A raw look at Tokyo's city pop streets, the shifting reality of a Kyoto coffee staple, and a much-needed reality check on Japanese freelance finances.
Let's skip the small talk. Sometimes the best way to see a city is to look past what it wants you to see, focusing instead on the background noise that everyone else ignores. Here is what is on the radar this week.
01 / THE PULSE - City Pop on two wheels
There is a specific, unhurried retro energy that still surfaces in the quiet backstreets of the capital if you know where to look. While sorting through frames, a couple of shots stopped me. The woman on the bicycle, her effortless styling, and the way the morning light hits the textured architecture instantly feels like stepping onto the jacket of a late-1980s City Pop vinyl. It’s an unspoken, analog mood that feels completely detached from the frantic pacing of modern Tokyo.
I’ve always harbored a deep fascination for Japan’s bubble era, not just for the immaculate basslines and economic euphoria, but for the sheer friction of navigating it as an outsider. Looking at these cinematic frames makes me wonder what it actually took to build a life here four decades ago. Today, we smooth over the edges of cultural friction with Google Maps, real-time translation apps, and endless lifestyle blogs optimizing every single step of the relocation process.
Back then, arriving in Tokyo meant embracing absolute isolation and navigating an uncompromisingly analog society by sheer instinct and physical maps. It was a time when moving to Japan wasn't an curated lifestyle choice shared on feeds, but a genuine, sometimes brutal plunge into the unknown. There’s a raw, grounded energy in that era's struggle that I wish I could have witnessed firsthand—an intentional way of experiencing the city that we’ve structuralized away with convenience.
02 / THE BREW - Good Man Roaster Kyoto
I’ve been tracking GoodMan Roaster Kyoto since day one, having walked through their doors for their opening back in late 2019. Over nearly seven years, I’ve watched the entire landscape of the place shift. The deep, comfortable leather sofas and the quiet, unhurried stillness that used to make it the ultimate spot for long, uninterrupted sessions have largely been replaced by a steady stream of tourists. It’s the natural trajectory for a shop of this caliber, but the original mood has undeniably evolved.
The crowds are entirely justified the execution here remains pristine. Between the rigorous quality of their pour-overs and a dessert menu that consistently hits the mark, it easily remains one of the finest coffee operations in the city. Interestingly, they’ve maintained an uncompromisingly analog stance amidst their success, remaining one of the few high-end shops in town that strictly demands cash transactions.
They are currently gearing up to open a second location in Kyoto, which will be worth watching closely. While the heavy foot traffic means it’s no longer my daily refuge, it stays firmly on my radar. It’s less of a default workspace now and more of a deliberate, nostalgic stop when the timing aligns.
03 / THE BITE - Gelateria Ritorta Kanazawa
Kanazawa genuinely caught me off guard with its culinary and coffee landscape. The city has developed a distinct, deeply satisfying hospitality vibe that goes far beyond its historical reputation. On a recommendation from a friend who treats ice cream as a serious pursuit, I ended up at Gelateria Ritorta. Sitting quietly by the water, it completely steers clear of the tourist-centric gold-leaf gimmicks that crowd the main streets, choosing instead to focus entirely on pristine flavor profiles.
I’m generally a traditionalist when it comes to gelato, usually locking into a strict rotation of pistachio, chocolate, or mint, but the ingredient pairings here completely changed my approach. The execution was so compelling that I found myself returning four or five times within a single week. A few of those runs were solo ventures while Natsuki was busy, which naturally earned me some lighthearted grief when she found out I was gatekeeping the spot.
It stands out as a masterclass in letting raw quality dictate the experience without needing the froufrou aesthetics. If you find yourself navigating Kanazawa's backstreets, this is the exact kind of unpretentious local craft that makes the city's modern food scene feel so grounded.
04 / THE SIGNAL - Admatic
Television in Japan can easily become a wall of chaotic noise, but Ad-Machi (Admatic High-Grade Street Gazeteer) is the one absolute exception. It’s a legendary show that dedicates each episode to a meticulous top 10 or 20 countdown of a single neighborhood, and it has easily become my favorite Japanese program. Since we watch it strictly via replay app, Natsu and I never miss an episode.
The show is inevitably food-heavy, this is Japanese television, after all, and the culture revolves entirely around the plate. But what really anchors it is the hyper-local vibe of neighborhood survival and the nostalgic sequence right before the final credits that recaps the community’s history. It is beautifully executed, to the point of giving you goosebumps. For Natsu, who lived in Tokyo but never fully got to explore its outer rings, it’s a constant source of inspiration that makes her want to pack up and set up a base there.
They occasionally drop archival specials comparing a district to how it looked two or three decades ago. Seeing how these micro-communities fiercely preserve their local texture while everything around them modernizes is incredibly inspiring. If you want to understand the true, unpolished architecture of Tokyo's community spirit, this is the definitive signal to track.
05 / THE THOUGHT - The Japanese Tax Myth
I often hear the claim back in France that Japan is a low-tax alternative. Let’s clear that up. Right now, with the historical weakness of the yen, if you are earning in euros or dollars, the exchange rate gives you a level of purchasing power that feels artificially luxurious. But confusing cheap daily living with a low tax burden is a major miscalculation.
When you actually look at the local tax brackets, the reality tells a very different story. Once you factor in income tax, inhabitant tax (juminzei), and national health insurance, the financial deductions end up being remarkably close to European structures. There might be minor variations on certain brackets, but this is absolutely not the fiscal Eldorado some people claim it to be.
On the flip side, that money does buy you a similar safety net. You get excellent, reliable health coverage and functional social infrastructure, even if safety nets like unemployment benefits are arguably less generous than the French model. The administrative workflow might feel slightly more streamlined, but the bottom line remains grounded: living in a highly functional, organized society always comes with a standard price tag.
For those who missed it last year, here is the latest video published on the channel to discover a tourist-free Kyoto, far from the clichés of overtourism
Stay grounded, and see you next week.
-Nicolas
