Last month, the 107th High School Kanazawa City Sumo Tournament was held. The event has been held annually for over 100 years and attracts spectators locally but also from across Japan. But for the past 3 years, because of covid restrictions, the event had been held without spectators. So to welcome back the crowds, a series visual posters were created.
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According to statistics, Tokyo is home to over 1800 Shinto shrines. You have your major shrines like Meiji-Jingu and Hie Shrine but there are many other tiny shrines, often unstaffed and nestled in the depths of back streets and behind buildings. Tearing down a shrine would be considered incredibly bad luck so many smaller shrines have survived urban development in a way that buries them behind buildings, accessible only through alleyways or backstreets. These ‘hidden’ shrines of Tokyo have fascinated urban explorers because stumbling onto one can feel like slipping into a surreal, parallel universe.
With help from urban explorer toshibo, we present to you, with location data, a few of Tokyo’s hidden shrines. But surely there are many more out there. Do you know of any?
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The Tolerance traveling poster show is a socially driven initiative that asks prominent designers from around the world to create artworks with the word Tolerance in their language. The exhibition, which leverages art & design to spread its powerful message of respect for individuality, has made its way to Japan, the 46th host country.
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Tamatsukuri Kindergarten is a school for early-learning that is located in a forested region of Japan’s Chiba prefecture. For over 40 years the school has dedicated itself to nourishing the souls, minds and bodies of its pupils. In 2022, the school decided to renew its main building and hired architect Naoki Hashimoto and artistic director Haruka Misawa to oversee their vision.
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It’s said that shutter speeds of around 1/1000th of a second are necessary to really capture the detail of moving water in photography. So you can imagine the technical challenge of accurately capturing water as a three-dimensional object. Product designer Masahiko Tanoue has dedicated the last several years of his career to just this: creating glass tableware that beautifully replicates not only the shape and form of water but the way its transparency refracts light.
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Shinjuku Station – the road has collapsed on the South side of the station, revealing pools of blue water that have formed on the train tracks
Stories about the collapse of civilization and order—apocalyptic stories—endlessly seduce us. As terrifying as the real thing would surely be, we love imagining our world destroyed. And Japanese illustrator Tokyo Genso excels at painting that picture for us. He creates lush CG illustrations of notable Tokyo landmarks that are in ruins and, in many cases, have been reclaimed by nature.
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all images courtesy Gaku Yamazaki
Gaku Yamazaki, a 21-year old college senior, spends his spare time traversing Japan in search of what he has dubbed ikei-yajirushi, or ‘unusual arrows.’ There are thousands of these abnormal road signs dotted across Japan and while drivers might find them confusing or even annoying, Yamazaki has developed a certain affection for them, particularly towards the more bizarre ones.
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These white and intricate forms appear to be the work of mother nature, sculpted over hundreds and thousands of years. Instead, they’re the work of Japanese ceramicist Eriko Inazaki, who painstakingly shapes and assembles each prick and piece by hand. And in doing so, she’s pushed the art of ceramics beyond its traditional boundaries.
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If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of touristy Kyoto, head to this newly opened oasis of books and coffee. Located slightly north of central Kyoto is the Donkou Kissa Fang, a serene cafe and private book collection built inside immaculately crafted townhouse and garden.
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All images © Kenta Hasegawa courtesy Suppose Design Office
“Buy a vacation home that doubles as a hotel.” That’s the tagline for ‘Not A Hotel,’ a real estate start-up founded by Shinji Hamazu. The company challenges the traditional hotel model by treating it as a timeshare and selling it to 12 people, each receiving 30 days worth of use per year. The membership-style service focuses on small, boutique hotels that are impeccably designed by notable architects. Members control their home—everything from the thermostat to transitioning from home to rental property—using their smartphone.
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Five Unique Experiences at Harajuku’s Latest Development Harakado
‘Puddle’ Are a Series of Flower Vessels Inspired by Puddles of Water
120 Koinobori Flutter in Sabogawa River
Myaku-Myaku Footwear, Inspired by the Googly-Eyed Mascot for the Osaka Expo
Now Open: Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku by Hiroshi Nakamura
