We’re absolutely loving the sculptural beauty of these white sand dunes photographed by Yoshihiro Makino during a trip to New Mexico in 2017. Staring at these otherworldly photographs, it’s easy to forget that you’re even looking at sand. With almost no rainfall throughout the year, the “White Sands” in winter are enveloped in crystals of dry gypsum; a vast and silent world that is seemingly devoid of life.
“GIN RICKEY AND GOLDEN TETRA”
The Japanese illustrator Kanta Yokoyama was born and raised in Kamakura, a lovely suburb outside Tokyo that’s situated between sea and mountains. It’s this environment, he says, that helped shape him as an artist. His illustrations are simple but whimsical, and he’s attributed his childhood of catching bugs and going fishing as the reason why his work often includes bugs and fish.
The Good Design Company was founded in 1998 by creative director Manabu Mizuno and, since their inception, have stayed true to their name. For 20 years Mizuno has attempted to “make things better” through design. And that has remained constant whether he’s designing a store, a train, a beer glass or Japan’s most lovable mascot Kumamon. Now, a new exhibition reflects on 2 decades of Mizuno’s Good Design.
the history behinds Japan’s postal 〒 mark (all photos via wikimedia commons)
If you live in Japan, surely you’ve seen it before. It’s a symbol that looks like the capital letter T but with an additional horizontal line above it: 〒. Known as the postal mark (yubin kigo), it’s a symbol that represents the Japanese postal system. Despite a decline in physical letters sent, the postal system is still very much a part of life in Japan as it also offers banking and other financial services (an odd notion in itself as most Americans would never consider banking with USPS) and the 〒 appears on post boxes, delivery trucks and branch offices.
Think Of Things is a unique space in Tokyo that attempts to blend the boundaries between lifestyle and workstyle. It opened last year in Harajuku and is operated by Kokuyo, one of our favorite stationary brands. To that end, they offer a collection of stationary, furniture, fashion and art items in their 1st floor shop. There’s also a café on the ground level with large windows that open up to a terrace where coffee from Sangenjyaya, Tokyo-based Obscura Coffee Roasters is proudly being served.
all photos by Kenta Hasegawa / Shinkennchiku-sha courtesy Daisuke Motogi Architects
Architects are usually shackled with requirements, parameters and demands. But when you give them free-reign, it usually results in good things. At least that was the case for this private room, situated above a company’s Tokyo headquarters.
portraits from the Awa Odori festival in Koenji (2018) | all photos by Benjamin Beech
I grew up in Koenji, a small suburb of Tokyo. Every summer the town would host the Awa Odori, one of the grandest festivals I had ever seen. For days leading up to the event I would watch in wonder as preparations were made. A makeshift wooden tower was erected outside the train station, lights and lanterns would be hung and an electric vibe began permeating the shopping streets and among the storekeepers as anticipation built. Then, as the sun set, the lights went on and suddenly a procession of sound, dance and color descended upon the town.
photo by Masanobu Higashiyama
Last night in Tokyo an enormous cumulonimbus cloud hovered over Tokyo for hours, bringing with it a spectacular light show that at times felt like the end of days. But the thunder and lightning also afforded photographers the opportunity to capture the storm system. One of the most ‘striking’ photographs was by Masanobu Higashiyama, a reporter from the Asahi Newspaper.
Those familiar with the Ghibli film Laputa will identify the cloud not as its scientific name but as “the Dragon’s Nest.”
unless otherwise noted, all photos by KOP courtesy Key Operation Architects
Social Good Roasters is a new coffee shop in Tokyo that just opened last month, and they’re on a mission to help society one cup of coffee at a time. Located in a 2nd floor space in Tokyo with plenty of windows and sunlight, Social Good Roasters employs individuals with conditions like Down Syndrome and autism and functions as a coffee bean roaster and cafe.
Taishi Arimura is a young graphic designer based in Tokyo. At the age of 25, his eclectic body of work contains humor, wit and beauty – everything one would want in a visual designer. In one particular series of works, Arimura uses imitation food samples and actual instant noodle packaging to create ‘noodle warriors.’ We don’t know whether we want to watch them fight, or eat them.
Hyper Realistic Pencil Drawings of Metallic Objects by Kohei Ohmori
Detailed Cross-section of the Kowloon Walled City Created by Japanese Researchers
Japan’s Jimi ‘Mundane’ Halloween Costumes of 2023
Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art from the 1600s – 1800s
Dense Pencil Drawings of Retro-Future Worlds by Yota Tsukino
