A pot of tea brews next to a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Three flying porcelain ducks hang on the wall. A pile of books sits on the shelf. And somewhere in the distance, the sound of bird song mingles with the chime of church bells.
Warm, rustic and welcoming, there are few scenes more evocative of a quintessentially English country kitchen. The only thing missing? A rosy-cheeked granny in an apron pulling a baked apple pie out of the oven.
But the tableau of bucolic bliss is not quite what it seems. First, it is not located in England but thousands of miles away in Tokyo's fashionable Daikanyama district. And second? Despite appearances, it is not a cozy home, a vintage store or a rustic tearoom — it's a new spa.