Spoon & Tamago

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Public Bath Houses in Japan are Uploading Videos so Quarantined Can Enjoy Online Sento

With social distancing and quarantine measures in place, it can get stressful being confined to your own home, both for residents but also for local business who have relied on a steady stream of patrons to maintain their operations. But some business have been coming up with innovative ways to continue engaging with their community. Japanese public baths, known as sento in Japan, have been uploading videos of their facilities, complete with the soothing sounds of water, to help people relax and enjoy online sento even in their own home

Tokujin Yoshioka Releases Free Template to Create Your Own Face Shield

April 15, 2020 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Healthcare workers around the world are putting their lives on the line to fight COVID-19 but their battle continues to be fought uphill as a shortage of medical supplies threatens to disrupt an already overwhelmed system. Bespectacled Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka wanted to do something to help so he created a simple and easy way to make face shields.

Let’s Stay One Tuna Apart: Humorous Social Distancing Posters from Nosigner

April 14, 2020 / Johnny / 4 Comments

The first known case of COVID-19 in Tokyo occurred in late January. But from there the rate of infections were relatively slow compared to other nations and Japan had been slow in altering their behavior. Now, cases are spiking, which led Japanese designer Eisuke Tachikawa and his design firm Nosigner to put together these social distancing posters as part of an initiative called Pandaid, which combine humor with graphic design to remind us to maintain appropriate distance from others in order to curb the spread of the disease.

Delectable Delights Made from Washi Paper

April 13, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Many countries have their own unique cuisine. But not every country has their own unique paper. Japan has both. And for one Japanese man, the two came together for him later in life as hobby creating delectable meals entirely out of washi paper.

Using Augmented Reality to Measure Safe Social Distancing

April 9, 2020 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Augmented reality (AR), simply put, is an interactive experience where computer-generated images enhance real-world environments. Japanese motion graphics artist Keisuke Terashima has utilized the technology to developed one of the more practical uses of AR that we’ve seen recently.

Traveling Vicariously Through Japan’s Tourism Poster Awards

April 7, 2020 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Earlier this year in March, the Japan Travel & Tourism Association announced the recipients of their 2020 Tourism Poster Awards. There were 139 entries from prefectures all around Japan highlighting their natural treasures. And while travelling to Japan, or any of these destinations, during our public health crisis is unthinkable, we’ll be traveling vicariously through this posters, looking forward to sometime in the future when we’ll be able to visit in-person.

Music Monday: Gen Hoshino’s Quarantine Collaborations

April 6, 2020 / Johnny / 1 Comment

Like many of us around the world, Japanese singer-songwriter Gen Hoshino is social distancing at home as Tokyo braces for a 2nd wave of coronavirus outbreaks. While in self-quarantine, he wrote a new song titled “Uchide Odorou / Dancing on the Inside” and uploaded the track to YouTube, inviting anyone who wishes to collaborate with him by creating their own arrangements or accompaniments.

An Architecture Firm Designed Their Own Office With A Sloping, Inhabitable Roof

April 5, 2020 / Johnny / 3 Comments

Studio Velocity is an Aichi-based architecture firm founded in 2006 by Kentaro Kurihara. Working primarily in a muted white palette, the firm has demonstrated unique methods of rethinking lifestyles and our relationships with dwellings. Recently, they were responsible for this renewed visions of public housing in Japan. So when it came time to design their own office in 2018, the architects carried out that same vision, albeit with a slightly more precarious footing.

Shi-An: A Tea House Made From 4000 Units of Origami

April 2, 2020 / Johnny / 5 Comments

all photos by Takuya Watanabe

Shi-an is a mobile tea house constructed entirely from folded paper without the use of bolts or adhesives. The entirely free-standing structure was designed by Tokyo-based architect Kazuya Katagiri who, with the help of designer Akinori Inuzuka, came up with a method of folding a large piece of washi paper into a single interlocking unit with 2 pockets and 2 arms.

For Over 30 Years Itsuo Kobayashi Has Been Keeping an Illustrated Food Diary

March 30, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Years before the era of Instagram and food bloggers, the self-taught artist Itsuo Kobayashi was memorializing every meal he ate. Using a combination of illustration, collage and text descriptions, Kobayashi has been creating a food diary of the last 30 years of his life.