[Chikusa-ku, Nagoya] Find your Favorite Glasses at "odd.optical"

​ODD OPTICAL" mainly deals with unique and well-designed eyeglasses. This eyeglass store in Kakuozan was opened last April by Daisuke and Kaori Takigawa. Since its opening, the store has attracted a lot of attention as it is visited by many fashionable people in Nagoya. For this interview, we asked the couple about the appeal and enjoyment of eyeglasses.

The shop is located about 10 minutes on foot from Kakuozan Station. Look for the glasses icon!

Opened in April 2017

Daisuke Takigawa, the owner

- First of all, why did you open an eyeglass shop?

Daisuke-san: "I originally worked in sales in my hometown in Iwate Prefecture. One day, an acquaintance of mine asked me to help out at an eyeglass shop because they were short on staff. I personally like fake glasses, so I was interested and started working there.

At first I worked at a branch in Morioka, but working in the customer service industry in Morioka is a small town, so I ended up getting to know a lot of people. Gradually, I decided that I wanted to work outside of Morioka! So I was transferred to the head office in Tokyo. I worked in Tokyo for about eight and a half years, and during that time we also had a store in China, so I was allowed to go there for about six months. It was a good experience.

As I worked, I came to realize that I wanted to open my own eyeglass shop someday. I needed to save up enough money to open my own shop, so I came to Aichi to work as a temporary worker for Toyota. That is when I met my wife. I worked at an eyeglass shop in Nagoya for a year and a half before opening the store, and last April I finally opened the store that I had longed for."

Presence of glasses that was part of life

- Did your wife also like glasses?

Kaori-san: "I've had bad eyesight since I was little, and glasses have always been familiar to me, and they've always taken me for granted. Nowadays, stylish glasses are commonplace, but back then, glasses were a symbol of being serious or lame. And I didn't like it because it didn't give me a good impression.

There was a time when I didn't wear glasses, but as I got older, I needed glasses. It was during this time that I learned through my husband that there were interesting eyeglasses, and I got more and more into them. I found them interesting and fun to wear. Like myself, I don't think people with poor eyesight have a good impression of eyeglasses. But I want more and more people to know that there are so many fun glasses out there.

Please take your time and choose carefully

The interior design was envisioned as a store that could be found overseas, and was commissioned to STORE IN FACTORY in Nakagawa Ward.

-Is there a reason why you chose Kakuozan as the location for your shop?

Daisuke-san: "The main reason I chose this location was because I wanted to spend time with customers. Recently, there are many eyeglass shops where you can buy cheap and fast, but the original way of an eyeglass shop is to take time. We want our customers to take their time and take their time, so I think it's just right to spend time on it. I chose this place because I feel calm.”

- Please tell us about the origin of the store name.

Kaori-san: “The origin of the store name came up abruptly (laughs). I chose the name of the store because we have many 'odd' glasses and I liked the word 'odd' because it looked like glasses.”