"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." Those oft-quoted words by the romantic poet John Keats resonate here in Japan no less than in his native England. Now, two centuries after being penned, they are the inspiration for a splendid little cafe-restaurant in one of Tokyo's lesser-trod neighborhoods.
The name, Keats House, gives the wrong idea, at least to European ears. You expect a genteel, aristocratic residence with a fusty academic air; what you find is a handsome old Japanese building transformed into a lively modern space where you can shop and browse, sit and relax, or settle in for simple meals of wholesome home-cooked food.
Built half a century ago, this traditional wooden two-story house is indeed a beautiful edifice. Until recently, though, it was moldering away, boarded up and abandoned. It seemed unlikely to survive. Now saved and lovingly restored, it has been brought back from the brink and given a distinctive new lease of life — if not for eternity, then at least a good few years more.