Book and Cafe 246

Writing this from Cafe 246, which I’ve been meaning to visit for a while now. Book and Cafe 246 are a creation of PAPER SKY magazine (and the cafe is co-produced by the people behind Planet 3rd). The cafe itself is nice, featuring a full food menu (I was expecting mostly drinks), as well as a full bar. Looks like they’re probably catering to the embassy/business people in the area. There’s a magazine rack as well, and 5 laptops equipped with webcams (but unfortunately, they’re Windows machines, and the keyboard it a bitch to use). The bookstore is small, but it’s crammed to the ceiling with books, as well as design-friendly travel goods (think Freitag bags). I like the little displays they have arranged on tables, like one for Canada (Toronto is the cover feature of the latest PAPER SKY), as it includes an interesting selection of books and magazines: vintage books on the city of Toronto, as well as a Toronto art magazine called C, which has an interesting indie look to it.

I did have trouble finding the place, even though I checked the map on their website just before leaving my place. Seems like I’m getting really bad for that (like the other day with the +81 shop). I ended up calling Patrick at work, to have him send me the address on my mobile phone, as I was just walking in circles.

After I’m done with my latte, I’m off to Ginza where I’ll check out the latest exhibition at the Ginza Graphic Gallery, and also maybe go to the Hanna Gallery to have a look at the Aqui Uzumaki exhibition.

Update: The Barnbrook Design exhibition at the GGG was very good, and well worth checking out. I’ve become a fan. The Aqui Uzumaki show, although limited to one small room, was fun and colorful. It went well with the music that was playing (the SONIDO UZUMAKI compilation from Music Related). I stopped by the Okinawa shop to get some chinsukou cookies, taco rice mix, and a can of A&W root beer. While there I also had a cone of mango soft ice-cream (absolutely delicious). At the Muji superstore in Yurakucho, I was glad to see that the Martha Stewart store is now gone (it always annoyed the hell out of me). They’re also doing some major renovations, as a good part of the space was sealed off. Lastly, I stopped at Sofmap (in the same building) and picked up ATSUMARE!! MADE IN WARIO for the GameCube for really cheap.