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lamscott

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Overall I get the sense that there are are lots of cool independent brands doing their own thing and producing original designs, easily on par with the quality of better known labels. I don't think these brands have any desire to be on the international hype train. They don't seem to participate much in the overarching stylistic trends that the rest of the fashion industry and internationally renowned Japanese brands do. In fact I'd say the opposite is true. These independent brands seem to stake out niches and play an important role in driving forward the overall Japanese fashion ecosystem, and sometimes the shockwaves reverberate out on an international scale

 

I have to say though this analysis is based strongly on intuition. gonna need some backup.

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as stupid as may this sound, any domestic designer that's being sold at DSM GZA is cool in my book. 

 

i don't really follow esoteric, small niche brands. it's not a real answer to the question but i'm in search of "authentic" goods.

i read a bunch of books by yataro matsuura and was kind of moved that he is looking for his â€ä¸€æµâ€. Not necessarily expensive but somewhat excluisve things that define you and makes you happy.

 

of course, the definition of authentic varies among diffferent individuals. 

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You're defined by somewhat exclusive things that make you happy?

 

More seriously DSM-Ginza has a good lineup but it is very "lego-fashion", you have to like clean, streetwear inspired stuff (for the most part). I mean they carry Dries and whatnot that I wear but lots of hype UK brands that are Raf Simons + crazy British style.

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You're defined by somewhat exclusive things that make you happy?

 

Isn't that the whole point of this forum? buy somewhat exclusive things that make you supposedly better than the peasants? 

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i dunno. i just buy norse projects, acne, eg, and veilance. after spending $$$ on clothes, i finna figured out what i wanted

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Lego fashion is grounded in history too. Simple shapes, pure colours, like our friends Mondrian or Donald Judd (versus say Lucien Freud moody stuff). It is not because a garment looks old or sepia-coloured that it is more "historical". It just looks aged, conflating the two is a fallacy. I mean space-age furniture existed, no?

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has anyone been to Mortar? it's that new skate/lifestyle shop that replaced Bodega and A. it even has an indoor skatepark. from their IG, they seem to carry the steeziest skate gear i've seen in tokyo.

 

i think they are an authorized retailer for NB numeric, adidas, nike, diaspora, palace, bronze, and other "IT" skate brands from all over the world. the only brand they don't sell is supram.

 

http://www.mortar.tokyo

Edited by herpsky
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personally i think prov in harajuku has a better collection of core brands n stuff as far as skate goes. a lot of stuff that labor carries, including the smaller brands

 

doesnt have the indoor quarterpipe or bump tho which probably is super fun

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow. I will be shooting film, and I'd like to get it developed there. Any recommendations? Preferably a place that also does good scans.

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  • 3 weeks later...

lady and I going to Japan in December for a week, probably Tokyo 3-4 days and 1-2 around Osaka.

 

* what's a nice sushi place, $150-ish? A friend recommended é®¨ã•ã„ã¨ã† but apparently it's fully booked for 2016?

* worth making it out to Kobe for wagyu? Looks like there's some nice lunch options.

* good places for ramen nowadays?

* other general winter-time activities? Not making it up to Hokkaido this time unfortunately. Specifically interested in winter hikes

 

thanks all  :)

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Karuizawa should have some good winter stuff. Hiking, skiing, etc. I've only been in summer but it's probably one of my fav day trips out of Tokyo. Here's a few. 

 

Kiso valley should be doable in winter too. I loved it in the fall. 

 

I'm sure there's good stuff up north in Sendai too. 

 

Ramen? Eat lunch at amazing $$$$ places that do lunch specials. Eat amazingly good random stuff for dinner. Eat ramen drunk at 2am. 

 

Only sushi spot I know in Osaka is Jinen. It's nothing special but pretty solid -- I think it's a white person place though.

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i'm no expert in sushi but one of my girls is a walking tabelog (she is a marketing evangelist at microsoft ja) said

http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130301/13014691/

is good if you want decent sushi but limited on time and 0 patience for making reservations at wypipo places. 

 

http://www.shirakawa-go.gr.jp is apparently v scenic in the winter time. i think it snows out there a shit ton so you might not come back alive. 

 

I think Kobe should be off the list. No one actually goes out of way to get Kobe beef. It's some species of wagyu that got imported to the wypipo land. Also, my folks said kobe isn't too exciting. 

 

If you want good seafood, Kanazawa is THE #1 destination city. Fukuoka for other food. 

 

Needless to say, Tokyo has the most amazing food the world has to offer. 

Edited by herpsky
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150 for sushi?? just go out of your yelpish comfort zone and pick among the convenient 3 point somethings on tabelog.

 

i liked kanazawa and shinkansen access but i think it has extreme weathers. nonetheless i say ditch osaka too (or kyoto). just stay there,

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i don't really know what the appeal of visiting osaka is.

 

granted i've only been there for a brief period of time, it's a shitty place for sightseeing

 

1) I don't really know of any stores that are better than their counterparts in Tokyo. Sure, there are some stores that do stand out like Silver+Gold, and Loftman

2) Extreme shortage of hotels. There are very few convenient accomodations central to where you want to hang out.

3) clubs and bars close early

4) food and drinks in general are less expensive out there. also, there are some exotic "konamono" (it's an umbrella term for anything made with flour e.g. okonomiyaki) that are otherwise hard to find outside of osaka. other than that, there's not much else.

Edited by herpsky
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Anyone going 2 the issey sale this sat?

sorry for my ignorance but people actually buy issey miyake? i was under the impression that the brand only sells turtleneck sweaters and baobao bags

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nothing says non japanese asian upper middle class mom like issey miyake

 

sorry for my ignorance but people actually buy issey miyake? i was under the impression that the brand only sells turtleneck sweaters and baobao bags

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