My latest Tokyo post is up on MoCo Loco, covering Fumie Shibata‘s ZUTTO kitchen appliances for Zojirushi, news that Plus Minus Zero has launched an international site, and the dates for the Good Design Expo 2008.
Jul 31, 2008
Dezeen posts a few images of what is being described as a proposed new flagship store for Louis Vuitton in Japan by Dutch architects UNStudio. It’s unclear whether this is an actual project that has been approved, and if so, where it would be located (best guesses: Omotesando or Ginza).
Jul 31, 2008
After 21 years in print, publisher Shogakukan’s Young Sunday comics magazine is calling it quits. Anime News Network has details on what will happen to all of its manga titles — most of them are heading to Big Comic Spirits.
Jul 31, 2008
Some good news for fans of the works of Junko Mizuno. Publisher Last Gasp and Patrick Macias’ jaPRESS are translating the Fancy Gigolo Pelu manga. It should be out in spring of next year.
Jul 31, 2008
While I was out of town, I kept up with my weekly Tokyo posts over at MoCo Loco, but didn’t link to them. Here then is what you may have missed.
First, I covered Plus Minus Zero’s Electric Kettle, Cina‘s 4GB USB flash drive, and Naoto Fukasawa’s Noto ballpoint pen.
Second week: the Awagami +1 stationery collection, John Di Cesare’s Parashell umbrellas, D-BROS‘ “Hotel Butterfly” cups and saucers.
Third week: Naoko Kanehira’s works exposed in London, &design‘s Frame Hanger, and Mother Tool‘s Awasefu pass case.
Last week: Plus Minus Zero’s Mesh Tarp Tote Bag, the latest Nosigner exhibition, and Shiro Kuramata’s exhibition at Limart.
Jul 30, 2008
I’m a bit late on this, but this month’s edition of my “On Design” appeared last week in The Japan Times, and can be read online here. In it, I covered Takumi‘s BeansQtap extension cord, John Di Cesare’s Parashell umbrellas, Kazuhiko Tomita’s Kabon tray, Nihon-Sweden‘s Envelope bags and cases, and the 100% Lamp/Lamp Table Base.
Jul 30, 2008
I’m not quite sure how I missed this — let’s blame it on me being out of the country for the month — but Chin Music Press has a new release, in the form of Minoru Morita’s Curing Japan’s America Addiction.
This is the first book from CMP to be released as a paperback, and is available now from its website for $15.
Jul 30, 2008
It’s summer, it’s hot, and you need new t-shirts. Good thing Tokyo Art Beat has just launched its fourth Tokyo t-shirt collection then! They’re doing things a bit different this time out, releasing two new tees every two months.
The first two designs, pictured above, are by Ko-Zou and Tada Reiko (Kiiiiiii), and can be purchased directly from the TAB shop (international orders are very much welcomed). As always, all proceeds go to help support the site, itself a non-profit organization.
Jul 29, 2008
Can’t say that I’m really in the market for a pneumatic elevator, but if I was, I’d want the one pictured above, distributed in Japan by NuVa. Photo via Max — here’s a link to a few more.
Jul 29, 2008
Just a quick note to say I just got back to Tokyo, and so you can expect regular transmissions on this site to pick up again.
Pictured above, me enjoying some great local ale at a pub back in Canada (and contemplating what to drink next). Thanks for the photo, Bones!
Jul 29, 2008
How should you be celebrating the release of Dense Music, Digiki’s new album on the Tokyo Fun Party label? By going to the instore live this Sunday (July 27, 16:00-19:00) at Styles Daikanyama of course. Entrance is free, and you also get SoccerBoy, who will surely be sporting the nicest eighties rock tee this side of the Pacific.
Jul 25, 2008
Although I usually get pretty excited when a new Hayao Miyazaki film comes along, I can’t say I’ve been particularly pumped for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. I didn’t much enjoy the teases I’d seen for the film: the deformed and simply drawn main character pointed to a loose style of animation that I didn’t really like. Well, the extended trailer above reveals an entire different film than what I was expecting, and I’m now quite looking forward to seeing it once I get back to Tokyo. Looks like it’s turning into a huge box office hit as well (it opened this past weekend).
Jul 21, 2008
The always delightful — and fellow PauseTalker — Bianca Beuttel returns to PingMag with a new package design piece, this time with a focus on sustainable or eco-friendly packaging in Japan
Jul 19, 2008
No, that’s not an idol video, or at least it’s not sold that way. The video is from a DVD series by record label Avex called Miteru Dake (Just Looking). As you can see, it features girls — pumped-up breasts and all — just, well, looking. The idea is that it’s for shy men, to practice looking girls in the eyes. Via Japan Probe, but read more at Clast.
Jul 19, 2008
The “Totoro Forest Project” needs your help! From artist Enrico Casarosa:
Do go have a look, as the gallery is already quite impressive. Pictured above is a piece by Enrico.
Jul 19, 2008
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 is March 5.
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.
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.
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.
He serves as editor-at-large at Néojaponisme, a web journal covering social and cultural aspects of Japan. Read the manifesto, by founder and chief editor W. David Marx.
He also writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the last Tuesday of every month, in both the print edition and online.
