Spoon & Tamago

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Adorable Takeout Space Added to Restaurant in Wakayama

Latelier Natural is a French restaurant in the Arida district of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture, situated near Wakayama Bay. Behind the small restaurant was a parking space just large enough for 2-3 cars. As if anticipating the pandemic and social-distancing response, in 2019 the restaurant decided to expand by converting their parking lot into a tiny yet adorable takeout counter.

Keiko Miyamori Created Tree Rubbings for 125 Days as a Show of Resilience During the Pandemic

November 27, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Japanese artist Keiko Miyamori divides her time between New York and Japan. But when the the global pandemic struck earlier this year her exhibitions in Japan got cancelled and she found herself stranded in New York. On that fateful day in April she began making tree rubbings and encasing them in boxes.

Artisan Spotlight: Potter Akihiro Terada

November 26, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Artisan Spotlight is a new initiative at the Spoon & Tamago Shop to highlight the work of individual artisans and craftspeople in Japan. Although we’ve always been supportive of traditional crafts, our focus within the shop has always been on makers and designers that fall somewhere in-between handmade and mass-produced. But with limited travel and exposure now due to the pandemic, we thought it was important to expand our coverage.

Experience Authentic Kutani Ceramics at the new Cerabo Kutani

November 24, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Cerabo Kutani is a new museum and hands-on workshop that opened over the summer in Komatsu City (Ishikawa prefecture), a location known as one of the few and first production centers of kutani-yaki porcelain. It’s here that, over 350 years ago, clay was first made by crushing rocks mined from the nearby Hanasaka mountains.

Hundreds of Hinoki Blocks Create Wooden Dotted Curtain on Tokyo Building

November 19, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

all photos by kenta hasegawa

Hundreds of hinoki wooden blocks, each connected by stainless steel rods, have been draped over an office building in Tokyo, creating a latticed curtain that is both dense, but also airy. The beautiful entranceway, newly installed over the summer, creates multiple visual effects depending on the distance and angle of the viewer.

Turn Your Feline Into a God With This Cardboard Shinto Shrine for Cats

November 18, 2020 / Johnny / 8 Comments

Your cat already acts like a god. And you probably treat it like one. So why not take the next step with this cardboard Shinto shrine for cats, created by a Japanese cardboard company. From scratching pad and hiding spot to litter box cover, there are multiple ways to use the shrine to further your devotion.

Japanese Fisherman Trading Cards are Getting Kids Excited About the Fishery Industry

November 17, 2020 / Johnny / 7 Comments

In December of last year a local government agency in Aomori prefecture set out to create a PR campaign that would boost the value and attractiveness of their fishery industry. They eventually landed on the idea of creating sets of trading cards featuring real-life fisherman, flexing in poses often featuring the fish they caught. The cards have become a huge hit among the local community and beyond with kids trying to collect different cards while also vying for rare cards.

Japan’s Kei-tora ‘Mini Truck’ Gardening Contest

November 14, 2020 / Johnny / 4 Comments

Since 2016, a uniquely Japanese event has been held in Osaka each year: the Kei-tora Gardening Contest. The kei-tora, formally known as the Kei Truck, is a tiny but practical vehicle common in Japan, particularly on smaller construction or agricultural work sites. And because most homes in Japan don’t have gardens, the Japan Federation of Landscape Contractors came up with the idea of the Kei-tora Gardening Contest. Landscape design and gardening companies from all around participate to see who can come up with the best garden within the confines of the trunk of a kei-tora.

Back in 2018 we featured the awards but we decided to check in on some more recent winning designs.

Family-Owned Osaka Bookseller Designs Playful Book Covers

November 12, 2020 / Johnny / Comments Off

Seiwado Book Store in Osaka began producing playful covers as freebies for their customers

If you’ve ever purchased a book in Japan you’re undoubtedly familiar with the phrase kaba otsuke shimashouka? “Would you like a cover?” The book cover is a free service that booksellers in Japan offer, giving your newly purchased book a thin, dust cover that protects the binding and pages. With a little bit of creativity, one bookseller in Osaka has turned the book cover into a method of attracting new customers into their bookstore.