I like incense. Maybe not the cloying stuff sold back home, and not the particulary the stuff burned at the shrines or in front of family shrines or in old ladies' houses. Usually, if I mention incense, one of my Japanese friends pulls a face and mentions that they don't really like it becaus it smells like an old lady's house.
Yesterday friend introduced me to a great incense store in Omotesando. From the outside, it looks just like a hip, modern art gallery with funky, artistic lights made out of washi (handmade paper). I entered the store with a bit of trepidation because stuff like that is bound to be expensive, but I was fairly surprised by the price. You buy each stick individually and they are prices vary according to ingredients. They are made in Kyoto and at around 50 yen per stick (around 40cents US?), they aren't your bargain basement incense import. Then again, they don't have that cheap, cloying incense scent that most associate with the stuff that turns so many people off, either.
They have 134 different scents with main themes revolving around florals, woods, spices, oriental. Don't get me wrong, some of them are downright stinky (to me at least) but a lot of them smell as nice as scented candles. There is something to appeal to everyone if your nose can take all the smelling at one time to find a scent you like.
Guess what quite a few people on my christmas list are getting!