coldest april in tokyo

strangely, it's been extremely cold this whole week in tokyo, but now that i think of the volcano in iceland, it may make some sense – it was actually snowing friday night when team nooka was out drinking at en izakaya late into the night [thanks reika for reserving us a room!]. of course, now that i need to repack and check out on my way to beijing, it's super sunny and nice outside.

so to wrap up the updates for this trip, and not in chronological order, a word-dump: had a great meeting with the creative collaboration team at graniph, the t-shirt i designed will drop may 1st. if you're in a city with a graniph shop, make sure to pick one up as they only made 1000 units. my friend tomoyo hooked that connection up and it was nice to catch up with her after the meeting. tinydinosaur, a tokyo fashion design lab, famous for using new fabrics and materials featured nooka in their latest tokyo fashion week fall collection. see photos here. mr. kudo can be seen in the foto on the upper right with his handmade lamps made from discarded umbrella wires – a really creative team and i am so flattered to work with them. they LOVE the nooka strips [get yours here or in japan, here]! visited a wonderful little shop near bankart museum in yokohama called gallo the living which features nooka prominently in their shop. the shop manager, hikaru is adorable, and the owner mr. hara is full of creative energy. we all had a lovely meal after visiting the shop at the amazon club which serves deep fried scorpions and other fusion fare. went out to a night of 5 bands at unit in daikanyama to see my friend immi perform some songs and a dj set [you can tell which foto is her i think], which was great. saw another band called soutaiseiriron which was also fun, the singer was übercool, she hardly moved. i made it to nigo of bathing ape fame's new curry restaurant called curry-up. it was excellent! and i wore my yellow jeans which kinda made it look like i work there. the pretty lady with the long hair is my friend and rising design star, hiroko takahashi – great to catch up with her and see some of the amazing press she is getting. we also compared travel stories.

i will not clog up the post with every business meeting and friend i caught up with, nor complain about how i haven't had a proper night sleep in 10 days, but seriously, check the links above to catch up on the ever changing pop-culture of tokyo – a great and inspiring city. the foto of the ocean is from a daytrip to atami where i soaked in a hot tub [rotenburo] at horai, a 160 year old mountain guesthouse that was sublime though....the kami-san, mrs. furutani was a pleasure and the food is beyond words.

tokyo this week

lobby of the MoT

art of kiyoshi KURODA

cut paper work of tomoko SHIYOYASU – mind-bogglingly awesome!

nooka!

the creepy work of junichi MORI

team nooka japan: yu YAMADA, myself and yuka SATO.

i am now on the first leg of a month-long business trip. i arrived in tokyo on friday so i would have the weekend to adjust to the jet-lag, but somehow, i'm exhausted today [waking up at 5am is probably the culprit!]. luckily i had 100% energy for my meeting with the PR agency we use here in Japan – got them up to speed on all the collab and event stuff in the US to find synergies and/or similar win-win scenarios relevant to the japan market. in particular, the more i talk about what's going on with the custom nookanooka shows around the world, the more i think we need to package it for a museum show somewhere [after budapest, we will have 50 nookanookas customized by local and international artists!]. curator friends: any ideas? connections with the cooper hewitt in nyc or the design museum in london [or any other ideas welcome]. i'll work the connections i have...

and on the same vein, i was happy to see an artist from the japan custom nookanooka show, atsuo OGAWA, featured in the annual show of new artists at the tokyo museum of contemporary art [known as the MoT, go figure]. the show was pretty amazing, i was blown away by some of the pieces, especially the ceramic work of katsuyo AOKI – glad i caught the show on the last day. you can learn more about the exhibition here. unfortunately, the catalog was sold out, so i had to snap some pictures of the library copy!

there was also a wonderful hussein chalayan retrospective which i also found inspiring. and to make it even more wonderful...they sell nooka in the MoT gift shop!

the newly renovated museum restaurant, content, is quite good – beautiful space, excellent service, but extremely overpriced for being in a municipally funded art museum.

hidden alleys and bar piano

there are some impossibly tiny commercial spaces in tokyo, most famous are tiny bars tucked into narrow alleys that sometimes seat 4 people at most. i was taken to bar piano by mixologist Mr. Rua, who i met at rooms [he's a friend of the people behind kyara jewelry] and it one of those hidden secret places [appointment only]. first floor of the bar is the bar and a piano, 2nd floor seats maybe 8-10 people [our group was about 8]. strange thing is that it's on an alley i never noticed in all my years passing by and parking my bike not 15 feet from the bar when i'm in shibuya – truly an alice through the looking glass experience!

it's quite obvious that none of these types of establishments are up to fire code, and this alley [like many others before] is slated to be razed. current tenants have 2 years to leave.

photos are top: mr. rua outside bar piano. bottom: the ceiling of the upstairs room.

weekend in tokyo

i arrived in tokyo on thursday evening and used the weekend to avoid jetlag for the upcoming shows, do some shopping and catch up with friends [as well as fill up on food i can only find here, like mos burger, basahi etc.]. i really should write a travel guide to tokyo one day, but i'm not sure how accurate it could ever be with things changing so quickly here year to year. so, for now and for this entry, a few highlights and photo-diary.

muji opened a new store in shinjuku on yasukuni-dori, close to my hotel [which is great, as the yurakucho main store is a bit far to go by bicycle with packages]. i spent a half a day there looking at everything [they added the IDEE furniture collection to their larger stores in japan, though the selections is limited due to space], eating in their organic cafe [fiber!], shopping the yohji yamamoto directed muji labo line, and stocking up on bath salts!

i spent saturday at tokyo midtown, the SOM designed mixed-use space in roppongi with my friend and musician of far east music, soichi terada [upper left in collage foto]. we saw an exhibition in the suntory art museum as well as the typography exhibition at the ando designed and issey miyake curated 21_21 design site. the suntory museum always has a great show of japanese art/craft, this time the pre-history of the kimono. i was disappointed with the show at design site this trip though – it came off more like a graphic design exhibition at a university than something becoming of their great space.

soichi and i also had a really authentic mexican meal at la colina in midtown – expensive but delicious. the band was pretty good...can someone identify what the giant 5 string bass guitar is [i've never seen one like that]? i requested "piensa en mi" which they actually knew [i would lose my appetite is i had to listen to "la bamba" one more time].

of course i went to my fave t-shirt shop, graniph. i got stuff for myself, but mostly souvenirs for my staff in NYC. our tokyo office mate, BACH curated the manga collection at the art shop installation/shop at isetan in shinjuku where i went with my friend tomoyo and i bought an overpriced polo shirt [please note: only in japan can you have a "fuck forever" neon sign in a major department store].

i'd list the meals i had if i was writing a food blog. enjoy the pretty pictures.

rooms in tokyo

i am writing this from jfk airport in nyc. i'm on my way to tokyo for a few things, one of which is "rooms", a fashion trade show [come by our booth if you're there], the yokohama trieniale [which we are the official watch. let's hope the factory delivers on time for people to actually see it!] and to meet with stores as well as catch up with friends and do other businessy stuff. the jet lag really takes its toll on me, but i'll compensate by filling up on ramen, gyoza, mos burgers, seasonal candy, delish sakes and shochu for 2 weeks.

noo music update for march: max rouen

one of the great things about my tokyo office is that we share the space with other creatives, one of which is mr. kurasho, an amazing DJ. we have shockingly similar tastes and i always load up on great music for my long flight home and then to enjoy in the studio. i especially love when he turns me on to a band/performer i've never heard of, one of which is max rouen! the current cd is "the magnetic wave of sound" and it's my favorite disk of 2008 so far. here's a paraphrased quote from a review site: "...uses old methods, looping and splicing tapes on reel to reel – creating a sound that he then builds up into rather nice songs that have a less avant garde indie feel about them, an interesting and original take on how to make slanted and enchanted pop songs."

sums it up pretty well. in my words: the album has a lot of interesting pop turns and a laid-back grittiness that defies genre classification while exuding a confidence rarely heard in young artists [not saying that he's young]. check it!

cherry blossoms / sakura season

this is my first trip back to japan where i'm actually here for the sakura trees to be in full bloom [full-bloom is called mankai in japanese, and they report it like a coming storm. mankai in tokyo is predicted to occur this coming sunday, march 30th]. the japanese take cherry blossom season as a time to get drunk anywhere there is a cherry tree and perhaps it is the urine and vomit of the season that contributes to the beautiful display of flora each year...this is called o-hanami!

my meetings have all gone well and am catching up with friends and colleagues. i'm riding my one speed muji bicycle everywhere which is fun and a hedge against all the food i'm eating. staying in okubo is very convenient to my office via bike and it's also tokyo's korea town which creates a weird alice-in-wonderland feeling for me as my NYC office is in korea town as well.

again, visual entry left to right from the top:

row 1
sakura in mid-bloom [gobuzaki?, maybe nanabuzaki], koto from devil robots, cute restaurant signage.
row 2
nooka japan display case [built by elle-chan], workers being paid to hold a spot for hanami, kitai from devilrobots and machan from mad barbarians [yummy food!].
row 3
yu of nooka japan, hotel fraser in okubo [where i'm staying this trip], fraser entrance.
row 4
best parking lot sign ever, elle-chan with sake, ultraman truck.

P.S. Nooka Japan Hanami is this Sunday in Inogashira-Park. Please come if you can make it. I'll be back in NYC the next day!

tokyo in march

i'm in tokyo to review and file year end taxes for nooka japan, my office here. i came a few days early to adjust to the time zone so i won't be a zombie when i have meetings. i also used the time to finally get myself to the MOT, the tokyo museum of contemporary art [Museum Of Tokyo = MOT] as it is a bit of a pain to get to. the permanent collection is quite good, but their 2008 annual show of new art was disappointing for the most part. also, i'm always shocked with how humid the conditions are in japanese museums – not good for the art or the viewers comfort.

i decided to upload a visual diary for the past 2 days. the dog is the nooka tokyo office mascot and his name is nikko. the wonderful blue gate is a piece by artist Suh Do-ho called "Reflection". the little paintings are from a cute show at the tiny but wonderful fewmany shop/gallery in shinjuku of work from my friends at devilrobots. the new tange tower is almost complete...not sure how i feel about it [it's a bit overdesigned].

airtravel

i figure i can try the power of the blog for this one:

OY, air travel...i need to get myself to tokyo for work and was pretty proud of myself for managing a M-class economy ticket on my favorite airline ANA with an upgrade to business class with my mileage until my meetings were changed to the week of the 24th! now i can't seem to get the same deal leaving either the 20th, 21, or 22nd on any airline even though i have more advanced notice? if there are any airline marketing people reading this and you want a hip designer to try your trans-pacific business class...let me know what you can do! or even a skillful travel agent who can find a business class ticket under $6,000US... as sitting in a tiny seat for 15+ hours is something i can no longer handle. ah the problems of a start-up company executive!:)

it'd be great if priceline added business class to their "name your price" feature.

a few of my favorite things

i am finding that my blog is a great way for me to record information to use for press/PR that i never seem to get down on paper in an organized fashion. there are some interview question that get asked over and over, yet i blank out whenever asked, so i think i'll write 3 of them down here:

what is your guilty pleasure:
junk cereals! i love lucky charms and reeses peanut butter cereal, but i don't eat them for breakfast – it's my late night snack that probably contributes most to my mid-section. my favorite cereal growing up was the freakies, and i used to have all the prizes. i would LOVE to design a breakfast cereal!

what is your favorite store:
my favorite store is probably the original don quixote discount store in okubo [tokyo japan]. it's open 24 hours which is great when you have jetlag. it used to actually be a great place to find bargains, but now the prices are pretty much the same as other stores selling the same crap, but having a one-stop shop for toothpaste, sake, shochu, japanese junk food, teas and last seasons' toys in a 24 hour setting is pretty cool [i don't like crowds and only shop when a place is not too busy. this is why i rarely shop in NYC]. #2 would have to be the MUJI flagship in Yurakucho Tokyo where you walk trough [and BUY] a MUJI pre-fab house, buy everything in their catalog AND eat organic food in their restaurant – total copy of the ikea concept but more chic, minimal and less exhausting.

what is your favorite brand:
fashion: prada and miu miu. everything other than their websites [what is it with italian companies and crappy websites?] are expressions of perfection and nooismo™. this doesn't mean you'll find me wearing much of either as i'm pretty much a t-shirt and jeans kinda guy. i also love and respect what yohji yamamoto does with Y-3 and what mihara does with puma [now this is stuff i buy a lot of for my feet].

NOTE: Prada website IS great but must of been down when I wrote the above. I still find many european brands have less than user friendly websites.

photo is the kinoie prefab house from muji japan