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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

Yuko by Nao

Yuko by Nao

A picture of Yuko taken by Nao.

Hinism

Hinism

A while back I moblogged the 0 issue of a new magazine called HINISM. Yesterday, I went to Planet 3rd for a latte and some magazine reading (ended up staying there 2 hours), and got a chance to read issue 1. It seems that the magazine is produced by Gallery Wall, which is located in the Roppongi/Azabu area. The theme for this issue is “Stylized Design” (the 0 issue’s theme was “Crafts”), and the imagery is again simply beautiful. There was a lot more to read than what I remember seeing in the first issue (the magazine is bilingual), and it was interesting reading at that. A bit pricey (1600 yen), but very well produced.

The above image is from this listing, which has more info in Japanese.

Dijf Sanders

While in Shibuya yesterday, I did my regular stop at the Apres-midi Selecao record shop (in the basement of Parco Part 1), and it’s there that I discovered my new favorite record (I ended up buying it, of course). The artist’s name is Dijf Sanders, and I believe he is from Belgium (from what I could make out on the little info card written in Japanese next to the album). The album is called MATING SEASON (Clone Records/Dub Holland), and it’s an interesting mix of electro/beat/jazz/etc. Scanning through the album I felt that I needed to get this, and listening to it now at home just confirms that this is indeed something really nice. You can listen to samples of every track here.

Samurai-C Records

Samurai-C Records

I’ve shared with you my love for the SAMURAI CHAMPLOO animated series (still as good as ever), but the fun doesn’t stop there. One of the draws of the series is the mix of hip-hop with a traditional samurai setting, and the strong musical ties continue with the launch of Samurai-C Records. I was at the Logos Gallery yesterday (basement of Parco Part 1 in Shibuya), and it’s now setup as a temporary shop (until the end of the month I think), with a few releases from the label (artists related to the music that plays on the show). They’re also selling some really nice vinyl album covers, which you can sort of see pictured above.

Usagi-Chang Night Fever Vol. 0002

After the OK FRED event, Patrick made his way to the Usagi-Chang Night Fever Vol. 0002 (a party organized by Usagi-Chang Records), that was being held at Marz, in Shinjuku’s Kabuki-cho. Check out the post he wrote for a full review of the event, including lots of pics.

Tokyo Picturesque

At the OK FRED event last night, fellow blogger Christopher Kobayashi not only moblogged while there (as did quite a few others), he also logged in the coordinates at Tokyo Picturesque. It’s a site where you attach pics you’ve taken with your mobile phone, and it then associates that image with the location on the map where it was taken. Makes for a very interesting and visual view of the city.

Digiki

Moblog
Having beers in the backstreets of Shinjuku with Antonin.

MoCo Tokyo

MoCo Loco

I’ve been teasing you recently with news of upcoming projects, and one of them is that I’ve been asked by Harry Wakefield, who runs MoCo Loco (“a web magazine featuring modern contemporary design news and views”), to be editor of the soon-to-be-launched MoCo Tokyo. It’ll be joining other cities like Montreal, San Francisco, and the recently launched Amsterdam version, which is edited by Joost van Brug, of Reluct fame (one of my favorite sites on design news, that I visit daily). I’m really excited by this, and I believe the site will launch in a few weeks. I hope you’ll enjoy following my coverage of Tokyo-based modern design.

Educated Community

Educated Community 13
Educated Community is a free bilingual (Japanese and English) magazine from New York, “focusing on what’s happening in the street scenes of New York City and Tokyo.” I’m trying to get more info on it, but a lot of the links on the site don’t seem to work properly. I’m wondering if someone in New York has seen/read an issue, and if so, what they think of it. You can find a list of distribution points here. I found out about it through the latest issue of +81 (which is a must-have issue).

Pigs

Pigs

A couple of pigs guard the stairs in the hpgrp building, where the Aqui Uzumaki exhibition is being held.

Party Tonight

Just a quick reminder that the OK FRED release party is tonight at the NTT Intercommunication Center. Hope to see you there!

Book and Cafe 246

Writing this from Cafe 246, which I’ve been meaning to visit for a while now. Book and Cafe 246 are a creation of PAPER SKY magazine (and the cafe is co-produced by the people behind Planet 3rd). The cafe itself is nice, featuring a full food menu (I was expecting mostly drinks), as well as a full bar. Looks like they’re probably catering to the embassy/business people in the area. There’s a magazine rack as well, and 5 laptops equipped with webcams (but unfortunately, they’re Windows machines, and the keyboard it a bitch to use). The bookstore is small, but it’s crammed to the ceiling with books, as well as design-friendly travel goods (think Freitag bags). I like the little displays they have arranged on tables, like one for Canada (Toronto is the cover feature of the latest PAPER SKY), as it includes an interesting selection of books and magazines: vintage books on the city of Toronto, as well as a Toronto art magazine called C, which has an interesting indie look to it.

I did have trouble finding the place, even though I checked the map on their website just before leaving my place. Seems like I’m getting really bad for that (like the other day with the +81 shop). I ended up calling Patrick at work, to have him send me the address on my mobile phone, as I was just walking in circles.

After I’m done with my latte, I’m off to Ginza where I’ll check out the latest exhibition at the Ginza Graphic Gallery, and also maybe go to the Hanna Gallery to have a look at the Aqui Uzumaki exhibition.

Update: The Barnbrook Design exhibition at the GGG was very good, and well worth checking out. I’ve become a fan. The Aqui Uzumaki show, although limited to one small room, was fun and colorful. It went well with the music that was playing (the SONIDO UZUMAKI compilation from Music Related). I stopped by the Okinawa shop to get some chinsukou cookies, taco rice mix, and a can of A&W root beer. While there I also had a cone of mango soft ice-cream (absolutely delicious). At the Muji superstore in Yurakucho, I was glad to see that the Martha Stewart store is now gone (it always annoyed the hell out of me). They’re also doing some major renovations, as a good part of the space was sealed off. Lastly, I stopped at Sofmap (in the same building) and picked up ATSUMARE!! MADE IN WARIO for the GameCube for really cheap.

Buro-Stil

Buro-Stil

Design shop Buro-Stil, in Nakameguro, has moved.

iPod a Hit in Japan

More signs that Apple is doing well in Japan.

The iPod is proving a colossal hit on the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant’s own turf. The tiny white machine is catching on as a fashion statement and turning into a cultural icon in Japan, much the same way it won a fanatic following in the United States.

And then some news on the iTunes Music Store coming to Japan.

Apple will offer the Japanese equivalent of iTunes within the next year, with prices comparable to the 99 cents a tune it charges in the United States, Apple vice president Yoshiaki Sakito, a former Sony employee, said in an interview at Apple’s Tokyo headquarters. That’s almost certain to change the music download industry in Japan by winning over those who now opt for cheaper CD rentals they can record onto MDs at home. Commercial downloads cost about $2.30 a tune in Japan.

The full AP article can be read here.

TB.Movel

You’ll notice something different now when you access the moblog pages to write comments. I’ve just completed a quick overhaul of the moblog site, basically making it uniform with the look and feel of the main site. Also, I’ve done a rebranding (something I’ve been thinking about for a while, but I was waiting to make an update on the site before announcing it). The moblog will now be refered to as TB.Movel. Yes, I’m keeping with my Portuguese naming policy (although quite the lame policy, don’t you think), and it joins the TB.Grafico photolog, and the TB.Selecao links blog. With this, I hereby name the main blog feed of this site (what you’re reading right now)… Tokyo Boy! Seems to be the logical thing to do.

PauseTalk

PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition happens June 4.

We hereby define a new term, that of the magaziner, described as a person who exerts an unhealthy amount of love for all things magazine. The Magaziner is a site that mostly focuses on the intersection between magazines and the digital frontier, and what it means for the medium. This does not preclude the inclusion of a healthy amount of print love.

Codex is a weekly music podcast hosted by Jean Snow, recorded in Tokyo. Playlists for all episodes are posted on the site, and you can subscribe to RSS feeds of posts and episodes.

Jean Snow is a contributor to Arcade Mania, your guide to the arcade gaming scene in Japan (Amazon US/Amazon Japan). He also provided assistance on Tokyolife: Art and Design, a guide to Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives.
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of The Rough Guide to Tokyo and The Rough Guide to Japan, due for release in 2011.

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PechaKucha

Jean Snow is Executive Director of the PechaKucha organization. He also helps run the PechaKucha Night in Tokyo -- please get in touch if you are interested in presenting at a future event. For a more intimate salon-like discussion group, join him at his monthly PauseTalk event.

A longtime resident of Tokyo, he lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming, sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for various online/offline publications, including the following: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, 1UP, Tokyo Q, Superfuture, OK Fred, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, I.D. (International Design), Metropolis, Azure, MoCo Loco, Kateigaho International Edition, Wired's Game|Life, PingMag, CNNGo, Phaidon, and The Japan Times.

You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this site, and also follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or get in touch by email.

 

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The "Jean Snow" logo is written using the free Kirimomi Swash typeface. The "M31" logo is by Ian Lynam, and is part of a series of 31 unique designs. The site's design is based on the Grid Focus WordPress theme by Derek Punsalan.

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