The Best Spots in Chūō Ward, Tokyo,According to an Expert
Miyoko Wakamatsu
Ito Ryokan
As a historic inn located in Ningyocho, we welcome guests who respect Japanese culture. We strive to provide hospitality that makes you feel right at home in Tokyo.
- web site
- https://itoryokan.jp/
- address
- 2-31-3 Nihonbashi Ningyocho, Chuo-ku
- telephone number
- 03-3666-6675
Cotton Paper Club
It’s about a 2-3 minute walk from Suitengumae Station on the Hanzomon subway line. Cotton Paper Club, a small variety store in Nihonbashi-Kakigara-cho, is run by Norio Yoshihara, whom my mother knows personally. A sign at the entrance reads: “For customers spending 500 yen or more, we’ll play piano and sing for you. However, customers spending ¥1,000 or more have the right to refuse.“ Customers who show interest in the shop’s trinkets might feel a little uneasy upon seeing this sign. Still, according to Ms. Yoshihara, ”Most customers who enter the shop open up and hit it off after listening to the piano performance and chatting.” On the 6th floor of this building is a “studio” (his wife calls it a warehouse), where he invites these newfound friends to hold concerts and parties. Actually, since I play the flute, I’ve been invited to these concerts and parties several times myself.
As indicated by the sign on this building’s side that reads “New Bridge Co., Ltd., General Imports,” Mr. Yoshiwara’s main business is a trading company. He was originally a trading company employee in Kobe and was stationed in Australia for a long time. After that, he started a business in Brisbane called ship supplies, which provides fuel, food, and anything else ships need while docked at port. He met his wife, who was working at a New Zealand bank at the time, while playing guitar at a restaurant in New Zealand. After traveling together to Seville, Spain, they returned to Japan in 1975. They promptly established an import trading company, naming it Newbridge Co., Ltd. The core business at Newbridge was serving as a consultant and point of contact for importing whole grain wheat and rye flour produced by Roman Meal Company in the United States into Japan. Bread made with this whole grain flour is supplied wholesale to some of Japan’s leading bakeries. Additionally, he reportedly handled the import of live horses from the United States, selling them to horse dealers in Kumamoto for fattening.
Then, in 1995, Cotton Paper Club opened its doors. The name comes from the fact that the envelopes and stationery imported from India at the time were made from “cotton paper”—paper crafted from cotton scraps. The word “club” was added, inspired by the upscale New York nightclub, the Cotton Club. Initially, Mr. Yoshiwara displayed items he had collected during his travels around the world in his office. As these items multiplied, the space gradually took on the appearance of a shop. The selection includes toys like cars, boats, and airplanes, which Mr. Yoshiwara loves, alongside accessories, stationery, tableware, candles, and other items his wife enjoys collecting. It seems this shop is driven less by the pursuit of sales and more by a desire to create a space for encounters with customers drawn by the shop’s mysterious charm, a place where they can converse.
We’ve had all kinds of encounters. When a couple who had just filed their marriage registration at the nearby branch office came into the shop, I played and sang Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi’s “Kanpai” to congratulate them. A year later, they returned as a family of three to announce the birth of their child. Many foreigners also visit. One couple who regularly stay at the nearby Royal Park Hotel come to Japan at least once a year, enjoying exploring the downtown areas. When Mr. Yoshiwara organized a “Sugamo and Streetcar Ride” event for his pen-pal club, which serves as a place for interacting with foreigners, this couple volunteered as guides to lead the participants. The primary purpose of the couple’s trips is undoubtedly to visit this very shop. Their instruments and amplifiers, brought for concerts, remain permanently stored in the sixth-floor studio. While sales haven’t exactly skyrocketed, Mr. Yoshihara’s desire to create a space for conversation and connection with customers seems deeply rooted in this shop and in the hearts of the patrons who visit it.
Cotton Paper Club
- address
- 1-26-6 Nihonbashi-Kakigara-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
- telephone number
- 03-3663-1456
