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by Carlo
Niederberger
Sign
Finally escaping the air-conditioned confines of another
day of cubicle-bound slavery, we felt the muggy air of a late
spring evening warranted a stroll. Heading down Aoyama Dori,
we found ourselves gravitating towards the stellar fixture
of the artsy bar circuit Sign. Just a few paces from Gaienmae
station's exit 3, the buzzing hangout's glass front affords
an intimate view of the comings and goings of this smart little
quarter of Tokyo. We managed to avoid the slightly cramped
low picnic bench-style seating in the middle of the venue,
settling for a bar table right up against the pink-framed
window which proved to be the ultimate observation post. Slurping
up a Cinzano on the rocks (¥600), Doubleberry Smoothie
(¥700) and Black Russian (¥700), we took in the intricate
courtship rituals of drunken office workers parting ways after
a night on the tiles, then the fascinating sights of fans
filing down into the subway after a baseball game at Jingu
Stadium.
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Luckily, on the languid night in question, Sign had an array
of other amusements. The charming smiles of hypnotic hostess
Mayumi ranked highly among the evening's attractions, but
the sublime sounds of the chain-smoking DJ added a funky quality
to our evening, and despite the hot pink entrance, our chosen
venue had an air of exclusivity. Sign's neighborhood has a
reputation as a hub for creative industries, and we spotted
a high-profile PR bigwig and top designer among the well-turned
out clientele seated at the tightly packed tables.
Returning to the lacquered pink menu to plan our next round,
the creative connection became far clearer as we discovered
a schedule of artist exhibitions held in the Sign Gallery
in the basement. Softening our brains with a zingy rum-based
XYZ (¥900) and Heinekens (¥700), we made the trip
down into the whitewashed art space to find funky graphic
artworks, some screen printed onto T-shirts. The folks behind
this establishment never miss a trick and the aforementioned
T-shirts, along with art books and trinkets were on sale at
reasonable prices, as well as the CDs courtesy of Daikanyama's
Bonjour Records that were on display beside the DJ booth.
We agreed that the tasteful balance of the cultural with the
commercial had been most agreeable, and as the evening wore
on, the crowds descending the stairs to the station thinned,
and we made our way home happy to have added such a happening
spot to our bar repertoire. Martin Webb
Open Mon-Fri 10am-midnight, Sat
and Sun 11am-midnight. Yamazaki Bldg. 2-7-18 Kita-Aoyama.
Tel: 03-5474-5040. Nearest stn: Gaienmae, exit 3.
Photo credit: Roberto Radimir
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