my dream

BEST CAFÉ FOR AVANT-GARDE IDLING

SuperDeluxe
TOKYO, JAPAN
By Coco Masters

Posted Monday, November 15, 2004; 21:00 HKT
With its low-lying tables and vast concrete spaces, SuperDeluxe is everything you dreamed a funky bohemian café would be, and more. What else would you expect from an establishment where the slogan is "Thinking and drinking"?

Design firms Namaiki (the Japanese word for "naughty") and Klein Dytham Architecture never expected that this basement in Tokyo's Nishi-Azabu district would become the city's salon du jour when they first took it on as extra office space in 2002. But their informal after-hours parties quickly attracted a motley crew of artists, designers, musicians and writers—and SuperDeluxe was born. Two years on—and with no advertising—crowds gather nightly for fashionable events. This month, art-house filmmaker Jonas Mekas and poet Kazuko Shiraishi share the bill during an evening of readings and performances. Best of all are the impromptu happenings that can occur any night. "Some of the most interesting stuff happens incredibly last-minute here," says Michael Kubeck, 33, the venue's curator. "Is it a restaurant? A bar? A livehouse? It's been a work in progress until now."