Old-time sundries shop Nuovo (ヌーボー) shut down last month. It sold all sorts of random goods for women – clothes, makeup, sunglasses… to incense, iPhone covers, and – way in the back – toys for small children. This place was my mother’s favorite spot, as I suppose it was for a lot of obachans. It was a perfect place to pick up a last-minute gift for tea-time gatherings and such. Quite surprising to see it go since it has been in the same spot for probably 20 years or so.

But, that’s the nature of Roppongi right now – a lot of shops that have defined Roppongi of the past 10 years have been shutting down in the last year or so. And so in the place of Nuovo, opening up is Hoshino Coffee (星乃珈琲店). From the looks of their website, seems like it’s an old-timey 60s-like café. No sign of when it’s opening yet – the sign just went up this week.

I think it’ll do well. With the closure of Starbucks and Excelsior Caffe on the main strip, the small Starbucks across Midtown is always filled to the brim, so it seems like an ideal location for a café.

I’m betting yes on this one.