from Ai Uchida (NHK Reporter) in Dining Out in Metroplis May 2010

Favorite places to drink “Kimono Wine Bar does the Best. Cosmopolitans. In. Tokyo. I love the savvy decor, too.”

From Japanzine Sept. 2009
…Lauren Shannon hardly needs an introduction to anyone who has lived in Tokyo for any length of time. Freelance writer, political activist, restaurateur, community organizer. Many mostly know her from her work at Fujimamas but Lauren is also boss of her own company in Japan, Sapphire Restaurant Management Group, which runs an exceptional catering service in the Tokyo metropolitan area called “To the Moon and Back”. Lauren has studied New World wine, so I was happy though not surprised to hear that her company had just opened a wine bar. But I was taken aback to hear that the bar is called “Kimono Wine Bar and Lounge” and is located on Nisseki-dori in Nishi-Azabu. Time to decant and investigate… Read the whole piece here.

From BeerInJapan.com
…By day it’s a bakery, by night it’s a bar. Kimono Wine Bar is the creation of Lauren Shannon of Fujimamas fame and her husband Chris. When Fujimamas closed in May 2009, Lauren wanted to start her own bar. Seeing the space inside upscale Notting Hill Cakes lie empty in the evenings, she approached the bakery about using the venue for a bar in the evening – they liked the idea and Kimono was born. Every night between 6 and 7pm the venue transforms from bakery to bar, with not a trace of flour left in sight. Read the whole thing here.