japan :: tokyo :: general

[sum418]

@Kiya, @Fycus - I'll happen to be visiting Tokyo Tuesday night (19th) through Sat. Any chance you'll still be around? On vacation, from Austin.

[Fycus]

Going to be flying out early tuesday to shanghai. give me a shout if you want any recommendations though

[SSchadenfreude]

First week of February (31st to the 9th)

 

What to do? Where to eat, where to drink, where to shop? Sufu Tokyo guide a must? 

 

It'd be good to meet some sf's there.

 

 

Cop visvim, eat ramen, drink high ball, wonder around 2chome, and hit up club atom. 

 

[savage science fiction]

Anyone been to/walked the kumano kodo trails?

[herpsky]

haven't even heard of it

[Walt Thizzney]

going to be in Tokyo in 3 weeks for a week by myself. Two questions

 

Best neighborhood for good cheap food/markets

 

Best Day Trip to mountains/forest/natural areas as I want to take some photos with my DSLR

[herpsky]

There's cheap food everywhere in Tokyo. Maybe, stay away from the office-heavy areas of Chuo- and Chiyoda-ku.

 

There's shit like Takao-san and Hakone. Maybe your best bet is go to Nikko. You will be wasting an entire day though if you go to Nikkou. My suggestion is NOT taking a day trip to the "mountains." Really boring evergreens and barely any interesting plants. You should just take a trip to Shinuku Gyoen, Meiji-Jingu or Hamarikyu. You might like todoroki keikoku. It's a hidden gem. I used to go there a lot when I was a kid. I'd say it's maybe 20 minutes tops from Shibuya.

 

You might like Nippori, Nezu, Shibamata, and Yanaka. Lots of old school scenery. The eastern half of JR yamanote line has a lot of cool, retro things. There's an area in Yanaka I recently discovered. It's called Hebi-michi. Lots of independent designer stores, cafes, and etc.

[conqueror]

for an easy to find recommendation for cheap eats/markets and other cool shit, i'd just say koenji. mountains i have no idea.

[SSchadenfreude]

Good eats in shimbashi 4 real

[djrajio]

Roppongi

[herpsky]

Yo brus,

 

Just copped Sex Yamaguchi's new mixtape that's not even released yet. PM for details (especially that guy who hooked it up with Winter Sex).

Edited November 23, 2013 by herpsky

[homme.homme]

Hey homies - anyone know if Fukuoka is worth spending a few days in?

[Warakia]

Fukuoka, good food, shopping and nice nightlife but if you're going for sightseeing you'll be a tad disappointed, as the only thing really worth visiting is Dazaifu. If you've got a JR pass you could do some day trips to other places in Kyushu though, like Beppu and Kumamoto and Nagasaki. 

[herpsky]

Hey homies - anyone know if Fukuoka is worth spending a few days in?

I'd do a day trip in Hiroshima. Itsukushima Shrine is the bomb dun.

[homme.homme]

Yeah nice, I'm happy with bumming around and eating etc. Going to Korea/Japan early 2014 and was thinking of doing the Busan > Fukuoka ferry rather then flying so long as there is enough places to check out on the way up to Tokyo.

Edited November 25, 2013 by homme.homme

[homme.homme]

I'd do a day trip in Hiroshima. Itsukushima Shrine is the bomb dun.

I've been before, but my fiancé hasn't so might check it out. I think I could do a few days in Fukuoka and and a few in Beppu etc.

Edited November 25, 2013 by homme.homme

[deafmetal]

was walking around the silverlake area of la to get coffee and randomly stumbled into this newly established store that carries whiz, discovered, soe, and some other jp brands i've never seen sold stateside. cool, but are any of those labels still in vogue out there? i mean with whiz i used to be innit but that was back in like 06 or 07 and it was more warp magazine material than anything. i know hiroaki did mb fashion week for a/w 13 but is the label even doing well at all? 

[savage science fiction]

I've been before, but my fiancé hasn't so might check it out. I think I could do a few days in Fukuoka and and a few in Beppu etc.

 

 

I'm headed that way in 2 weeks, also going to check out kagoshima if I have time.

Have you been to Naoshima? I went there on my last trip and recommend it if you are passing by.

[herpsky]

was walking around the silverlake area of la to get coffee and randomly stumbled into this newly established store that carries whiz, discovered, soe, and some other jp brands i've never seen sold stateside. cool, but are any of those labels still in vogue out there? i mean with whiz i used to be innit but that was back in like 06 or 07 and it was more warp magazine material than anything. i know hiroaki did mb fashion week for a/w 13 but is the label even doing well at all? 

Whiz Unlimited has been getting some buzz. TCF in Aoyama carries it along with Mr. Gentleman and etc. 

Pretty steady fan base for Soe's shirts. I don't know if they are considered in-style necessarily but I think they have a pretty steady following ala Nexus VII. 

[herpsky]

looks pretty cray

 

Some salon operated by Lexus aka Toyota

http://www.lexus-int.com/jp/intersect/tokyo/

 

 

デザイン・ファッション・アート・音楽・テクノロジー。
多ãã®ã‚«ãƒ«ãƒãƒ£ãƒ¼ãŒé›†ã†ã“ã®è¡—ã§
様々ãªæ‰èƒ½ã¨LEXUSãŒå·¡ã‚Šåˆã„ã€
æ–°ã—ã„ライフスタイルを生ã¿å‡ºã—ã¦ã„ã。

人・都市・クルマãŒäº¤å·®ã™ã‚‹å ´æ‰€ã€‚
INTERSECT BY LEXUS - TOKYO

1F CAFE & GARAGE / 2F LOUNGE & SHOP

 

Edited November 27, 2013 by herpsky

[homme.homme]

I read about that in October Monocle. Staff are uniformed by kitsuné.

[wEstSidE]

Does the Lexus brand exist in Japan?

 

Toyota Century OG-mobile

[djrajio]

 

looks pretty cray

 

Some salon operated by Lexus aka Toyota

http://www.lexus-int.com/jp/intersect/tokyo/

 

 

デザイン・ファッション・アート・音楽・テクノロジー。

多ãã®ã‚«ãƒ«ãƒãƒ£ãƒ¼ãŒé›†ã†ã“ã®è¡—ã§

様々ãªæ‰èƒ½ã¨LEXUSãŒå·¡ã‚Šåˆã„ã€

æ–°ã—ã„ライフスタイルを生ã¿å‡ºã—ã¦ã„ã。

人・都市・クルマãŒäº¤å·®ã™ã‚‹å ´æ‰€ã€‚

INTERSECT BY LEXUS - TOKYO

1F CAFE & GARAGE / 2F LOUNGE & SHOP

 

 

 

This is basically Toyota's answer to Mercedes Benz's Connection event/bar/lounge right across Midtown.

[djrajio]

I believe the interior was designed by Wonderwall ala Bathing Ape, etc.

[djrajio]

Yep, Katayama-san did the interior design.

 

Guess they pulled out all the stops for this place.

 

[djrajio]

Seems like they copied the same design inspiration from the Harajuku Nike store; taking parts of Nike shoes/Lexus car parts and painting them all white and using it as the interior wall design.

 

To be honest, feels like a weak effort.

 

Probably will get buzz for the first couple of months but Toyota doesn't spend tons of ￥￥￥￥ on huge events like Mercedes does for say Tokyo fashion week in which all the after parties were held at the Connection post the main runway shows in Midtown; was really conducive to getting decent amount of traffic. Plus the connection is big enough to hold 展示会 and other exhibits but this Intersect looks small in comparison.

 

I suppose if they allowed private parties to held in the lounge it could be a fashionable alternative to other party spaces like Fiat Lounge/Cafe but likely will cost a shit ton of ￥￥￥￥.

 

Likely major corporate events I suppose.

 

Dunno, not impressed.

Edited December 1, 2013 by djrajio

[djrajio]

was walking around the silverlake area of la to get coffee and randomly stumbled into this newly established store that carries whiz, discovered, soe, and some other jp brands i've never seen sold stateside. cool, but are any of those labels still in vogue out there? i mean with whiz i used to be innit but that was back in like 06 or 07 and it was more warp magazine material than anything. i know hiroaki did mb fashion week for a/w 13 but is the label even doing well at all? 

 

Whiz is basically under the same group of Contemporary Fix crew so they are gonna support/rep the brand in Tokyo.

 

But the label is kinda meh to be honest.

 

I've never seen anything from Whiz that made me say, WOW I REALLY WANT THAT.

 

Still riding the whole mountaineering/山登り trend that White Mountaineering set a precedent a few years back but let's be honest Hiroaki isn't making clothing that will get WWD editors to standup and write a feature on his work/collection.

 

It feels like a ton of flash for pretty mediocre clothes.

 

Christian Dada is getting a ton of buzz after his S/S collection with KISS coming out at the finale (He designed their costumes for the Japan tour). But first and foremost he is largely a costume designer (Lady Gaga, etc) and his ready-to-wear work consistently has been pretty basic white/black goth inspired collections which are getting old/repetitive. Same goes for Dressundressed.

 

My closest contacts/friends who worked with me on my recent collection LOVE Yoshio Kubo. He prepping for his Paris debut and likely could make waves like Kolor/Sacai/White Mountaineering did in recent years.

 

But personally I think FACETASM is really going to do big things.

 

The recent S/S collection was the most impressive collection out of Tokyo fashion week. Had a distinct look/identity that didn't deviate too much from his recent collection but showed a natural evolution without pandering to "typical Harajuku fashion codes". 

 

I think FACETASM has the biggest potential to show in Paris and get major editors talking.

 

My biggest complaint with most Japanese brands these days are they are either TOO extreme to get a following out of Japan or TOO basic to get a following out of Japan. The extreme brands really irk me the most because they basically ride on whatever trend is hot (Givenchy all over prints, grunge, all black STAMPD/DOPE/UNIF design influences) and take it 1000%.

[nattomoto]

Anyone been to/walked the kumano kodo trails?

 

I walked kumano kodo this past spring. Beautiful, strenuous hiking. Switchbacks don't exist on Japanese trails, so there are lots of peaks to climb and descend, back-to-back.

[beatplusmelody]

Hey homies - anyone know if Fukuoka is worth spending a few days in?

 

Yeah nice, I'm happy with bumming around and eating etc. Going to Korea/Japan early 2014 and was thinking of doing the Busan > Fukuoka ferry rather then flying so long as there is enough places to check out on the way up to Tokyo.

 

It's not worth spending a few days in. Two at most will get you everything. There is really nothing of value worth checking out that you can't in any other Japanese city. I took the ferry in '11 and I recommend it. It's a nice and different way to get across but flying is still cheaper. Other folks are right, Beppu, Kumamoto and Nagasaki are more interesting culturally. I'll be in Nagasaki till Feb if you do.

[Walt Thizzney]

Hey,

 

What is the deal with getting some sort of data/internet on your phone. I have an unlocked Nexus 4 and know Im gonna need some sort of connection. Can you by Pay as you go Sim Cards w/ Data? Or is it only those portable wifi things? How do those work? Thanks

 

Is this a good bet -> Can just pick it up at the airport correct?! http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/index.html

Edited December 9, 2013 by Walt Thizzney