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September 29, 2023

Tap-and-Go Payments Will Be a Revelation for Tokyo Transit

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Any traveler to Tokyo usually relies heavily on rechargeable IC cards like Suica and Pasmo, even though multi-day travel passes and single trip paper tickets are also available.

Refilling and topping up those cards, let alone purchasing physical tickets, can be a bit burdensome if you lack experience operating the ticket terminals, apps or are hesitant to speak with a ticket agent.

The temporary halt in sales of Pasmo and Suica cards last month due to a global shortage of semiconductors added an additional layer of complexity for travelers and daily commuters.

Now, a welcome and significant announcement has surfaced — major Tokyo train companies are getting ready to introduce contactless fare systems that you can pay with credit and debit cards.

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September 26, 2023

Changes of a Seasonal Country

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The New Yorker’s Matt Alt writes a thoughtful piece on the changes Japan is experiencing not only with their weather, but also their seasonal culture. From the effects on its aged society, to the early blooming of cherry blossoms.

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September 22, 2023

Looking Forward — teamLab Borderless Returns in 2024

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In order to understand the world around them, people separate it into independent entities with perceived boundaries between them. teamLab seeks to transcend these boundaries in our perceptions of the world, of the relationship between the self and the world, and of the continuity of time. Everything exists in a long, fragile yet miraculous, borderless continuity.

Since closing the Borderless digital art museum in Odaiba back in August of 2022, we’ve been patiently awaiting on update on the international art collective’s next plans.

Now, it’s confirmed that the exhibition will re-open in January 2024 in Central Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills.

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September 19, 2023

Tokyo’s ‘Jazz Kissa’ Cafe Culture

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Jazz Kissas in Tokyo, also known as jazz cafes or jazz bars, are unique and cozy establishments that cater to jazz enthusiasts and music lovers.

These intimate venues offer a relaxed and intimate atmosphere where patrons can enjoy listening to jazz music on high-quality audio systems while sipping drinks and subtly interacting with the cafe’s proprietor and other patrons.

Jazz Kissas are an integral part of Tokyo’s vibrant jazz scene and have a rich history dating back to the pre-WWII era, rising to prominence in the 1960s and 70s in Japan, as music connoisseurs huddled in comfortable settings to listen to the latest Miles Davis or John Coltrane records in high-fidelity.

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September 12, 2023

Considering Tokyo? Start Here. [2023]

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Japan’s capital city is massive, with over 14 million people, but that doesn’t create an overpowering atmosphere. Instead, Tokyo is one of the world’s friendliest, most welcoming capitals, with a vast array of neighborhoods just waiting for visitors to explore.

For close to three years, pandemic border controls halted foreign travel to Tokyo, leaving its cityscape, sights and scenes exclusively to locals.

Now, with international tourists welcomed back in full, those willing to explore beyond the busier districts of Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku and wander down mazes of side streets in Sangenjaya or Shimokitazawa will find their own version of happiness sipping coffee in a charming kissaten, shopping the racks of a specialty boutique or taking refuge in many of Tokyo’s natural sanctuaries.

We like to think of Tokyo as “the capital of concealed treasures”, where you can imbibe at an intimate bar tucked up in a small office building or enjoy ultra-premium sushi hidden in plain sight.

 

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February 1, 2021

Kisara Okada — ©TOKYO Please close softly and gently

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Despite public sentiment showing disapproval of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics taking place as planned this July, Japan has held its position of ruling out further delay.

In the wake of this reality, photographer Kisara Okada’s ©TOKYO Please close softly and gently may render as a crucial pre-pandemic artifact that takes on a tremendously new meaning with the stakes of Tokyo’s post-Olympics well-being remarkably higher than ever.

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January 20, 2020

A Conversation with Keisuke Shoda

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The creative community in Tokyo is a diverse and dynamic force to be reckoned with on both a local and global scale.

As is the case with many professions in Japan, the discipline and raw pursuit of perfection in craft are ever-present, though one tends to find that there is little drudgery or conservative regard when it comes to creative expression.

In fact, long-held societal beliefs and popular perceptions of artistic beauty and form tend to inspire even more contrarian creative output. This is not an exclusively “Japanese” phenomenon, but registers at a higher volume here.

Case in point, Mr. Keisuke Shoda — a pop musician turned designer and art director (and now, rug maker), but also a cosmopolitan connector, instigator and deeply entrenched Tokyoite.
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January 1, 2020

MUSTARD HOTEL — SHIBUYA

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Truly effective design bridges the gap between needs and requirements.

In this case, the needs are neighborhood access, convenience and practicality. The requirements are thoughtful, understated design, fair pricing and cohesiveness in experience.

Simple yet striking, MUSTARD HOTEL delivers a pronounced “secret ingredient” to Shibuya and its newly adorned Shibuya Bridge complex, as well as parallel properties in Asakusa — 1 & 2.

 

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