Nearly every expat in Tokyo knows Las Chicas, the hip neo-Asian garden restaurant that sprawls across the first floor of the Vision Network complex near Omotesando. But many may not realize that there is more to Vision Network than a Thai curry lunch special. A quick peek into the corners of the rambling split-level structure will reveal three little bars -- two very well-hidden -- each with its own individual personality and character.
Nurturing unique ideas is what Vision Network is all about. It is the creed by which the owner, Masami Uemura, not only runs his business but also lives his life. Your average Japanese, on inheriting two city plots in the heart of Omotesando, would tear them up and build a skyscraper. But not Uemura (though he did rip up enough concrete to plant a garden). Instead, he cobbled together a curious assortment of buildings in which each room is a potential space for seeding an idea. People -- their potential and their vision -- is what most attracts Uemura.
Las Chicas itself is the fruit of an idea suggested to Uemura by a young Australian who wanted to give Tokyo a taste of the cafe culture in his country. When it first opened, it was only given a tiny toehold in a corner of what was then a large clothing and interior goods store. From there it flourished to almost engulf the entire ground floor of the main building -- all except (funnily enough) the corner it originally started in.