THINK OF THINGS

Where Sendagaya's Design Culture Meets the Glass

Tokyo has a long tradition of spaces that refuse easy categorisation. The city's most interesting drinking and browsing destinations are rarely built around a single function: a bar that is also a vinyl shop, a café that is also a gallery, a stationery store where the shelving gives way to a counter and a thoughtfully assembled drinks list. Think of Things, at an address in Sendagaya that sits between the fashion district energy of Harajuku and the quieter residential blocks running north toward Shinjuku, belongs firmly to this tradition.

Sendagaya itself is worth understanding before arriving. The neighbourhood occupies a narrow strip of Tokyo that has never fully committed to the retail spectacle of Omotesando or the late-night density of Shinjuku. Instead, it has attracted a particular kind of creative business: small architecture studios, select-shop offshoots, and the kind of concept spaces that Tokyo's design culture produces with some regularity. Think of Things fits that pattern. The building it occupies is associated with KOKUYO, the Japanese stationery and furniture company, and the space functions as a working demonstration of what the brand calls its design thinking — a phrase that gains more meaning here than it usually does in corporate contexts, because the physical environment is where the idea gets tested.

The Experience of the Space Itself

In a city where concept spaces often announce themselves loudly, Think of Things operates with a different register. The design approach leans toward material honesty and deliberate restraint: surfaces that show their construction, storage and display systems that function as architecture, and a spatial logic that asks the visitor to move through the shop to reach the café, making the transition between modes gradual rather than abrupt. This is a well-understood technique in Japanese retail and hospitality design, borrowed from the idea that the journey through a space shapes how you receive it. Entering from Sendagaya's street level, the shift from the exterior's relative quiet to the interior's controlled sensory environment is one of the more considered arrival sequences in this part of the city.

Tokyo's broader café and bar culture has moved decisively in the direction of atmosphere as product. Spaces like The Bellwood in Shibuya and [Bar Benfiddich](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/ben-fiddich) in Shinjuku demonstrate, at different price points and with different intentions, that the room itself carries part of the offer. Think of Things operates in that same understanding but from a retail-led starting point rather than a hospitality-led one. The result is a space where the drinks are served in a context shaped by design objects, notebooks, furniture, and materials — which changes how the visit feels. You are not in a bar that has added decoration; you are in a designed environment that happens to serve drinks.

How Think of Things Fits Tokyo's Non-Bar Bar Scene

Over the past decade, Tokyo has developed a tier of drinking and café destinations that sit outside the traditional categories recognised by guides focused on classic cocktail bars. The city's [Bar High Five](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-high-five) and [Bar Orchard Ginza](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/orchard-ginza) represent one end of the spectrum: counter-service, technique-led, with clear lineage through Japan's classical bartending tradition. [Bar Libre](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-libre-tokyo-bar) represents another point on that map. Think of Things occupies different territory entirely , a space where the entry point is not necessarily a cocktail order but a browse, and where the drinks function as part of a longer, less scripted visit.

This format has particular relevance for visitors to Tokyo who want to understand how the city's design culture and hospitality culture have converged. Japan's concept stores have always been serious about the quality of their associated food and beverage programs, partly because the sector is competitive enough that a poor café operation damages the retail offer, and partly because the country's consumer culture expects a high baseline across every element of a designed experience. Think of Things operates in that expectation.

For context on how this pattern extends across Japan's cities, [Bar Nayuta in Osaka](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-nayuta-osaka), [Bee's Knees in Kyoto](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bees-knees-kyoto), and [Lamp Bar in Nara](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/lamp-bar-nara) each demonstrate how different Japanese cities have developed their own register for this kind of considered, atmosphere-driven space. [Yakoboku in Kumamoto](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/yakoboku-kumamoto) and [anchovy butter in Osaka](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/anchovy-butter-osaka-shi-bar) extend the picture further into Japan's regional cities, where the format of the thoughtfully designed drinking space has spread well beyond the major urban centres. [Kyoto Tower Sando](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/kyoto-tower-sando-kyoto-shi-bar) shows how even landmark retail structures in Kyoto have adopted the logic. Beyond Japan, [Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu](https://www.enprimeurclub.com/bars/bar-leather-apron-honolulu) demonstrates that the Japanese precision of this format has influenced drinking culture across the Pacific.

Who This Space Is For

Think of Things reads most clearly as a destination for the kind of traveller who moves through Tokyo by design reference rather than by neighbourhood convenience. The Sendagaya address is walkable from Harajuku station and within reasonable distance of the fashion and design concentration along Omotesando, which means a visit fits logically into a morning or afternoon that also covers the gallery floor of a design store or the upper floors of a select shop. It is not positioned as a late-night destination in the way that Tokyo's serious cocktail bars are, and it is not trying to serve the same need as the city's stand-up izakayas or high-volume café chains. The comparison set is smaller and more specific: spaces where the design of the room, the selection of objects, and the quality of the beverage program are each held to the same standard.

For a more complete picture of where this kind of space sits within Tokyo's wider hospitality and bar offer, see our full Tokyo restaurants and bars guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Think of Things known for?

Think of Things is known as one of Sendagaya's clearest examples of Tokyo's concept-space format: a KOKUYO-affiliated stationery and lifestyle store where the retail and café functions are designed to operate as a single, coherent experience. In a city where design-led spaces across neighbourhoods from Harajuku to Ginza compete on atmosphere and precision, Think of Things is positioned in the quieter, more considered tier , closer in spirit to a gallery-adjacent space than to a cocktail bar. Pricing details are not publicly confirmed, but the address and format align it with Tokyo's mid-to-premium design-culture destinations.

What's the must-try cocktail at Think of Things?

Specific menu details and cocktail lists for Think of Things are not confirmed in available sources. The space operates primarily as a café within a concept store rather than as a dedicated cocktail bar in the tradition of Tokyo's counter-service venues like Bar High Five or Bar Orchard Ginza. Visitors focused on a specific beverage program should verify the current drinks offer directly with the venue before visiting.

Is Think of Things worth visiting if you are primarily interested in Tokyo's design scene rather than its bar culture?

Yes, and that framing is probably the more accurate one. Think of Things is associated with KOKUYO, one of Japan's most recognised stationery and office design companies, and the Sendagaya space functions as a working demonstration of the brand's design approach. For visitors tracking Tokyo's intersection of retail concept and hospitality design , a thread that runs from select shops in Harajuku through to design-led cafés in Shibuya , the space is a useful stop. The address in Sendagaya also places it within walking distance of several other design-culture reference points in this part of the city.