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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

“Light – Light” in Tokyo

light - Light

Curiosity‘s “Light – Light” installation, first shown in Milan last year, is now on show at a Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo until April 5. Designboom only mentions that it’s at the Louis Vuitton store in Shibuya-ku, which I assume would be the flagship store on Omotesando.

PauseTalk Vol. 28

Yes, I’m extremely late with my write-up on the February 2009 edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 28), but then again, it gives me the opportunity to plug the next edition, which happens this coming Monday (March 2, from 20:00 at Cafe Pause). I’d like to thank everyone who came to the last one and made it so enjoyable — and nicely crowded. I honestly can’t remember what was covered, but I assure you it was all good.

Below, a partial list of those who attended, because I didn’t properly keep track of everyone who came. If you’re missing from the list, please let me know and I’ll add it right away — and apologies for being the senile entity that I am.

Working: Postalco

Postalco

Tramnesia adds another great video to its “Working” series. It’s another international couple — following Knee High Media — this time Mike and Yuri Abelson, who run the stationery brand/company Postalco. I’ve seen their products all over the city, but didn’t realize they had a shop of their own — it’s in Kyobashi — which I’ll have to check out soon. Always nice to see small companies like this doing so well.

We Don’t Need Fake!!!

We Don't Need Fake!!!

Josh McKible is busy: on top of the recent poster for Cafe Pause and label for the original tea blend, now he’s also collaborating with papercraft legend Shin Tanaka. Josh was invited to participate — along with six other designers — in a project called “We Don’t Need Fake!!!” To help keep things “real and original,” download the designs here.

And if you haven’t done so already, have a look at the latest batch of NaniBirds, ready to be printed and folded.

The Design Entrepreneur

The Design Entrepreneur

Design aficionados take note: Steven Heller and Lita Talarico, co-authors of the book The Design Entrepreneur, are giving a free lecture at Spazio in Ebisu on March 13. More details on the sign-up page.

Paranomia

Paranomia

Another great show at Diesel Denim Gallery Aoyama, this time “Paranomia,” featuring collaborative works by Chinese artist Chi Peng and creative director Kensui Arao. It runs until May 10.

This Week at MoCo Loco

Nendo

My weekly Tokyo post for MoCo Loco is up, this time covering Mile‘s “Whose Leg?” mini-lampshade, Nendo‘s exhibition in NYC (above), and Hidetoshi Takahashi’s Cara and Kami wooden cups.

The New King of Combini in Tokyo

According to Japan Probe, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson is about to purchase rival chain AM/PM. 7-11 remains the monster chain in Japan, but in Tokyo at least, the new deal would give Lawson 1,795 stores versus 7-11′s 1,602.

I love my Japanese convenience stores, oh yes I do.

Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Photos

Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party

As promised, a few photos taken at the party we had for the 5th anniversary of Cafe Pause last Saturday. All photos were taken by Kei Suzuki — he was responsible for the visual/sound performance.

Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party Cafe Pause 5th Anniversary Party

Hiroaki and Takaaki Koshiba

Hiroaki and Takaaki Koshiba

Following Saturday night’s amazing 5th anniversary party at Cafe Pause — I’ll get photos up soon — on Sunday night we were treated to another performance by painter Hiroaki Koshiba, accompanied on guitar by his brother, Takaaki Koshiba. Photos taken on iPhone using the Toy Camera app.

Hiroaki and Takaaki Koshiba Hiroaki and Takaaki KoshibaHiroaki and Takaaki Koshiba

Japanese Memoscapes

Japanese Memoscapes

Designer Bianca Beuttel has been a good friend of PauseTalk over the years — since Vol. 1, actually — and in just over a month she’s leaving Tokyo for the calmer climes of Kyoto. Before she leaves though she’s having an exhibition at Cafe Pause called “Japanese Memoscapes” (March 9-15). It involves the use of memo pads she has designed, which will also be sold during the exhibition. If you visit the exhibition website, you can see what the pages look like — that’s one of them above. I’m participating by filling up one with my scribbles, which will then join the exhibition.

Esquire Japan No More

Esquire Japan

Yes, the magazine industry is hurting in Japan just as much as anywhere else. I’ve been told — so feel free to treat this as a rumor — that the Japanese edition of Esquire is about to cease publication. And that same person was telling me that circulation numbers in general are hurting, and so it sounds like we shouldn’t be too surprised to see more closures if things don’t improve in the coming months. Esquire in Japan is actually a decent magazine — it’s much more Brutus than Esquire US.

Also, an update on the news I posted a few weeks ago about the demise of Kateigaho International Edition. The magazine as we know it has indeed ended — the current issue is the last — but later this year it will continue as a translation of the original Japanese edition. Believe me, fans of KIE will not want this upcoming edition.

Number (N)ine No More

Number (N)ine

Takahiro Miyashita’s recent collection for Number (N)ine — shown last month in Paris — will be the line’s last. Via Mekas.

Beat Crusaders Vs. LittleBigPlanet


The Beat Crusaders devote the video for their latest single, “Phantom Planet,” to last year’s LittleBigPlanet. Great use of the band’s trademark face masks. Thanks, Ola.

Tokyo Railway Map and Calendar

Tokyo Railway Map and Calendar

Absolutely stunning poster of the Tokyo railway system by Korean designer Zero Per Zero, that acts as a map and a calendar. I’ve seen the full-size version of last year’s edition — it hangs at the AQ offices — and it looks even better when seen up close. You can purchase it online through White Rabbit Press.

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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