We saw this best kindergarten in Japan via TED talk several years ago. What a courageous try in architecture and philosophy! Takaharu Tezuka is an architect, founder of Tezuka Architects, and Professor at the Tokyo City University. Tezuka and his wife built schools centered on trees, play areas created from interwoven wooden beams and hospitals that
Pray for all people impacted by mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida <10 shootings in Japan annually vs. 30000 in the US, what a big difference! Japanese people and government have learned a hard way during World War eras that violence is not going to bring any good to the
How different a memo pad could be? Japanese company Triad’s Omoshiroi Block is giving us the surprise. Adjective おもしろい/Omoshiroi has basically two meanings, ‘interesting’ or ‘funny’, which can be used in vary situations. One thing comes from both meanings, which is positivity, what we experience while watching at all these beautifully designed memo pads. Tearing off
Japan’s pattern design can be well demonstrated via over 5000+ family crests. Family crests, Kamon are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual, a family, or (more recently) an institution or business entity. While mon is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, kamon and mondokoro refer specifically to emblems used
In 1980s, when Japanese towns were following the trend to be modernized and adapted to a new era, Obuse stayed quiet and somehow reserved the authentic taste of ancient Japan. With a population of 10,000 inhabitants, Obuse is a small town in Japan. It is located in Kamitakai District in northern Nagano Prefecture. From
Over-packaging is a unique problem or situation in Japan. If you have ever brought any souvenir from Japan or got something from a decent department store, 99% of the chance that you have seen the packaging skills of the store sales. There are so many layers of wrapping paper, on top of which could be
If you play board games, you might need a bag to store all your favorite game supplies including dices. We met Chris today, who is half Taiwanese and half Hispanic. As most full-time software engineers, he has a hobby at the side. He makes dice bags, in a unique triangle shape. We asked, why this
Japanese Airlines has three volumes of commercials that showed off the art of Japan better than many others. Take a look of the clips and let us know your thoughts. Precision was mentioned first. When the sushi chef took out the knife, you thought this would just reveal common things we have already known. Not
Akiu is the nearest hot spring resort in Sendai, the hub city in Thohoku region, northeastern Japan. The Akiu Hot Spring is among the three oldest hot springs in Japan. The name “Sakan” comes from a man named Kanzaburo Satoh who first started a small “ryokan” (Japanese inn) in Akiu about 1,000 years ago. His descendants
We include Geisha as a part of this series because it does count as a business as Geisha was originally equal to female entertainers that made a living by having this unique identity. Before Geisha appeared, in the early stages of Japanese history, female entertainers who usually came from displaced families in the late 600s. Sexual
