Look at me, don't look at me!

This photo was taken at a temple in Kyoto. There are really a lot more people wearing traditional clothing in Kyoto and there is a service where you can rent kimonos and all the necessary accessories to wear for a day of touring the Kyoto area. Gion is the area in Kyoto known as "Geisha Town" and you can always go there to see one or two people dressed as Geishas with all the white makeup. Even in Tokyo you will see women almost everyday wearing the traditional kimonos. Many people in Tokyo are actually wearing the kimono because they are working as a hostess or receptionist. But I think people come to Kyoto specifically to get dressed in traditional kimonos and walk around the city. It always creates a stir and there is a sense that these people want you to look at them, just don't take a photo. You will get the crossed arms gesture if you are too obvious.

Caramel, Salt & Butter!

Finally! All three in one drink. Yes, really! The first thing everyone asks is "what does it taste like?" It tastes exactly like what it says. Very rich and creamy, almost too rich, all this and a very slimming 76kcals. Thanks Kirin! No really it is too much. You literally can only drink about half the serving. d

Rising Sun

I love this logo for the Tokyo Police Department, you see it on police boxes and stations. It reminds me very much of the rising sun, yes. This was on a police call box near the Yurakucho Station in the Ginza district. It is always smaller in comparison to other logos around it, yet it holds up really well as a small logo. It is also always positioned with a lot of clear space. The three-dimensional aspect allows it to catch light and uses that light to model the complexity of the rays, plus it adds a lot of eye-catching sparkle. bling, bling.  d

Seen in Tokyo 2

This sign, the front of a Pachinco Parlor, seen in Nippori, Tokyo's fabric center is a real rarity here in the city. I think typically people thing of Tokyo as a city with sweeping displays of undulating neon signage, glowing, popping, sizzling. However, typically signage in areas like Shibuya or Akihabara have switched from the more analog neon to the more digital video technology. The perfect imagery of flatscreen technology has changed the way the city looks, a smoother, colder, inaccessible city. Getting off the train in Nippori and seeing this older more analog type of signage really takes you back to what you thought Tokyo would look, and feel like. The neon hum and electrical smell of glowing glass tubes. d 

Design Festa Opening

The UF in Tokyo, Design Festa opening was last night from 5-8pm! We had a fantastci turn out, the work looked great and everyone had a wonderful time. The work looks really good in the gallery space and I think that everyone had an interesting new view of Tokyo and Japan. And of course, for the group photo the obligatory "heart" and "peace" signs were given by all! -d

5 Types of Creativity

Day 14  -  Visited the Miraikan in Odaiba today, the national museum of emerging sciences. They had a great new display about the 5 types of creativity that are used to spark innovation and look at things in a different way. Associative, Integrative, Serendipity, Mimicing and Alternative are the five different types they discuss. They use world changing inventions to talk about how we use creativity to make giant changes in our world. Very interesting. On the way back from the museum we transfer at the Ueno station (see pic) and Ed commented on how really beautiful the city is at night and how we never really just get out and look at it after dark. You really do see these different types of creativity all around you here in Tokyo. Everything is though out, very little is not planned or just happens on its own.