All images ©Kotaro Tanaka courtesy OEO Studio
OEO Studio, a Copenhagen-based design firm, has recently completed the interiors of Noma Kyoto, a pop-up dining in Japan in collaboration with Ace Hotel. The 250 sqm existing dining space has been transformed under the guidance of stylist Christine Rudolph to create a truly unique and immersive experience that’s open to the culinary curious from March 15 to May 20, 2023.
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many thanks to Sakuraco for sponsoring Spoon & Tamago this week!
Sakuraco is a monthly subscription box with an emphasis on Japan’s tradition of tea and wagashi. Each month subscribers receive a specially-curated and seasonally appropriate assortment of authentic snacks. But it’s not just about the food. With the arrival of each box, Sakuraco offers an opportunity to slow down; to connect with the roots of Japanese snack and afternoon tea culture.
Founded in 2015 by Tokyo native Ayumi Chikamoto, Sakuraco works directly with local makers and communities to bring you premium, authentic wagashi with seasonality and tea pairing in mind. Give yourself, or someone you know, the gift of Japanese tea time with Sakuraco.
photos by Katsuhiro Aoki courtesy Same Picture Company
For all that’s written and said about the difficulty of starting a business in Japan, there is one exception. The country’s lax zoning laws make it particularly easy to convert a section of your home into a cafe or eatery. Case in point: Breeze Bird Cafe & Bakery in Kamakura, a 2-family home ideally located right next to the Wadazuka train station along the quaint Enoden line.
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Bonsai, as we all know, is the Japanese art of growing miniature trees. Some bonsai trees are hundreds of years old while the technique itself is thousands. The art form has inspired other genres from painting to contemporary installation. But its latest iteration reimagines ordinary household vegetables as miniature bonsai toys.
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photos by Yosuke Ohtake courtesy Sauna Ikitai
Saunas have been picking up steam in Japan for the last several years. From immersive art saunas to in-home saunas, the cottage industry has seen numerous innovations to make the hot and steamy experience accessible to all. One of the latest initiatives combines sustainability with saunas by refurbishing out-of-service public buses and transforming them into mobile saunas that can travel Japan.
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many thanks to Tokyo Treat for sponsoring Spoon & Tamago this week!
Want to feel like you just went on a shopping spree at the local conbini? That’s how we felt when our latest Tokyo Treat snack box arrived at our doorstep. From sweet to salty, these curated boxes, which are meticulously assembled and filled to the brim, are an awesome way to sample everything that Japan’s snack-makers have to offer.
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photos by Nao Takahashi courtesy DOG Architects
Last year around this time, a bright and airy craft beer brewery opened along the Honancho Ginza Shopping Street in Tokyo’s Suginami district. Surrounded by mom-and-pop eateries and retailers, the white art gallery-looking space didn’t exactly blend in. But they were on a mission to connect with the local community in ways that extended beyond just serving great beer.
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“Too many refrigerated seasonings” (2023) | all images courtesy the artist
The painter Yuka Kasai hails from Sapporo, where she studied art at Sapporo Otani University. Her seemingly minimalist style is inspired both by her concentration in traditional nihonga-style painting, but also an animist view of the world, deeply rooted in Japan’s native belief system, Shinto.
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all photos by Taku Saiki courtesy National Crafts Museum
What kind of chemical reaction would occur from combining the various genres of Japanese craft, with what has become on of Japan’s most-popular exports: Pokemon. This call-to-action from Kanazawa’s famed National Crafts Museum was answered by over 20 artisans working across multiple disciplines and ranging in age from young to Living National Treasure.
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The rolling dunes of the Sahara have been sculpted by wind over countless millennia. Each curve and peak is a work of art that evokes a sense of carefree beauty. For mankind to create such art, perhaps we need tools that are equally carefree. That was the idea behind a new painter’s palette inspired by the Sahara.
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