This is a new series that I’ve been thinking about starting, in which every month I’ll do a post with my 10 favorite things that were probably covered on the site (but not necessarily). It’s a way for me to keep track of the things I really like, and to bring attention to some things that may have gotten overlooked. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite things for August 2007.
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• In this month’s issue of TITLE (92), it’s “Go! Go! Title Railway,” with a VIA Railway train — that’s Canada’s national railway — on the cover. They go over a few national railways inside, as well as some famous trains, routes, and, well, pretty much everything that relates to train travel. I really liked the look at the train bento — me and the wife always look forward to these when we take the train somewhere.
• CASA BRUTUS (90) offers part 2 of their look at “Traditional Japanese Architecture and Design.” It’s a bilingual issue (English/Japanese), meaning the feature gets translated. The insert, also bilingual, acts as a guide to 45 must-see examples of traditional Japanese architecture.
• I don’t usually cover +DESIGNING in these posts — as the tagline suggests (“Creation & Production Library for Designers”), it veers towards the technical and is aimed at people working in the field — but the latest issue (Vol. 6) offers up a fascinating look at Japanese magazine design, covering every aspect of production.
• DESIGN NOTE (14), as always, is made up of profiles of various art directors and their work, and this time they focus on photo direction.
• REAL DESIGN (14) claims that this issue will be all about “White Design,” but it really covers different categories of products in both black and white. I really liked the section on bicycles — I really, really want a new bike…

DAMKI is a free bilingual (English/Japanese) zine produced by Osaka-based Dana Zimmerling, and can be found in various countries. The So+Ba Gallery is having a launch party for the second issue tomorrow night (September 1), from 19:00.

Charles Spreckley and Nicole Fall’s Bespoke Tokyo concierge service gets coverage in this week’s issue of TIME (no, I didn’t write it). You can read it online here.

Update
Read more about what a Bespoke Tokyo tour is like in this piece, from THE OBSERVER.

I’m told that the “My Private Tokyo” segment I did a few months back for TOKYO EYE on Higashi-Ikebukuro pocket parks will run again along with some other segments covering disaster prevention (September 1 is disaster prevention day in Japan). It will air September 12 on NHK WORLD, and September 19 here in Japan on the NHK Chijo-Digital Educational channel. You can watch the segment here, or see photos of all the pocket parks here.

Tim Rudder has posted a few new great-looking night shots of the city.

PingMag has a great look (the direct link doesn’t seem to work, so just go to the front page) at the use of gaffer tape on construction projects, creating rather attractive lettering. They interview Hikaru Yamashita of TrioFour, who made that video I linked to a while back about the tape-made signs in Shinjuku. You can also catch an exhibition of that work, created by train guard Shuetsu Sato, in Koenji until Sunday (September 2).

If there’s a reason Japanese snack package design tends to be so popular with tourists, it’s probably because of the cute and colorful characters that are often prominently featured all over. This country’s love for cute mascots extends to pretty much everything that surrounds you, and that includes all manner of signs and instructions. Don’t believe me? Get a copy of Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan, by Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda, and see for yourself.

Itself a cute little book, the guide takes you on a tour of all those kawaii characters that try to make your life in Japan that much easier (and in a friendly way). It’s pretty much cover to cover photography, and very fun to read through.

• “The Salon,” happening tomorrow night (August 31) at Museum Cafe MADO LOUNGE (Mori Tower 52F) and involving OK FREDDERs Audrey and Yoshi, hopes to bring some retro (20s) party action to the venue. Suggested dress code: “ladies bring your pearls, hills, feather and lipstick, gentlemen, hats, ties, or feather if you prefer…” It starts at 20:00 with entry at 3500 yen (3000 yen with flyer), with a second edition already planned for September 14.
• Fans of sci-fi will want to catch the Nippon 2007 Worldcon that starts today (August 30-September 3) at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center. Author and BOING BOINGer Cory Doctorow is even scheduled to be there.
• This weekend also marks the start of a new show at the Nakaochiai Gallery, “Magical Brothers,” running until September 23. The opening reception happens this Saturday (September 1), 19:00-21:00.
• “Searching for Mr. Olive,” a photo exhibition/project for the fashion brand Mr. Olive, is on at LE DECO GALLERY until September 2.
• Digiki and a few others DJ at Velours this Saturday (September 1, 23:00-5:00, 3000 yen).

Sure, the iPhone isn’t yet available in Japan, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting it anytime soon, but if your passion for one has led you to follow the import/unlock route (or you brought one along on a trip) then here are some iPhone-formatted maps of Tokyo’s subway and JR lines ready for download.

I’m told that the profile TRAVEL+LEISURE did on me is in the current issue (September 2007), although I haven’t seen it yet. I look forward to seeing how the photo, shot by Takashi Yasumura, turned out.

My weekly Tokyo post is up at MoCo Loco. This week I cover the two new products from Kyouei (Umbrella Pot and Topography Soup Plate), an event for 60VISION, and Bridge Design’s HANA-MI.

Some graffiti shot by Tim Rudder at Enoshima.

This month’s edition of my “On Design” column is in today’s THE JAPAN TIMES, and can be found online here. In it, I cover KYOSHO’s MANOI PF01 hobby robot, the MACINARI-TAKUMI pens and pencils, POM2’s “Mine-Remove Sticker Program,” Flames‘ TU-KI light, and Flask’s Flower Kitchen Clip.

Kyoto-based Karl Escritt is had created a new collection of t-shirts for Eno in Shanghai. You can see all the designs here, and it seems that there will be a full online shop up within a few weeks.