The East

Hidden away right in between tourist-infested Asakusa and the much grittier Asakusabashi, Kuramae has a recently become a hotbed of hip 'made in Tokyo' shops, trendy eateries and hipster coffeeshops. Aiming to build (or cash in) on that reputation is this new concentration of businesses right by the Sumida River, housed in a multi-storey structure consisting of a café and restaurant on the two lower floors and a gallery and a barber shop higher up. Check out the burger joint set up by a former Burger Mania chef and the coffeeshop run by Fuglen's Kenji Kojima and Yasuo Ishii of Mighty Steps fame before checking out the gallery and the American-style salon.