8 a.m.
Start your day with a hot green tea, some miso soup, and a bowl of rice with umeboshi (salty pickled plums); ease into the day by listening to Under the Pipal Tree by Japanese indie band (1.) Mono . Dress in multiple layers of tees, dresses, and jackets you bought at the (2.) Uniqlo Container Stores (uniqlo.com); you’ll stock up more when the giant flagship opens in November (546 Broadway, nr. Prince St.; 877-486-4756).
10 A.M.
Read (3.) manga (Japanese graphic novels) on the subway on the way to the Conran Shop (407 E. 59th St., at First Ave.; 212-755-9079), currently filled with a huge assortment of beautifully designed Japanese items as part of its “Wa-Japanese Style” exhibit. Pick up some (4.) tenugi (all-purpose cotton clothes) and a few notebooks from Ito-Ya; pack them in a foldable (5.)tote from Tokyu Hands.
11:45 a.M.
Meet your friends for lunch at Honmura An (170 Mercer St., nr. Houston St.; 212-334-5253). Order the giant shrimp tempura and a bowlful of nabeyaki udon. Make plans to attend the “giant tuna cut performance” at the sprawling Japanese emporium (6.) Mitsuwa Market on November 4, to watch sushi chefs reduce a 400-pound fish to sashimi (595 River Rd., Edgewater, N.J.; 201-941-9113).
2 P.M.
Ditch your friends for an hour so Kanae Ide at Jetz can cut and style your hair—and give you her famous three-minute head, neck, and shoulder massage post-cut (94 E. 7th St., nr. First Ave.; 347-683-9672).
4:30 P.M.
Ward off a desire to nap by simulating a game of golf with your new (7.) Nintendo Wii (pronounced weee!). The sleek, hotly anticipated, very grown- up gaming system will be available at the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Center “sometime this fall.”
6 P.M.
Layer on some more Uniqlo and start the night with dessert at Kyotofu (705 Ninth Ave., nr. 48th St.), the new dessert bar designed by the same Japanese architect who did Jewel Bako and Momofuku. Share the saffron- sake-poached-pear tartlets and yuzu-citrus-tofu cheesecake.
8 P.M.
Stop in for a drink at the sake bar Decibel before all the bar stools are taken. Have one of the cute bartenders—Aki, Kiki, Kaori, Taka, or Daichi—pour some of the older-than-samurai rice wine (240 E. 9th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-979-2733). Try their new nanbu bijin “Nama” or koshino homare “Nama Shibori.”
9:45 P.M.
Meet your night posse at
11 P.M.
Now that you’re sufficiently loosened up, it’s time to let loose. Go to (8.) Second on Second Karaoke Bar (27 Second Ave., nr. 1st St.; 212-473-2922) and stun your friends with your version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
3 A.M.
You need something to soak up all that sake and beer; stumble into Kenka (25 St. Marks Pl., nr. Second Ave.; 212-254-6363) for a quick (9.) okonomiyaki ; its pancake texture and salty toppings will settle your stomach before bed.