About us
About FOOD FOR THOUGHT
FOOD FOR THOUGHT is a place where you can find “hints and awareness for a better life.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT is a gallery dealing with products related to tables. The products are centered on the original products that the director of the restaurant, chef Yuko Watanabe, has selected based on her own point of view based on "things she wants to use in the kitchen and on the table" .
At Sendagaya's LAB , we invite professionals who enrich the table, such as cooking, tea, sweets, and flowers, and creators who are active on the front lines, making use of director Yuko Watanabe's culinary background, and an event that customers can enjoy. are doing
The goal of FOOD FOR THOUGHT is to "enrich your dining table and life with our service" . We want to be a store where you can find hints and discoveries for a better life every time you visit.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT has three stores in Tokyo: Yoyogi- Uehara, Nishi-Ogikubo, and Sendagaya . The Uehara store opened in 2017, the Nishiogi store in 2019, and the Sendagaya LAB in 2021. (For the time being, the actual store is open only for solo exhibitions and events.)
We hold a solo exhibition of the artist every month. In addition, we regularly hold special exhibitions by multiple artists. In the special exhibition, customers, creators, and staff are all planning with the ideal of "sampo yoshi" having fun.
People often ask me, "What does FOOD FOR THOUGHT mean?" It is a word that is difficult to translate directly into Japanese, but we put the meaning of “hints and awareness for a better life” into this word.
We hope that you will find hints to make your life richer and more enjoyable through this place.
The beginning of FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The photo is the kitchen atelier and cooking class of Yuko Watanabe, director of FOOD FOR THOUGHT. The store started with selling original products such as aprons to students on a small shelf in this place.
Who we are:
Takahiro Igarashi
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Representative / Photographer
1980 Born in Tokyo.
I spent most of my twenties in America. Ever since I studied pottery in Tucson, Arizona, which I call my second home, I have been fascinated.
After studying photography and business in California and New York, he returned to Japan after an internship at the Richard Avedon Foundation. After working as an assistant, became independent as a photographer in 2011. Opened FOOD FOR THOUGHT in 2017.
In photography, he specializes in technical commercial photography of beauty, fashion, and jewelry.
Photography is about finding the good points of people and things and highlighting them. With that eye, FOOD FOR THOUGHT hopes to convey to our customers the appeal of works and artists that even the artists themselves are sometimes unaware of.
Since I lived in the minority in America, my motto is "fair and fair." We would like to enhance the EC that can deliver works universally to those who cannot physically visit the store.
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Yuko Watanabe
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Shop Director / Chef
Born in Tokyo.
After graduating from university, he worked as a chef's assistant and at an editorial production company before becoming an independent chef at the age of 26.
Since then, he has been active in a wide range of fields, including numerous magazines, advertisements, books, TV commercials, TV programs, and events. He has authored dozens of books on cooking, lifestyle, and fashion.
In addition to her cooking, her polite and simple lifestyle and fashion have also been featured in magazines and on the web. In recent years, there are many fans of SNS, and it is evaluated from various quarters.
He is often seen as an indoor person, but he is an athletic person who served as the captain of the basketball club and as a swimming coach when he was a student, and his specialty is long distance swimming.
By the way, I was born near our store in Nishiogi, and my aunt also ran a coffee shop in Nishiogi. “I am very happy to have a shop in this nostalgic place,” he said.
Making the most of his own experience, products and plans that are selected without compromise from the perspective of cooking have gained the support of FFT customers.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT staff
Natsuko :I used to work at a sandwich shop. I also love to eat. When you eat with your favorite vessel, the food becomes more delicious and fun. Personally, I like vessels that change over time, such as intrusion. Let's enjoy the vessel selection together even if you are a beginner.
Miyu : From my experience making French sweets, when I see a dish, I can't help but think of a combination with sweets. Previously worked as a designer. I'm still learning about pottery, but every day I'm drawn into the profound world of pottery, realizing that the way I see and feel the taste of ingredients changes so much depending on what I choose.
Sumire: I draw shop wrapping paper, exhibition posters, and windows. I usually use silk screens on cloth to dye patterns, and I like to draw. I enjoy changing my hair color. Recently, I started living with a pot at home!
"Okudo-san" of about 6 tsubo
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uehara
Our representative, Igarashi, modernized the Uehara store with the image of being in the middle of an "Okudo-san." The gallery space, which tends to be a white box, is intentionally unified in ink. The lighting on the shelves on the right side of the store incorporates plenty of backlight, giving the impression that the vessels are floating in the space.
A wide L-shaped counter is indispensable for communication with customers.
I think that you can discover new charms of the work while enjoying the extraordinary.
A space for learning new things from the past for "food events"
FOOD FOR THOUGHT LAB
In front of you is Shinjuku Gyoen. It is a quiet house-like space in the green. It is a place where various food-related events are held.
The doors, counter boards, shelves, and sofas are made from memento materials used since the Meiji period at the hospital run by the grandfather of Igarashi, the representative of the company, in Aizuwakamatsu.
Other fixtures were also unified with old materials.
There is a kitchen behind the event space.
Dissimilar materials blend into earth colors
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Nishiogi
The Nishiogi store has the largest space among the three FOOD FOR THOUGHT stores. In the store where gentle natural light enters, iron, wood, and glass are gently fused together.
The impression of the space itself changes depending on the individuality of the artist's work.
In the back is a cube-shaped room made of glass and iron. Events such as tea ceremonies and workshops are also held here.
Store location:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT LAB
Lions Mansion Sendagaya 103, 5-3-16 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0051
OPEN 11:00-18:00
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Uehara
1B, 2-33-4 Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0064
OPEN 11:00-18:00
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Nishiogi
〒167-0042 2-9-15 Nishiogi Kita, Suginami-ku Hoei Nishiogi Mansion 113
OPEN 11:00-18:00
*As of November 2022, all stores are closed except during exhibitions and events to prevent infectious diseases. We will inform you about the opening information of the store on SNS.
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Contact:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Nishiogi
〒167-0042 2-9-15 Nishiogi Kita, Suginami-ku Hoei Nishiogi Mansion 113
03-6339-1192
mail@520fft.com
*For interview requests, wholesale requests, and other inquiries, please be sure to send an email to the above contact address.
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Operating company:
Gorney Zero Co., Ltd. (Five Two Zero Inc., UK) FOOD FOR THOUGHT Division
Representative Director: Takahiro Igarashi
Location: Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
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Carrier:
*Currently not accepting applications :
Confectionery manufacturing staff (those who can work to Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku) regardless of full-time or part-time. 2-3 hours a day is acceptable.
WEB person in charge (those who are strong in EC, progress management, system construction, etc. ) Part-time / complete remote work possible.
Translator ( English/Chinese ) Cross-border EC construction, cross-border wholesale, etc. Part-time, full remote work is possible.
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Permits, etc.:
Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission Secondhand Dealer No. 303331806385
Shibuya Ward Health Center Licensed to operate restaurants (FOOD FOR THOUGHT LAB)
Shibuya Ward Public Health Center confectionery manufacturing license acquired
Shibuya Ward Public Health Center licensed to manufacture side dishes