all the little things
Up the stairs next to the big green and white hand logo, into a most curious shop.
I'd heard of Tokyu Hands 東急ハンズ in various places over the years, but was reminded of it again when reading William Gibson's Distrust That Particular Flavour, where he describes it as “an eight-floor DIY emporium where doing it yourself includes things like serious diamond-cutting”. It's difficult, though, to know just how many floors there are. Each is made up of sub-levels, with a couple of basements to boot. The arrangement makes it possible to visit every floor without having to use the lift, the floors staggered up in a flattened spiral.
It has a selection, carefully chosen with a certain consistency, of just about every hobby or home-related item you could imagine. From woodworking to Nanoblock ナノブロック sets, stationery supplies to lab beakers, model railway figurines to party costumes. You could spend hours — and I spent at least one on this occasion — browsing and musing.
At the top, or a sub-level thereof, is the store's restaurant. The two walls that touch the outside of the building have doors which lead on to separate small balconies, one ostensibly for sitting (not much use in the rain), the other a tiny open-air garden. I ordered a “setto” セット (a set, or combo) and tried not to be occupied by the bewildering collection of marine-themed items for sale.