mizanation

lots of interesting stuf in victor's store.

the other day, our friend yamamoto-san visited us in japan. he's actually the person who introduced me to my wife. anyways, he's a great guy and a very special friend to us. he owns his own technology firm and spends a lot of his time travelling all over the world having crazy adventures.

first we took him to victor's shop on park avenue. victor has lived in okinawa for decades and is originally from india. victor is a very kind person and is loved by everyone in this town.

a few days ago, we visited binten. binten is a modern bingata artist. bingami is a traditional okinawan method of dyeing fabric. the process is hundreds of years old, but binten has a very modern approach to bingata. he uses bingata to make modern clothing, he even does bingata on denim!

he had an interesting fake iguana.

binten is a very cool guy. i am looking forward to collaborating with him on some interesting projects.

actually, i don't know what kancho is and it hasn't happened yet. maybe in okinawa they don't do kancho, but we shall see!

*edit* i asked my wife about kancho and yes, they do it here. hopefully, it won't happen to me!

almost, i have to make one more update and then, i will ship the jeans back to new york.

another crazy night tonight, tomorrow should also be eventful. will post pics later. good night.

so, i just started teaching english at four different elementary and junior high schools.

it's been fun so far but more challenging than i thought it was gonna be.

between that and everything else i've been doing, i've hardly had time to sleep.

but, i promise to put some updates up, probably the final updates, this weekend!

I shouldn't get too worked up about it.

Given the choice he'd probably want to live in Okinawa hanging out with bikers and beatniks, so you still win convincingly on points.

i think martin margiela is perfectly happy hanging out with supermodels and millionaires.

Alas. Margiela got the drop on you with this one, at least.

DAMN YOU MARGIELA! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!

last night, i went to a party at tyrone's bar, area cube. the party was thrown by the dj group soul camp. soul camp is a collection of b-boys that have been representing hip hop in okinawa for about 20 years. the music last night was a mixture of east coast hip hop, rare soul and super, super rare jazz cuts. i'm not sure where they do their digging but they go deep!

shouts to dj keisuke.

dj moriki on the left, one of the founding members of soul camp.

it was yu-chan's belated birthday.

shiho-chan getting her drink on. you can see that someone gave her a good luck rope from the big tug-o-war.

working ninja tabi-boots into your everyday ensemble has always been a nagging problem for the fashion conscious modern ninja.

ooh, how bout a ninja tabi boot in the form of an AF1 or a chuck taylor? i said it first!

we've got slippers.

we've got vacuum storage bags in every possible size. and air freshners.

we've got multi-toed socks! i have yet to try these, but a lot of people swear by them. they say they keep your feet from getting funky. i will try these out sometime and of course, take pictures.

we've got tons of plates, cups, mugs, bowls, etc....

we've got kitchen supplies.

we've got silverware and knives.

we've got mutherfuckin' tupperware, bitch!

we've got panties!

and finally we've got snacks and drinks!

they have a lot more stuff at these 100 yen shops, but i think you get the picture. i love this place. later, if i find an item that i particularly love, i will showcase it on my blog. ok, gotta work on the store and hit up a party. peace.

today, i went to the local 100 yen shop. these are similar to the dollar shops we have in the states except that they are 100 TIMES BETTER! the stuff that you can buy at the 100 yen shops is mind boggling. it's crazy. they have everything and anything you could ever imagine and it's all for 100 yen (cheaper than a dollar).

there are books in japan on how to build all sorts of incredible shit using ONLY materials bought from 100 yen shops. there are magazines that show you how to remodel your entire house using 100 yen shop items. honestly, i would have moved to japan JUST FOR the 100 yen shops, believe it or not. they are that fucking dope.

welcome to wonderland.

we've got figurines.

we've got tools and hardware.

we've got gift boxes and gift bags.

we've got stationary.

we've got office supplies.

we've got wrapping paper.

we've got laundry supplies.

we've got dozens of different types of plastic containers.

rock your ninja with a pair of tabi boots.

You can buy steel toe Jika-tabi a whole bunch of places and they're dead cheap! We all went mental for them a couple years ago .... remember this thread?

did anyone get a pair of these?

I want some of those sandals miz!

working on it, drapygo!

good job, akira! you have successfully found the turtle.

i'm not sure if its more awesome or insane to work in construction with what is pretty much the least protective footwear you can find

hope nothing drops on his toes in that construction . unless dey is steel toed !

yeah, construction in japan is on another level. safety is at such a high level that construction workers have no need to wear steel toed shoes. here is an article about the japanese construction industry.

http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=583&storycode=3111274&c=3

the history of japanese construction workers and carpenters is pretty sick. back in the day, houses were made without using nails. the would cut the wood so that everything would fit perfectly together like a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle. this allowed the wood to expand and contract with the changes in the humidity.

the tabi boots and big pants are remnants from that era. the boots provide flexibility that helps in getting up on scaffolding and walking on beams high up in the air. they use safety practices that prevent things from falling on their feet, so no need for steel toes. 92% of japanese construction projects have a zero-accident rate, according to the article. compare that with 62% in the UK.

here's another article i found on japanese construction fashion.

http://pingmag.jp/2006/01/18/construction-worker-fashion/

that's it for now. see you guys tomorrow.

on park avenue, there was a crew doing construction. i want to show you what a construction worker in japan wears. check this out, it's fresh.

the pants are really baggy for maximum mobility. when i first saw a japanese construction worker, i thought he was a raver! then, after a while, i started to wonder why all these japanese ravers were carrying around power tools...

oh, and another cool thing that japanese construction workers wear--ninja tabi footwear!

that's right. the tabi boots made legendary by the infamous ninja are still in effect to day in japan. they provide the perfect combination of comfort, support and traction, with an extra helping of bad-ass ninja style.

this is nakanishi-san's truck. it's a type of truck called a "kei-truck." it's small and is very fuel efficient--great for moving stuff around. if you remember, they also have "kei-cars" here which are also very economical.

of course, he put some pinstripes on it.

they have kei-trucks that are also dump trucks! i guess you would call them kei-dump trucks. some of the kei-dump trucks empty out to the side, instead of the back. i would love to get a kei-dump truck, fill the back up with speakers and put it on hydraulics.

then, i spotted his old racing helmet. nakanishi-san was an aspiring motorcycle racer in tokyo for 10 years.

he went to the back of his shed and brought out his old race suit.

you could tell it's been through more than a few spills on the asphalt.

this is the shredded up knee of the suit.

there was an old exhaust pipe hanging from the ceiling. he keeps it just in case the one on his truck falls apart.

to the right is an old-school japanese buoy.

back in the day, all the buoys in japan were made out of green glass. now, they make nice decorations.

his welding helmet.

the door to his welding area.

calculator with pinstripes.

his workshop was a cluttered mix of tools, paint, vintage americana, and well, junk.

he puts pinstripes on everything. like his toolbox.

he has this ancient jukebox.

and another old jukebox.

nakanishi-san took us to his workshop. he is going to move to a much bigger space, but for now, this is the place he has been working out of for the past couple years.

we were greated by a lion-dog.

and then by a dog.

and then by a beautiful garden.

and then by his workshop.