Spoon & Tamago

Winners of Japan’s 2027 Packaging Design Awards

Japan has a rich history of packaging design that dates back hundreds of years and rooted in a tradition of gift-giving. Before industrial materials like plastic and cardboard, gifts were wrapped in straw, bamboo, leaves and paper: an art unto itself that lives on today in the form of products often wrapped in as many physical as symbolic layers.

Every two years the JPDA (Japan Packaging Design Association) combs through over 1000 submissions to celebrate excellence in packaging design. Here are the winners for 2027.

Yuka Numata’s Haunting Sculptures of Children, Made from Fishing Line and Beads, Installed at Abandoned Elementary School

September 17, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

When you enter the classroom of an elementary school, you might expect to hear laughter and yelps of excitement. But at the former Yuya Elementary School in Gifu, you’ll instead encounter hundreds of beads hanging from the ceiling by fishing line. As you walk through the classroom, the beads slowly align, forming translucent and haunting sculptures of children.

Tadao Ando Designed & Donated a Floating Library that Delivers Books to Children

September 15, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

Cutting through the white-capped waves of the Seto Inland Sea is a one-of-kind “floating library”. This is Hon no Mori-go (ほんのもり号) created to give children living on remote islands the opportunity to discover books and nurture their creativity.

Candidates Announced for Suica Penguin’s Successor. A Public Vote Will Decide the Outcome

September 8, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

Last year, JR East announced that their beloved mascot, the Suica penguin, will retire after 25 years of serving as the iconic face of IC cards. Today, the company has unveiled three candidates to succeed the beloved Suica Penguin, which will officially retire at the end of March 2027. The three designs—created by young Japanese creators—offer a decidedly different take on what Suica might look like in its next chapter. And JR East is putting the final decision up to a public vote.

Tokyo is Gearing Up for an Art-Filled Fall. And the Entire City is Here for It

September 6, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

They say autumn is the season for art. In Japan, fall symbolizes freshness and new endeavors. The season’s clearer skies and brighter moons gives renewed enthusiasm to encounter artistic inspiration. And the entire city of Tokyo is not only here for it, but sponsoring it. From museums extending their hours and all-night art exhibitions to outdoor art festivals, Fall of 2026 is going to be one of the best chances to let art take your hand and guide you around Tokyo.

Kawaii Buildings, as Seen Through the Lens of Urban Photographer Ken Ohyama

August 30, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

Urban photographer Ken Ohyama is passionate about cities and the various structures that form them. The Japanese photographer has a knack for taking oft-overlooked elements of urban environments like highways and housing projects, and highlighting their beauty by forcing us to look at them in ways we never have.

Minecraft Characters Emerge in the Fields for Gaming-Inspired Gyoda Rice Paddy Art

August 29, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

Every summer, the city of Gyoda in Saitama Prefecture turns rice paddies into giant canvases, planting colorful rice varieties to form massive works of art. Known as tanbo art, these living murals stretch across nearly three hectares and can only be fully appreciated from above. Gyoda’s rice paddy art holds the Guinness World Record for the largest of its kind, and each year it draws visitors eager to see what design will emerge from the fields.

FamilyMart and Sumo Legend Chiyonofuji is the Celebrity Collab We Didn’t Know We Needed

August 25, 2026 / Johnny / 0 Comments

FamilyMart’s in-house apparel label Convenience Wear is stepping into the world of sumo with a new limited-edition collaboration celebrating legendary yokozuna Chiyonofuji.

Developed in collaboration with fashion designer Hiromasa Ochiai, Convenience Wear is known for its philosophy of “Good Materials, Good Craftsmanship, Good Design.” For this collection, that approach meets the dynamism and tradition of sumo, Japan’s national sport.

Artist Hiro Sugiyama Recreates Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’ With 750,000 Dahlias

August 15, 2026 / Johnny / Comments Off

Once every two years, Brussels turns its Grand-Place into a living work of art. This year, artist Hiro Sugiyama transformed the cobblestones into a vibrant floral display as the Belgian capital celebrates the 24th edition of its Flower Carpet featuring one of Japan’s most-iconic images.

Sou Fujimoto’s Meiji Park Brings a Three-Dimensional Landscape to Hakata Station

August 8, 2026 / Johnny / Comments Off

Is it a park? A building? A pathway? A Landscape? It’s one of our most-anticipated architecture project of 2026, and it just opened yesterday (August 7) in Fukuoka, just steps away from Hakata Station. Meiji Park is a new 3,572-square-meter urban park designed by Sou Fujimoto. Architecture and landscape are woven together vertically, creating a continuous environment of terraces, elevated paths, plazas, and greenery.

Spoon & Tamago - japanese art, design and culture

Winners of Japan’s 2027 Packaging Design Awards

Yuka Numata’s Haunting Sculptures of Children, Made from Fishing Line and Beads, Installed at Abandoned Elementary School

Tadao Ando Designed & Donated a Floating Library that Delivers Books to Children

Candidates Announced for Suica Penguin’s Successor. A Public Vote Will Decide the Outcome

Tokyo is Gearing Up for an Art-Filled Fall. And the Entire City is Here for It

Kawaii Buildings, as Seen Through the Lens of Urban Photographer Ken Ohyama

Minecraft Characters Emerge in the Fields for Gaming-Inspired Gyoda Rice Paddy Art

FamilyMart and Sumo Legend Chiyonofuji is the Celebrity Collab We Didn’t Know We Needed

Artist Hiro Sugiyama Recreates Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’ With 750,000 Dahlias

Sou Fujimoto’s Meiji Park Brings a Three-Dimensional Landscape to Hakata Station

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