Brompton recently opened an official shop around Harajuku. While daily life doesn't allow for much time to potter, occasionally there's a gap. The Brompton is the perfect bicycle for pottering: it folds, it fits on trains and under tables, and it has gears.

Today I set off on the Shonan-Shinjuku line intending to cycle around Shibuya/Harajuku to visit the Brompton shop and Blue Lug. Cycling from Shibuya is far too close – may as well walk. So I started stepping backwards along the stops... Ebisu?...maybe... Oosaki?...hmm...Nishi-ooi?

Then it hit me. I haven't been to Nishi-ooi since I was an exchange student and we set out (pre smartphone with gps in your pocket) on a walk one night...got lost...and ended up at Nishi-ooi. Perfect, I'll ride from Nishi-ooi to...Shibuya? Nah, since I'm in the neighborhood I'll ride to my old station and see what's changed in the last 17 - 18 years(!).

And so, rather than pottering to some bike shops, I potter around memory lane and it was fantastic.

The ride was smooth. It was entirely on the streets, but all of the streets were 30kph roads with at least some paint to indicate where cyclists should ride. The paint doesn't protect you, but it at least tells drivers to expect and be prepared for bicycles.

Along the way I rode through a nice park with a nice jungle gym and a place to splash around in the water. And also a nearly 100 year old steam locomotive?!

Riding up to Ontakesan my nose told me what I had hoped – Yanaka coffee was still there and still roasting beans. I used to always get my coffee from them when I was a student, not realizing how fortunate I was to have such great coffee so easily accessible.

Ontakesan still has a thriving Shotengai (shopping street) filled with local businesses and I missed that. It felt so alive – people visiting a local market, getting coffee beans, or Japanese style sweets.

I can order Yanaka coffee online (and I sometimes do), but for love of nostalgia and for supporting the local shopping street I had to buy some beans. I picked up the Ontakesan blend, 200g whole bean for me, and 200g ground for my in-laws.

There were a few changes in the neighborhood. The McDonalds had become a Saint Marc cafe (chocolate croissants and coffee), an upgrade. Italian Tomato is now a KFC. The little cake shop had turned into a hair salon, most likely because the owner retired. And the little Italian place was nowhere to be found.

While the station hasn't changed, still fits a 3-car train, the wrap on the trains has. I'm half-certain Baskin Robbins is now sponsoring the Ikegami line.

The Leo Palace the school had rented out and treated as dorms was still there. Unfortunately my old local Natural Lawson's had been downgraded to a regular Lawson's. I couldn't help but imagine what life would be like living in this neighborhood again. In a neighborhood with a thriving shopping street instead of a 4-lane road where a shopping street once stood. Perhaps rose-tinted glasses, but also simpler times.

After getting my coffee I decided to continue on towards Sangen-jaya, to meet up with my wife. This part of the ride removed some of the rose tint from my glasses. Not because of dangerous or unfun riding, but because it started to get a bit warmer out and there was a distinct lack of shade trees had me imagining this ride in 2 months time.

I say this, but also I did manage to stumble upon a small local park which has a fountain to refill my water bottle and a clean-enough restroom. I probably shouldn't be, but I can't help but be amazed by mundane things here in Japan like community access to free clean water and toilets. It  should be normal, humans looking after humans, but it isn't.

Sancha seems to be a fantastic neighborhood that embodies all of the great qualities of Tokyo. Compact, lots of small and local businesses, so much going on in every direction. I had just enough time for a cup of coffee at Obscura (co-worker recommended (😋) before I had to call time.

Pottering around Tokyo reminded me how cool Japan is. This year I'm going to try to take advantage of all of the gaps in my schedule to go and potter about on my Brompton, in search of great coffee and mundane joys.