Kyoto, the former imperial capital of Japan, is a vibrant mash-up, an ancient city electrified by the breathtakingly new. Cruise the futuristic food halls of a department store, gaping at the perfect fruit and glistening sea creatures, before zipping up to the traditional floor, with its kimonos and tea ceremony implements. (Read More…)
Japan’s capital is a compelling study in contrasts—sprawling yet full of intimate neighborhoods; ancient yet up-to-the-minute. Here’s how to navigate its riches.
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The city’s unofficial motto, “Keep Austin Weird,” blares from bumper stickers on BMWs and jalopies alike, on T-shirts worn by joggers along Lady Bird Lake and in the windows of independently owned shops and restaurants. It’s an exhortation for a city that clings (Read More…)
ON $250/DAY
SLEEP Carved out of a 1920s hotel, the new Hotel Vertigo in Nob Hill (940 Sutter Street; 415-885-6800; www.hotelvertigosf.com) recently emerged from a cinematic makeover inspired (Read More…)
Hip hotels, restaurant and museums are transforming the city of Socrates.
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Kuraya doesn’t look like much from the street — just a nondescript warehouse on the industrial fringe of the Mission District. But climb the loading-dock stairs, and you’ll find yourself surrounded by some real Japanese booty: hundreds of antique tansu chests from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, each built for a specific function, from tea preparation to kimono storage. (Read More…)
Until the early ’90s, Hayes Valley was a seedy neighborhood, best known for prostitutes, drug deals and the elevated freeway that once bisected its main drag. The freeway has since been replaced by a Parisian-style boulevard and village green, and the neighborhood is thriving, its tree-lined streets and alleys peppered with restaurants, bars and — thanks to a 2003 local ban on chain stores — some of the city’s (Read More…)
T+L scoured California’s wine country to find one-of-a-kind boutiques and charming small-town stores. From Calistoga to Healdsburg, these eight spots are worth a visit.
The Shop Nearly everything at Ca’Toga Galleria D’Arte (1206 Cedar St.; 707/942-3900) is hand-painted by the prominent trompe l’oeil artist Carlo Marchiori: the folding screens, the ceramic plates—even the barrel-vaulted ceiling, done Michelangelo-style with a celestial (Read More…)
Long known for its cutting-edge music and art, Iceland hasn’t made much of an impression on the fashion world, Bjork’s eyebrow-raising swan dress notwithstanding. But a nascent style scene is now taking root in the capital, stoked by the city’s pervasive youth culture and a fashion program at the Iceland Academy of the Arts. (Read More…)
Rare 1940′s and 50′s bike parts are displayed as artifacts behind glass. At the back of the shop are exquisite canvas-and-leather touring bags, woven willow baskets, handmade French tires and tiny brass bells from Japan.
Berkeley is big on bikes. The city is laced with well-used “bicycle boulevards” — streets modified for bike safety and convenience — and studded with overflowing bike racks. Stand in front of Jitensha Studio (jitensha is Japanese for bicycle) and you’re within a mile of (Read More…)
Long known as one of San Francisco’s great, if sleepy, antiques districts, Presidio Heights has recently sprung to action. Three years ago a handful of local shop owners founded the Sacramento Street Merchants Association with the goal of turning their tranquil tree-lined area into the Madison Avenue of the West Coast. (Read More…)