life with LGBTQ+ people and their allies. June is "Pride Month," a series of events held around the
world to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ rights. Jun Hirayama is editor-in-chief of "NEUT Magazine," which presents a perspective on social issues such as gender and sexuality that is not constrained by existing values.
We asked him to take us on a traipse around the streets of Shibuya. With daily life busier than ever, we all need to switch o sometimes. And so it’s “off” we go to the northern part of Hatagaya, the setting for this installment.
A community hub,
with familiar faces round
every corner
Hey, it's Mona! How are you? How's the store?” As soon as he stepped inside Hatagaya's Sunday Bake Shop, Jun Hirayama ran into a friend. After checking in with Mona Yamaguchi (who runs Cyōdo, a café/bar nearby), she pedaled o on her bike in the direction of Shinjuku. “In Hatagaya, I am constantly bumping into people like this. People who run shops here or who live in the area. This place acts as a hub for the community. I come to buy owner Kazuko Shimazaki's pastries as
souvenirs, all of which are as tasty as they are reasonably priced. I drop in 3 times a week, and am particularly partial to their sumptuous home-made ice cream.”
An enclave to the north of
Hatagaya station
that jives to the beat of daily lives
'It would be ideal if people discover kombucha from places like Blue Bottle. 'Cos when we do a pop-up store, people still ask, 'Is this kelp tea?'
Despite its lack of penetration in Japan, kombucha has become a bona de health drink in the USA, and is a beverage of vegetable origin made by fermenting tea. Its raw materials are tea leaves, sugar, water and a gelatinous strain of bacteria (Scoby- Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria
and Yeast.) Along with amino acids, vitamins and polyphenols, it contains myriad bacteria such as acetic acid bacteria and yeast, and has been called the 'next generation of health drink'. 'I used to go to Hawaii regularly for my job as an editor and writer, and I often drank Kombucha there. It's slightly carbonated with a refreshing acidity. When the pandemic meant I could no longer go, I missed it and so made my
own handmade version. It went down well, and the following year I set up the brand. It's not just a health drink, but also pairs well with food, rather like natural wine. So we bottled it and aimed for a natural wine-like approach. I was a new-comer in the food biz, but I think I was able to
draw on my work experience to brand the product."
Participation as "NEUT Magazine"
in an event to ponder the community
In recent years, Hatagaya, along with Sasazuka and Hatsudai, has been dubbed "Sasa-hata-hatsu," and redevelopment is underway. The "Nanago-Dori Park Toilet," which was made famous by the movie "Perfect
Days," has become a new landmark in the "THE TOKYO TOILET" project. Could it be that the scenery of this town is in the process of changing as well? “Hatagaya has a certain vibe that encourages participation
in community development, rather than commercial redevelopment dominating. At the end of March, NEUT Magazine produced a newspaper for a TPT event - an organization that discusses community through tea ceremonies. Seven restaurants in Hatagaya brought one
dish each to a special plate lunch. This informal solidarity and horizontal connection is unique to Hatagaya.”
Surrounded by Hatagaya denizens
with a strong sense of self
“I moved to Hatagaya about three years ago, and many of my favorite haunts started around the same time. "Kitchen Kanezyo," which I visit every month, just celebrated its third anniversary in April. Proprietor Akihiro Uematsu hails from Kagoshima Prefecture, so there is a good selection of sweet potato shochu which I usually enjoy with tonic as
a "dry wari”. Another joint that opened at the end of 2020 was "boat," which serves a wide variety of natural wines. It might be a trait of this town that many stores serve natural wine not because it is trendy, but because they actually believe in it.”
List
Profile
Jun Hirayama
archival print editions and organizing an event in Taiwan in 2023. Following a stint in Shinsen, he now calls Hatagaya
home. https://neutmagazine.com