Posts from — August 2008

By 2002, cafes had sprung up across Japan, each taking hints from the other while trying to create the most original space. Eyes remained fixated on Ichiro Katami and Uichi Yamamoto, who were planning their 3rd project together. This time they were involving more people; fashion retailer JUN Group and graphic design company positron.

Katami and Yamamoto’s style continued to evolve, but their philosophy was solid. They believed that good design was necessary, but should not be overpowering. Design should be responsible for solving the little problems that make people slightly uncomfortable. Design should cause you to inhabit the space, making you come back and, even after the 10th visit, should make you say “I like this place.” During December of 2002, montoak opened its doors to much anticipation.

Located in Harajuku, the 3-story building boasts floor to ceiling windows and glamorous interiors with black leather seating. Much like their previous designs, details are calculated and deliberate. There is no sign or menu outside, giving the café a snobbish and arrogant feel. Upon entering you are greeted with a “Hello,” a shocking deviation for the traditional and ultra-polite welcoming.

Seating by the windows is bright and casual, while the inner depths of the café are dark and romantic. The 3rd floor is the most glamorous of all, but at night there is a cover charge.

At a time when Harajuku – known for its rockabilly dancers and cosplay teenagers – was fighting for its identity, Katami and Yamamoto successfully identified the needs of group of individuals, and filled that gap using an appropriate, and perhaps necessary, design.

images courtesy of kata inc & heads-west

I would love to get my hands on this book by Kim Beck! “A Field Guide to Weeds.”

Not to be confused with The Field Guide To Weeds.

(via Utrecht)

Three years after Bowery Kitchen stole the hearts of Tokyoites, a second project by Ichiro Katami and Uichi Yamamoto, Lotus, opened its doors in Omotesando, just off of the main avenue lined with luxury boutiques. Yamamoto had recently taken a trip to New York and, upon returning, mentioned that New York offered its city dwellers so many options, a luxury that Tokyo did not have. Thus, Lotus was to become a Japanese eatery that one might find in New York.

The retro-futuristic interior is achieved through florescent-pink walls, a vaulted ceiling with bold lighting and lotus-paneled walls. Depending on what time – of year and of day – you visit Lotus (it’s open until 4am) you will probably have very different impression. Yamamoto believes that, like its customers, the restaurant is alive; it should change, much like its patrons change. The walls may get painted a different color, the menu may rotate depending on the season, and tables may get rearranged. However, the central theme remains the same.


Yamamoto once said that the chairs and tables were deliberately placed close together so as to create the environment of an energetic eatery. This can definitely be felt if you visit Lotus during later hours. The bicker of people next to you, shouting from the kitchen, and orders being announced over the speakers can almost be overwhelming. But the result was undisputed. Something had changed within the Japanese landscape of restaurants and interiors.

images courtesy of kata inc & heads-west

Nowadays in Japan they’re on every corner. And everyone has their favorite. They embody a certain hip, casual and chic lifestyle. But the café wasn’t always around. It’s actually a relatively recent phenomenon. This is a short history of the designers who started it all.

During the Summer of 1997, Bowery Kitchen emerged in a quiet upscale residential neighborhood, near Komazawa Olympic Park where the 1940 Tokyo Olympics were slated to occur, but were cancelled due to the war. The shop was designed by Ichiro Katami under the direction of Uichi Yamamoto, a charismatic duo who later would become known as the godfathers of contemporary interior design.

At the time there was nothing like it. Bowery Kitchen wasn’t a restaurant, nor was it a coffee shop. With its naked concrete walls and exposed wiring, its metallic interior and open kitchen, the industrial café was both ambiguous yet to the point. And it instantly met the needs of a niche group of people. At first it was mostly wealthy residents of the neighborhood, with their finely trimmed French poodles (pets were allowed inside), who adorned the tables. But word spread of this new concept and the crowds began lining up. Bowery Kitchen was once featured in BRUTUS magazine as “a shop that is worth waiting 1 hour to get in.” After that, you were lucky to get in within an hour.

images courtesy of kata inc & heads-west

I stopped by the Yossi Milo Gallery this past weekend to check out Asako Narahashi’s show “half awake and half asleep in the water.” Up until, I had seen only one photo from the show, and I thought I was in for a desperate trip of struggling between life and death. But surprisingly the series of images, which are shot at various locations around Japan using a waterproof camera, feel tranquil and curious. I felt like a creature from the bottom of the sea, having just made my way up to the surface to check out this new world.

(thanks Roy!)

Who knew that disposable paper plates could be this beautiful?

Wasara is a new line of disposable paper products that are inspired by traditional Japanese forms and aesthetics. They are made of grass and bagasse (…I like the way that sounds), resulting in a product that has very little impact on the environment. The line is poised to go on sale sometime late this month!

I’m heading out for the weekend but I just wanted to post these images as a teaser for next week.

“Bring Forest” (2000) is a concept by Ichiro Katami who, along with another designer, were singlehandedly responsible for bringing about the cafe boom in Tokyo in the late 90s/early 2000s. I’ll be looking at some of their interiors next week, discussing their influence and the lasting impact they have had in transforming cafe culture in Japan.

I love the idea of vegetation as walls. I think it would be amazing to walk through a space like this!

EDING:POST has created this cute t-shirt (packaged as a hamburger) for the famous LOTUS cafe in Tokyo, and has set up an installation and shop. The items will be on display, and available for purchase through August 18th.

EDING:POST is a design company established in 2007, and is comprised of Tomohiro Kato and Satoshi Hasegawa, 2 up-and-coming designers in their early 20s.

click image to enlarge | or, supersize it (PDF)

I was going through some old magazines the other day when I came across this: Design Matrix of the 20th Century. It’s from a March 2002 issue of the no-longer-existant Studio Voice (except as an app). I took it to photoshop and redid it in English so I apologize if it’s not perfect.

But it’s a great reference if you need a quick history on a certain country’s industrial design!

What a gorgeous notebook, designed by the legendary Toyo Ito. Available at the NADiff shop for about $8.