"Shopping Japan With Four Pins" is an ongoing series in which Amardeep Singh takes us on a tour of the country's best shops. See them all here.
Part VIII: Roots to Branches, Nakameguro
Fresh off the heels of a visit to Vendor, I was told about a store run by the same parent company just down the road, named ROOTS to BRANCHES. By now, you've probably seen that Nakameguro is home to many shops we like, so when I heard that this other store that was run by the wonderful folks at nonnative was also in Nakameguro, I was happy to take some time away from the ramen restaurant I was headed towards to check it out. What I found was a gorgeous store packed with a ton of gems, some of which weren't even for sale, that made me like ROOTS to BRANCES more than Vendor itself.
The store is certainly not the easiest to find. Situated on the second floor of a building with no signs at all on the first floor indicating the relative goldmine above, the difficulty in finding the place kind of adds to the mystique of it all. I was unsure what to expect in terms of shop design and the brand list, but as soon as I entered I knew I was getting into something good. The shop immediately reminded me of 1LDK, which is maybe a five minute walk away, being almost entirely composed of gorgeous wood, exposed metal and lots of plants. As I started to inspect the wares in the shop, which cover all of the main bases with a sizable menswear and womenswear offering alongside lots of ceramics, publications and other home wares, I felt a similar feeling as I did in 1LDK as well as a few other shops I've been to in Japan: an overwhelming desire to touch everything I saw. And that I did just that.
ROOTS to BRANCHES has been open for about a year and carries a mix of both familiar brands—N.HOOLYWOOD and Engineered Garments—and domestic labels I'd never seen before, all sitting next to a still developing and growing in-house collection. All of this is placed adjacent to stunning ceramics, houseware and tableware that'll make you wish you were an adult with a real reason to buy such nice things for your home. A thoroughly impressive store that even my fashion friends in Tokyo hadn't heard of, it was difficult to narrow the wide selection of the store down and pick out select favorites. Some standouts were a white fishtail coat by designer Fumika Uchida, cups and glasses by Shotoku Glass and pretty much all of the ceramics carried in the shop. Unfortunately, the only way to shop is in person as there's no webshop or comprehensive website, but the shop does have a Tumblr so you can like and reblog your favorite pieces from afar, as you weep about all of the cool things too far away to touch.
ROOTS to BRANCHES
Asahibashi Bld.2F, 1-16-7
Meguro-ku, Tokyo Aobadai 153-0042
+81-3-5728-5690
Amardeep Singh is a writer and photographer living in New York. You can see more of his work here and follow him on Twitter here.
