Tokyo-based photographer Ben Beech takes us on a virtual walk through the cherry blossoms of Meguro River and Nezu Cemetery.
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As the weather continues to warm, the call of the wild grows stronger. If you’re thinking of a spring getaway with the kids, consider the Risonare Nasu Resort. Located two and a half hours north of Tokyo in Tochigi, the resort boasts an abundance of mountainous nature, easy access from the capitol and a brand new kid-friendly clubhouse called PokoPoko designed by Tokyo-based Klein-Dytham Architecture.
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all photos courtesy Post Hobby
Shizuoka City, home to toy model makers like Bandai and Tamiya, prides itself as being the plastic model capital of the world. Indeed, the Japanese city just West of Tokyo is responsible for 80% of the plastic model market. Inspired by these plastic models, or puramo, the city recently launched an initiative to install puramonuments around the city that range from signage to functional post boxes.
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all photos by Daici Ano courtesy Louis Vuitton
For the past 3 years, Louis Vuitton’s oldest outlet in Japan — their Ginza Namiki-Dori store that originally opened in 1981 — has been under construction. But the screens have now come down, revealing a shimmering new facade that resembles a pillar of water that beautifully reflects the light and surrounding environment.
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The Battle of Sekigahara, fought on October 21, 1600 was one of the most important battles in Japanese feudal history. The scene was depicted in the 1700s on a 6-panel byoubu folding screen that remains housed in the Osaka Museum of History. In a new installation that just went on display, the videographer Yusuke Shigeta has utilized pixel animation to reconstruct the battle as depicted on the folding screen, adding details of the natural landscape that still exists at the ancient battlefield.
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From a young age, Naoki Onogawa has been obsessed with origami, spending hour after hour folding single pieces of paper into different objects. Today, he creates art by folding paper cranes, or orizuru, one of the most common motifs found in origami. Yet his artwork is anything but common: Onogawa folds miniature orizuru whose wingspan clocks in at just 1 cm. And he folds hundreds of them, attaching them together in branch-like forms as if they were bonsai trees.
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Artist Motoi Yamamoto (previously) creates meticulously sculpted installations from salt as a way of coping with the pain of having lost family members. His works typically take the form of labyrinth-like mazes but in a new installation that just opened at the Setouchi City Museum of Art, the artist has created more than a hundred thousand salt petals in the shape of cherry blossoms scattered on the floor.
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Single use plastics are one of our most critical environmental issues. And you don’t have to travel far to find them. Practically every hotel room is stocked with a plastic razor, ready to be used once and thrown away. Japanese company KAI Industries is solving for this with their latest creation: a 98% plastic free paper razor.
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“Sakura 桜” implies Nirvana
Soon after the tsunami receded on March 11, 2011, leaving thousands dead and without homes, cherry trees began blossoming amid the debris. Sakura petals began to fall on the ravaged land and the striking sight inspired artist Yuri Shimojo to begin painting cherry blossom petals as a way to process her pain.
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The Setouchi Brewery is a new wine and cider maker that has laid down roots in the Setouchi region of Japan, where islands, mountains, sky and Japan’s inland sea all collide. The islands have a long history of growing grapes and the Setouchi Brewery will use entirely local ingredients to create beverages that are inspired the the region’s unique climate and history.
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Dense Pencil Drawings of Retro-Future Worlds by Yota Tsukino
The Secret Behind the Mysterious Girl in ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ Posters
An Elongated Roof Extends from an Abandoned Home to Form an Island Kitchen on Teshima
Daisugi: The Japanese Forestry Technique of Creating a Tree Platform for Other Trees
Craft, Coffee, and Cuisine Converge at the New Shika Saru Kitsune Building in Nara
