Spoon & Tamago

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Tokyo City Recreated Using 10,000 MUJI Products

March 2, 2016 / Johnny / Comments Off

If you own anything from minimal lifestyle retailer MUJI you’ll know that their products are designed to precise calculations and specifications, often with architectural elements, allowing them to be stacked, layered and lined. Taking advantage of these characteristics, a creative agency has recreated many of Tokyo’s iconic landmarks and buildings using only MUJI products.

The installation–part of a joint-campaign to promote Tokyo as well as one of Japan’s most iconic retailers– will be traveling to Taipei and then New York.

Collaborative Packaging: Glico and Kirin Release Dyptich-Style Products

March 1, 2016 / Johnny / 2 Comments

Kirin is a beverage maker behind many of Japan’s favorite beers and soft drinks. Glico is the maker of gum, chocolates and other snacks. Despite their differences, the two companies and their respective marketing teams recently came together to create a joint-packaging campaign for two of their most popular products.

Ambassadors of Japanese Art: New City Art Fair

March 1, 2016 / Johnny / Comments Off

Daisuke Takahashi “untitled(tmtm)” , 2013-2014/ HARMAS GALLERY / photo by Kei Okano

For the past 4 years the New City Art Fair, hosted by hpgrp gallery, has been a harbinger of art, showcasing contemporary Japanese art in New York and Taipei. Last year they bid farewell to their gallery space in Chelsea and relocated to Tribeca. Now comfortably settled after an inaugural exhibition by Noritake Kinashi, the gallery prepares to host the latest edition of the New City Art Fair in their new home.

The Corner House in Kitashirakawa

February 29, 2016 / Kaori Freda / Comments Off

This angular residence was born out of the architect’s desire to create a structure that would respond to the neighborhood. (all photos by Yasushi Ichikawa)

Meet the distinctive Corner House, a residence located in the Kitashirakawa suburb of Kyoto. The property is kitty-corner to a stream, between a local university’s botanical garden, and close to a children’s playground. Architect Satoru Umehara, founder of UME Architects, considered this busy residential block, brainstorming ways to create a space that dialogued with its surroundings.

After considerable thought, it struck him that he could focus the shape of the roof to dialog with neighboring properties. During the creation of the corner house, Umehara had to seek approval from the Kyoto Council, since the design of the roof was such a radical departure from Kyoto’s strict design guidelines.

The Tokyoiter: imaginary magazine covers inspired by The New Yorker

February 26, 2016 / Johnny / 2 Comments

The Tokyoiter: a new project that pays homage to The New Yorker

Inspired by the iconic layout and cover illustrations for magazines like The New Yorker and The Parisianer, two Tokyo-based designers have launched a new project called The Tokyoiter. Calling on Japan-based illustrators, the project aims at showcasing numerous visions of what makes Tokyo such a fascinating place to live and experience.

Lovely Illustrations of Food in Japan by Justine Wong

February 26, 2016 / Johnny / Comments Off

A quick warning to those who haven’t eaten in the last hour. These lovely illustrations of food in Japan are guaranteed to give you hunger pains, and a yearning for Japan. To be clear, I deliberately worded the title “Food in Japan” rather than “Japanese Food.” There’s a difference. Japanese food is available now in almost every country. This however – from the convenience store packaging and carefully arranged plates to the food trucks – is food in Japan. They were captured and illustrated by Justine Wong, an illustrator based in Toronto who is “cooking, and painting, and eating” her way back to Japan.

People Make Places: a new way of exploring Tokyo

February 25, 2016 / Johnny / 1 Comment

The bartender who served Yukio Mishima his Gin & Tonics at a bar in a former geisha district? Yes, please! A bearded, handsome, well-traveled shop owner who believes in raw materials? Please, tell me more! The people behind the places, and the stories they tell, is what makes the place special. At least according to People Make Places, a new initiative that wants to show you Tokyo in an intimate way, like you’ve never seen before.

Cotte: a brand of skincare by way of sake and fermentation

February 25, 2016 / Johnny / Comments Off

In Japan it’s been known for many years that sake brewers, despite their manual labor, have skin that’s soft and moist. That’s because the amino acids in the fermentation and brewery process act as natural moisturizers that deliver deep hydration to the skin.

Vintage Cover Illustrations of Shukan Shincho by Rokuro Taniuchi

February 24, 2016 / Johnny / 2 Comments

the inaugural issue published on February 19, 1956

Sixty years ago this month Shukan Shincho began publishing their weekly magazine. The inaugural issue’s cover illustration featured a young girl in kimono walking on a breezy shoreline, fighting to keep her paper umbrella from blowing away. Behind her a train with homes as cars puffed along the water with billowing clouds of seashells rising from the smokestack. It was illustrated by artist Rokuro Taniuchi – 35 at the time – who, for the next 25 years until his untimely death in 1981, illustrated numerous covers for the magazine.

Japanese Furniture Designer Creates Tansu Luggage

February 23, 2016 / Johnny / Comments Off

Have you ever had the urge to pack up your tansu and leave? Well if you play your cards right your tansu will already be packed. And thanks to Yokou Yamaguchi you’ll now be ale to roll your tansu right out of your house and onto an airplane.

For those unfamiliar with the traditional Japanese storage cabinetry, tansu originated in the late 1600s to store food and firewood. By the late 1800s the ornately decorated wooden chests were commonplace in almost every Japanese home. Now they’re being redesigned for the jet-setting traveler.