Overview
It's a sad day when you want to visit Japan (so, so bad — we know) but you can't find sale flights that match up with your annual leave dates. Or you can't find sale flights at all. Or even if you could find sale flights, it's just not gonna happen.
Luckily, Melbourne is one Australian city that's bursting with Japanese culture, but like many things in the city, finding the gold takes a bit of digging. You just have to know where to look to fill your life with Japanese-style ceramics, stationery, fabrics, furniture, kitchen sponges, Akari light sculptures, goldfish paper balloons and oh, a hidden city bath house. Here are a handful of the best spots to get you started.
MADE IN JAPAN
"We shape clay into a pot, but it's the emptiness inside that holds everything we want." Sounds pretty MIJ to us. No, that's not a typo for MUJI. It's short for Made In Japan, and that's one of their mottos. The warehouse that their houses their South Melbourne store has just enough emptiness to hold nearly everything you could want. Including rice paper floor lamps, hammered copper rain chains, flower spikes and the incredibly beautiful, seemingly weightless Akari light sculptures. Intrigued? That's only the beginning. It's tableware that brings most of their loyal customers to the store — the pieces imported by Made in Japan rarely appear outside Japan, and even then often only in homes and restaurants nearby to the makers' kilns.
276 – 278 Coventry Street, South Melbourne
APATO
Oh, how we love to namedrop Naoto Fukasawa. Simple yet innovative, many designs have flowed from this man's imagination into products that have in turn inspired some of the everyday shapes we know and love. Sleek white Apple products? That's right, even Apple cites Fukasawa as an influence. As beautiful as pictures are, it's worth heading into Apato to check out his designs in the flesh – or bent blonde wood, as the case may be. The Swan Street store hold some of the world's most beautiful furniture, from high profile designers like Fukasawa to emerging talents, all masters of their craft.
283 Swan Street, Richmond
MR KITLY
Not only is Mr Kitly a mecca for plant people, it's a haven for Japanese design-lovers. Store owner Bree Claffey lived in Japan for five years, so she knows her stuff. There's a big focus on artisanal crafts and ceramics, yes, many of which have beautiful plants growing in them. The store presents a range of international artists and artisans from countries including Australia, the US, the UK and France. But Japanese culture and aesthetics is definitely a focus, and Bree cites the tea room, ikebana films of Yasujiro Ozu, urban potted garden culture and organic buildings by Terunobu Fujimori amongst her key influences. Don't forget to check out the gallery works while you're there, too.
381 Sydney Road, Brunswick
ONSEN MA
If you wanted to design a place to relax completely, and wash away the endless chatter of the outside world, what would you create? A deep, marble bath in a light-filled converted warehouse, complete with soaring ceilings, decorative slippers and a tea house? Yep, that'd do the trick. Enter Onsen Ma. It's one of Melbourne's very best spa experiences. Follow the flight of stairs behind an unassuming door in one of the city's laneways and be led to reception – not before removing your shoes, naturally. If you haven't had a traditional Japanese bath before, the poised yet warm receptionist will tell you how it's done. And before you know it, you'll be soaking in the tub. Sauna, shower, and repeat. Judging by the tranquility of other bathers, this could be a good habit to get into.
Level 1, 12–18 Meyers Place, Melbourne
CIBI
Head. Hands. Heart. Ours were full when we left CIBI. So were our bellies. CIBI serves up home-style Japanese cooking during lunch, and their weekend breakfast menu is not-to-be-missed. But first things first, the initial thing we noticed when we visited was the cutlery. Have you ever really studied the cutlery at a café before? Maybe you have, you're reading a design article, after all. But, design nerd or not, we'd wager you'll be well impressed by the smooth, characteristically Japanese shapes of the knives and forks next to your matcha latte. And everything — from panko-crumbed bowls of miso-mayoed goodness to the design treats inside. Did you ever imagine wanting a cedar pot stand? Chef's chopsticks? Ornamental porcelain elephant? Probably not. But, we challenge you to leave empty-handed — or without one of their delicate goldfish paper balloons.
45 Keele Street, Collingwood
TOKYOBIKE
No Melbourne x Japan design list would be complete without bikes, right? Tokyobike to the rescue. Founded in Tokyo's quiet Yanaka neighbourhood, their bikes were designed to bring enjoyment, comfort and lightness to people exploring the city on two wheels. They've now set up shop in Melbourne. As well as bikes, they've got all the accessories your heart could wish for, including the bike engineer pouches hand-crafted in Okayama, touchscreen gloves developed by Japan design geniuses, and a killer poncho (which looks Japanese but is actually made in London). Everyone's a winner.
5 Peel Street, Collingwood
CHEF'S ARMOURY
Like its Sydney sister store, the Melbourne Chef's Armoury is a must-visit for anyone who loves Japanese cooking or food, or just likes marvelling at the precision with which a knife can cut through that oh-so-hard pumpkin skin. Know the feeling? Probably not, because if you're anything like us, you've been hacking away at those hard-to-cut vegetables with a knife whose origins, and absolute bluntness, is a mystery. Carbon steel, ironwood, cast iron. All the good kitchen things. Check out their konro barbeques, too – filled with clean-burning white charcoal, they're said to imbue anything you cook with an incredible flavour. Add one of the many condiments for sale to your basket, and you're a match for any long weekend.
422 Church Street, Richmond
MUJI
If you're reading this article, chances are you're into Japanese design enough to know about MUJI. If you are, or if you read our article on Sydney's Japanese design gems, you'll know MUJI's name comes from the words 'Mujirushi Ryōhin', translated as No Brand Quality Goods. And the store's wares sure live up to its name. Linen aprons and acacia-wood chopsticks, anyone? Oh, and this is where you snag those ceramic ginger-graters.
Level 2, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, and Lower Level, Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone
KIMONO HOUSE
Did you know that kimonos are made in different fabrics for different seasons and occasions? Cotton for summer, wool for winter and silk for special events. We're hanging out for a traditional kimono in linen, but maybe we'll have to wait and see if MUJI come up with a modern take on that. Tucked away in Melbourne's historic Nicholas Building, Kimono House has reams of kimono, in an almost unimaginable array of prints and colours (unless, of course, you've been to Kyoto). They also run craft and cultural classes, including an ikebana course that we're itching to try.
Room 7, 2nd Floor, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Following your Japanese design addiction to Sydney? We can help.
Top image: Tokyobike.