The rainy season is over; the midsummer heat has only just begun. Umbrellas have been swapped out for parasols, while fans and towels join face masks and wet wipes as essential accoutrements. Somewhere, unseen, athletes are starting to duke it out for medals. For the rest of us, just getting around the city requires Olympian feats of endurance.
This is the season we need to slow down, drink up and eat light. Looking for specific ideas? Make your way to Hatagaya, just a few train stops west of Shinjuku, head for the Nishihara Shotengai shopping street and don’t stop walking until you reach Kon.
Originally built some 60 years ago as a private residence for a well-to-do banker, it has a retro facade of anonymous gray, with no-nonsense bars protecting the windows. Lovingly preserved and refurbished, with most of its original fittings and glasswork intact, it’s a classic indoors and out.