A cluster of vending machines stands on a Roppongi street corner next to a small public parking lot a few … More
Tag: tokyo
PRINTED MATTER: THE TINY TOKYO BOOKSTORE STUFFED WITH AMAZING COLLECTION OF ART-PHOTO BOOKS!
It’s the little bookstore crammed with enough books to fill a shop twice its size. It’s the Shelf bookshop in … More
BREAKING – THE PASSING OF A FASHION VISIONARY : R.I.P., ISSEY MIYAKE !
We awoke this morning to the news that Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has died. He was 84. The Washington … More
POST-MODERNISM IN THE PARK : CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK AS PLAYGROUND
Dubbed the “post-modern playground slide” in the park across the street from my in-laws’ home near Roppongi in Tokyo. The … More
“KONNICHIWA!” : BACK IN TOKYO AND IT FEELS LIKE HOME!
We got to Tokyo early in the morning just after sunrise. It was a bright, hot morning with the humidity … More
UP IN THE AIR : BACK TO TOKYO!
Yup! We’re heading back to Tokyo. After getting all our COVID booster vaccinations and updated health documents and customs and … More
ARCHITECTURAL DEATH: THE DEMOLITION OF ICONIC TOKYO BUILDING!
The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building in Tokyo is an unmissable architectural oddity and gem in the heart of the Japanese … More
SHAMEFUL OR SMART? : TOKYO OLYMPICS ARCHITECTURE LACKS OVERPRICED, PRETENTIOUS NEW TROPHY BUILDINGS!!!
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics will open this week in the here and now of 2021. The world’s biggest sporting and … More
DESIGN: THE LOOK OF THE THE FIRST TOKYO OLYMPICS
It’s now August 2020, which is when, had the global COVID-19 pandemic not upturned life as we knew it, the … More
IN TOKYO: SIGN ON BUILDING LEAVES LITTLE DOUBT AS TO CONTENTS WITHIN
As you approach Little Darling Coffee Roasters for the first time, you’re not sure you’re in the right place. It’s … More
HOTNESS: BUILDING-ON-BUILDING ACTION
High-rise condo building reflected in windows of a modern glass-and-steel skyscraper in Akasaka, Tokyo.
FROM OUR BOOKSHELF: “RACKGAKI” DOCUMENTS AN ERA OF JAPANESE GRAFFITI ART
It’s time again to randomly browse our bookshelves at HQ and re-discover a forgotten coffee-table tome. Today we’ve pulled out … More
“Here We Are” Street Art at Ships … Harajuku, Tokyo
Amid the labyrinthine back streets that comprise Ura-Harajuku are many examples of commissioned semi-legal street art in little niches of … More
Abstract Street Art on Roller Shutter … Naka-Meguro, Tokyo
The Naka-Meguro neighborhood of Tokyo has a distinct feel. It occupies one side of a steeply sloped hill and the … More
Graffiti Art Next to Vacant Lot … Shibuya, Tokyo
Street Art at Sneaker Emporium “California Street” … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Japanese Election Campaign Posters on a Wall … Naka-Meguro, Tokyo
The optics and media of Japanese political election campaigns are fascinating for their restraint and orderliness. Campaign posters for the various … More
Abstract Street Art and Graffiti Tags … Ura-Harajuku, Tokyo
“New Candle” Live Video and Projection Installation by Nam June Paik … Watari Museum, Tokyo
LED Animation at 21_21 Design Sight … Akasaka, Tokyo
Graffiti Tags in Dense Urban Space … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Cool Architectural Design of Maison Kitsune Shop … Daikanyama, Tokyo
Fukadaso Cafe & Guriru Gallery Space … Kiyosumi, Tokyo
Video Art Installation and Window at Watari Museum … Shibuya, Tokyo
On the Scene … Customers Waiting in Line at BriGela … Kiyosumi, Tokyo
Japanese Summer “Hanabi”-Themed Billboard Ad For Coca-Cola … Tokyo
Japan has a long-established, globally recognized and highly-developed sense of aesthetics, especially when it come to design and graphic communications … More
Hello Kitty Street Art by D-Face … Ura-Harajuku, Tokyo
American street artist DFace artwork often works with iconic pop-cultural imagery, often American retro-comic book styles and skeletal graphics. Here … More
The Architecture & Design at “Log Road” … Daikanyama, Tokyo
There’s a new shopping-dining complex hear our temporary HQ in the Daikanyama neighborhood of Tokyo. It’s called Log Road. The … More
Amazing Green Tea Matcha Donut from Doughnut Plant NYC …
It’s what’s for breakfast this wintry morning. OMG yummy!!! Or, in fitting with the Japanese green tea matcha flavors … … More
Shiny Cool Super-Minimal Unbranded Bag of Bear Pond Espresso Beans
On our recent visit back to Tokyo, we picked up a bag of freshly-roasted espresso beans from Bear Pond Espresso … More
See Ya Later, Tokyo …
It’s always great fun being back in Tokyo. It’s really a home away from home for us, and we love … More
Street Art in Harajuku, Tokyo
We found these cute, simple wheat-pasted street art graphics on a utility box near the Watari Museum (Watarium) Ura-Harajuku in … More
On the Scene … At the Lattest Espresso Bar in Tokyo
Cherry Blossoms Mural … Naka-Meguro, Tokyo
Beautiful freshly painted mural of Japanese cherry blossoms tree on the wall of a well-trod underpass in Naka-Meguro in Tokyo. … More
“Love Me” Tip Jar Sticker at No. 8 Bear Pond Espresso Bar … Shibuya, Tokyo
American artist Curtis Kulig’s cursive “Love me” graffiti message is a global street art icon, a viral, real-world visual meme … More
Cool House in Tokyo’s Naka-Meguro Neighborhood
More Awesome Street Art by Invader in Tokyo’s Naka-Meguro Neighborhood
This example of street art by French artist Invader in Tokyo is probably one of the best we’ve seen in … More
Architecture … Tadao Ando’s 21_21 Design Sight Building in Akasaka, Tokyo
The sleek, low-slung gray structure that is the 21_21 Design Sight building in Tokyo’s Akasaka neighborhood was created by two … More
Giant Futuristic “Rocking Mammoth” Sculpture by Kenji Yanobe at Tokyo MoCA
Stencil Street Art by Showta … Near Harajuku, Tokyo
Street Art by Artist Barry McGee in Tokyo
Mural by San Francisco-based artist Barry McGee in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo. Wonderful.
Style & Design … Window Display and Shopper at Rick Owens Tokyo Store
Space Invader Street Art by Invader at Hotel Japan … Near Ura-Harajuku, Tokyo
Prada Building in Aoyama, Tokyo
Banksy-esque Spiderman Stencil Street Art … Shibuya, Tokyo
On the Scene … At the Beautifully Minimalist Nezu Cafe in Aoyama, Tokyo
The cafe in the garden of the Nezu Museum in Aoyama, in Tokyo, is a striking example of minimalist architectural … More
Cover of “Tokyo no ie” Architecture Book
Global Graphica in Tokyo …
We’re in Tokyo this week and as those of you who follow us on Twitter and Instagram may have already … More
In Tokyo … Awesome Ads in the Tokyo Subway, Vol. 2
The second of two examples of recent ad placements in the Tokyo Metro. This one is part of a Tokyo … More
In Tokyo … Awesome Ads in the Tokyo Subway, Vol. 1
This recent indoor billboard ad (pictured below) in Tokyo subway stations is part of an integrated marketing campaign promoting the … More
in Tokyo … “Music” on Escalator at Tsutaya at Daikanyama T-Site
In Tokyo … Tiny A.P.C. Storefront in Daikanyama
The French clothing label A.P.C. is one of our all-time favorite style brands, and we’ve been buying shirts, sweaters and … More
In Paris … “Death of King” at Palais de Tokio
This space in the main exhibition space at the Palais de Tokio, that wonderful leading-edgy and influential contemporary art museum … More
At Saturdays Surf in Tokyo
The spacious Saturdays Surf store (pix below) in the fashionable border strip between Tokyo’s uber-hip Daikanyama and Naka-Meguro neighborhoods is … More
“Love Me” in Tokyo
In Tokyo … Hello Kitty and Graffiti
A large sticker of Japanese icon Hello Kitty adorns a wall like the graffiti next to it on a Shibuya, … More
“I like to Wear Boots”
Our friend H.I., who lives in Tokyo, has “Imelda Marcos” syndrome when it comes to shoes. He owns more than … More
At Bear Pond Espresso in Tokyo
Over the weekend we posted about some coffee we had from a third-wave espresso roaster and cafe in Tokyo called … More
Coffee from Bear Pond Espresso Tokyo
We’re enjoying some coffee in New York this hot summer morning brewed with coffee beans from Bear Pond espresso cafe … More
JR Hits Tokyo
This is the front of the Watari Museum of Comtemporary Art in Shibuya, in Tokyo, where French street artist superstar … More
From Tokyo … Seibu Shopping Bag Design
A friend of ours gave us a small gift from Japan and it came in this Seibu department store bag … More
In Tokyo … Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama Light Installation at Mori Art Museum
This installation by legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is currently on view at the Mori Art Museum, at Roppongi Hills, … More
In Tokyo … Fashion from Final Home at Mori Museum
At the current 10-year anniversary exhibition at the Mori Art Museum at Roppongi Hills, in Tokyo, a gallery was devoted … More
In Tokyo … The Giant Spider Sculpture at Roppongi Hills
This giant spider-like sculpture by the late artist Louise Bourgeois at the massive Roppongi Hills mega-shopping-hotel-condo-museum complex is a popular meeting point … More
In Tokyo … “Re Your Food” Anti-Nukes Street Art
Since the the 2011 reactor-meltdown disaster at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, we’ve seen a lot of anti-nuke … More
In Tokyo … “Bad Noise” Band Poster
“Bad Noise” poster at the Ruby Room, a small music venue on a narrow hillside lane in Shibuya, Tokyo.
In Tokyo … Bathing Ape 20th Anniversary Design Exhibition
A Bathing Ape (or BAPE), the global Japanese clothing and lifestyle brand started by creator and Tokyo music producer Nigo, … More
Tokyo GPS Screen
The GPS screen in K.’s car in Tokyo is pictured below. We had no idea where we were at the … More
Japanese Street Art Logo … Tokyo
This graphic on a wall in Shibuya, in Tokyo, looks and feels like a piece of street art and could … More
Sign at Opening Ceremony’s Shibuya Store … Tokyo
The big, bold illuminated sign at the massive Opening Ceremony store in Shibuya, in Tokyo. Compared to the SoHo loft … More
Coffee Break at Tsutaya x Starbucks at Daikanyama T-Site
A couple of blocks away from Global Graphica’s temporary Tokyo HQ is Daikanyama T-Site, a beautifully manicured and smart new … More
The Super Awesome “Dog Garden” at Daikanyama T-Site
Tokyo Street Lines
Here’s a much closer view of the ground in Tokyo: A curving street line in the fashionable Naka-Meguro neighborhood. You … More
Dogs on Skateboards
It’s like absurd dream. But maybe not so crazy after all. My friend has a cat and skateboard and sometimes … More
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 