In Oku-Asakusa, the deepest reaches of Asakusa, well past Sensoji Temple and past the masses of rickshaw drivers, sits a pink shop with a small, almost unnoticeably small sign that reads Chocolate Jesus. Inside this shop, you enter a realm that is half dream and half reality. An alternate dimension compared to the shuttered and quiet stores around it, with older Japanese “ojii-san” uncles looking out the window as you bike past. In this space, you almost forget you are in Asakusa at all. And this is exactly what the store owner Chiho Hirano was aiming to do with this space.
Originally from the Tateishi area of north-eastern Tokyo, Hirano is a cinematic artist who works to create spaces that incite its guests to question whether they are dreaming or if reality has merely shifted. Though she has worked in the west side of Tokyo, she naturally finds herself drawn to the eastern “shitamachi” old town Tokyo which feels fresh, interesting, and inspiring in comparison to the cookie cutter shops out West.
In 2013, Hirano was working at a small coffee shop in Tokyo, but found herself being naturally drawn to creating her own unique space that she herself could control and create. The west side of Tokyo, the place where most tourists both Japanese or foreign gather, didn’t seem to suit what she was imagining. She wanted to create a space that didn’t need to follow the trends or cater to Instagram, but rather highlighted her vision and ideals. When she happened to come across a small shoe shop in the middle of Asakusa that was set to be torn down and replaced by an apartment building, she knew that this was the best place to start up her own business.
Growing up in the “shitamachi” area, she knows the customs and culture of the area more than anyone. Because she knows this culture so well, she wanted to inspire people to think “why would someone ever build this here?!” Drawn to magical realism and the fantastical, similar to a bed in the middle of a forest, she wanted her shop to make people question the reality around them. In a similar vein, her mission with her simple menu of coffee, tea, and cakes, aims to bring people to find their own “amami” sweetness in the “nigami” bitterness of life.
Asakusa, for Hirano, is not just Sensoji Temple but so much more. Hirano hopes that making a shop which goes against the traditional image of Asakusa, while respecting its surroundings, can bring more people to the area and help to spread an appreciation of the potential and appeal of East Tokyo.
5-10-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 111-0032
OPEN:13:00~20:00
CLOSED:Mon,Thu,Fri(Irregular Holidays)
https://www.instagram.com/chihohirano/