JAPAN`S NEW WORLD

JAPAN 3 MONOCLE
JAPAN’S NEW WORLD
•••
Japan is looking to the future after the 2011 disaster that helped it
reassess what’s important. Through innovation, intelligent processes
and its resilient people, Japan is sharing its new vision.
•••
JAPAN
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Introduction
JAPAN
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COVER IMAGE:
Mount Fuji towers over the reflective waters of
Lake Kawaguchi. The Japanese are proud of Mount
Fuji, the sacred mountain that’s a spiritual comfort
and emblematic of Japan’s renewed ascendency.
•••
A nation that knows the
hardships of disaster is
enriching skills, culture and
technology on the road
to reconstruction.
•••
Welcome,
The tasks following the March 2011
disaster were so numerous as to seem
overwhelming: cleaning up debris,
finding shelter for survivors, rebuilding
roads and schools, reconnecting water
and electricity. But Japan didn’t have
to struggle alone.
Thanks to a global outpouring
of money and supplies, rescue and
doctor teams and volunteer clean-up
crews, Japan experienced a reawakening. Shock and trauma gave way to
a renewed sense of purpose. Many
Japanese were determined to move
forward quickly as a way of showing
just how much the support and aid
from around the globe had helped.
Now the government also has a blueprint for the future. Approved in July,
the “Rebirth of Japan” plan prioritises
reconstruction in the disaster-hit areas
and pinpoints the country’s most
promising sectors for growth – cleantech, healthcare, agriculture and
small to middle-sized enterprises. The
talk these days is of building cities
anew – cities of the future, running on
renewable energy – not just restoring
them to the way they were. And as
the national mood brightens, tourists
who stayed away are coming back in
droves. It only takes one look at the
new Shinkansen bullet trains, reopened
businesses and satellites blasting into
space to realise that Japan is again
brimming with new projects and ideas.
02
KENMEI NAGAOKA
Seeking special
01
People
Nagaoka, the founder of D&Department
stores, is a retailer with an agenda. A designer
and longtime advocate of stemming throwaway habits, Nagaoka has spent more than
a decade canvassing the archipelago in
search of well-designed everyday items –
wooden plates, porcelain tea pots, steel bento
lunchboxes – from small-scale producers. He
promotes the durable over the disposable in
an effort to get consumers in big cities to think
about artisans in remote locales. Nowadays
he’s on the road 200 days of the year for his
latest project: a guide of every one of Japan’s
47 prefectures aimed at design-minded travellers who are more interested in finding local
artisans, retailers and designers than a typical
tourist. Nagaoka hopes that highlighting the
work of these creatives can stem the brain
drain to Japan’s big cities that has sapped
towns and small cities of young talent.
d-department.com
•••
Profiles of the men and women
who are stars in their professions
and a key to Japan’s
rising soft power.
•••
01 / 08
07 / 08
The five entrepreneurs,
creative thinkers, brand
mavericks and artistic talents
that will help push Japan
into a new era.
Tourists are coming back to
Japan. We profile the attractions and secret spots off the
beaten track that make a trip
to Japan memorable.
02 / 08
08 / 08
In a country exposed to
the elements and huge
forces, technology has been
central to Japan’s story and
its recent successes.
Looking to the future,
Japan’s space programme is
helping the nation and the
international community better understand our world.
03 / 08
•••
People:
Safety first:
Urban magic:
Japan’s cities are bristling
with creative ideas and
connected by a rail network
that leads the world.
04 / 08
Keep it clean:
We look at the green
technology helping Japan
become a sustainable and
innovative environment.
05 / 08
Life skills:
How Japan’s research
capabilities combined with
technological inspiration are
pushing healthcare forward.
06 / 08
Moving minds:
The culture of Japan, looking
beyond national icons to
reveal the artisans and initiatives keeping creativity sharp.
New ambition:
Stay ahead:
Editor:
Kenji Hall
Researchers:
Junichi Toyofuku
Naoko Nishiwaki
Photographers:
Kohei Take
Shinichi Ito
Masahiro Shoda
Norio Koga
Mari Nishi
Illustrators:
Masao Yamazaki
Cozy Tomato
Mention Japanese exports and it usually
conjures up images of cars and gadgets.
But high-end manufacturing isn’t all there
is to Japan. There’s plenty to offer on the
cultural side and it’s not all anime, J-pop
music and humanoid robots. Architects,
art curators, filmmakers and designers are
helping to shape and rejuvenate Japan and
its image in even more important ways.
MASAMICHI KATAYAMA
MAMI KATAOKA
Katayama, the founder of
Wonderwall in Tokyo, is the
king of retail design. To
admirers, his shop interiors
are “consumertainment” –
an attempt to capture the
way his minimalist and playful
designs can surprise, evoke
nostalgia and trigger excitement in customers. Katayama’s work for fashion brands
such as Uniqlo, Mackintosh
and Nike spans the globe
from Tokyo to Paris, London
to New York and has
solidified his reputation
as one of the most gifted
practitioners in his field.
wonder-wall.com
Tokyo has Kataoka to thank
for the buzz it now generates
in the art world. Since her
arrival at Mori Art Museum
– Tokyo’s contemporary art
venue overlooking Roppongi
Hills – and rise to chief curator, she has sought to feature
contemporary artists – from
Ai Wei Wei to Santiago Cucullu – in the museum’s vast
53rd-floor space. But she’s
also used her post to bring
more attention to up-andcoming Japanese and Asian
artists, a big draw for art
aficionados, and has set out
to redefine the museum-going
experience as both intellectual and open to all.
mori.art.museum
Brand
ambassador
Pop art
NAOMI KAWASE
New classics
Kawase’s idea for the Nara
International Film Festival
began with a simple thought:
how to use movies to connect
her hometown in western
Japan and the outside world.
Now in its third year the festival isn’t just about showcasing the work of young directors. Kawase is also creating
opportunities for filmmakers
to work in Japan and to chip
away at her country’s hard-topenetrate cultural mystique.
Kawase’s own documentaries
and movies have a raw intensity. She was the youngest
person to be chosen for the
Camera d’Or at the Cannes
Film Festival and in 2007 her
film The Mourning Forest won
Cannes’ Grand Prix.
kawasenaomi.com
YUGO NAKAMURA
Design’s future
Artist, designer and computer whiz, Nakamura, of
Tokyo-based THA, is widely
recognised as one of Japan’s
pioneering web and digital
graphic designers. Nakamura
is known for coming up with
striking websites and ads for
the likes of Uniqlo, Louis Vuitton and Microsoft. Many of
his online creations respond
and morph in ways that
resemble video games and
are programmed to tap usergenerated content. His appeal
goes beyond the corporate
realm. The Centre Pompidou
in Paris and Design Museum
in London have also
shown his work.
tha.jp
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Safety first
•••
Taking a look at how Japan is using technology, engineering and
ingenuity to rebuild for the future
after a natural disaster.
•••
Preparation against disasters counts for
a lot in Japan. Japan has experienced the
Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the
Great East Japan Earthquake in the past 20
years. In summer, typhoons attack from the
south. And when offshore tremors occur
coastal communities brace for the possibility of a tsunami.
It’s no wonder that Japan’s scientists,
engineers and policymakers have spent
decades building up defences against
the forces of nature. Seismologists run
simulations to anticipate where big tremors
will strike. Builders fortify offices, schools
and homes to be quake-resistant. For all
the preparation, nobody in Japan has any
illusions about guaranteed safety. So just
as much thought goes into responding to
a disaster. And it’s clear that the ingenuity
that fosters readiness can also speed the
recovery and offer hope for the future.
Powerful ideas
•••
In the prefecture of Fukushima,
the aftermath of an unthinkable
disaster has become the launchpad
for a new era in clean energy and
exciting design ideas.
Nearly 3,000 buildings in Minamisoma, a coastal
city in Fukushima prefecture, were damaged or
swept out to sea by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. But local officials have no intention of just
going back to the way it was before; instead, they
want to build a city of the future. By 2050, Minamisoma aims to become a more liveable, eco-friendly city. Renewable energy will be promoted and
dependence on nuclear power will be reduced.
Officials are planning for a more compact city
with central high streets and residential areas.
Homes will be energy-efficient, equipped with solar panels and batteries to store electricity until it’s
needed. In June the city announced that Toshiba
would break ground this year on Japan’s largest
solar-generation facility with power enough for
30,000 homes flowing by 2014.
futurecity.rro.go.jp/en
04
NEW BUILDS
Architectural aid
Architect Shigeru Ban is used to designing bigbudget buildings for high-profile clients. But
since the mid-1990s he has also spent a lot of
time working on projects for a very different
clientele: disaster victims and war refugees.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake of
March 2011 struck the northeastern coastline,
Ban’s Tokyo-based firm mobilised volunteers
to build partitions from rigid paper tubes and
canvas drapes at 49 emergency shelters to
provide privacy for thousands of people sleeping in public buildings. Later, in the seaside
town of Onagawa in Miyagi prefecture, Ban’s
team turned steel shipping containers into lowcost, stackable multi-storey apartment blocks
(pictured right), a paper-built reading room
(pictured top right) and a community centre.
Ban’s next project is the Transitional Cathedral, an A-frame paper tube-and-timber church
in Christchurch, New Zealand to rebuild after
February 2011’s quake.
shigerubanarchitects.com
TOKYO SKYTREE
Climbing higher
Few countries would dare to build a tower as tall as Tokyo
Skytree (pictured on the left page and left) in a crowded, earthquake-prone city. The 634m broadcast tower opened in May
2012 after engineers and architects from builders Obayashi
and architecture firm Nikken Sekkei – two of Japan’s construction industry giants – considered every tiny detail during years
of research. They had to ensure it wouldn’t topple in a typhoon
or magnitude eight earthquake, and used computer software
to test every tube. Construction on Tokyo Skytree was nearly
complete when the 2011 earthquake struck Japan. It shook the
tower but caused no damage.
01 Dual-column design: The Japanese call it shimbashira –
the concrete inner column that’s attached to the steel
exoskeleton – had never been tried in a tower. Its two layers
help to nullify swaying.
02 Shock absorbers: For Skytree, Tokyo-based hydraulics
specialist Kayaba System Machinery spent three years
developing high-speed shock absorbers, each 2.5m long.
03 Quake simulation: Nikken Sekkei’s computers tested
Skytree’s structural design using historical quake data and
simulations to gauge how every piece in the tower would react
down to one-hundredth of a second.
05
JAPAN
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HANEDA AIRPORT
Ideas take flight
03
Urban magic
•••
Japan’s cities are a marvel of
efficiency and intelligent design
in sometimes difficult geography.
The country’s technologies offer
a model for others to follow.
•••
When author and futurist Arthur C Clarke
said that the best technology is indistinguishable from magic, he might have been
talking about Japan’s crowded cities.
They work in a way that is hard to find
in other metropolises around the globe.
Decades spent investing in and building up
homegrown technologies and expertise is
only part of the story – delivering top-notch
service is the ultimate goal.
Shinkansen
•••
Japan’s Shinkansen network continues
its commitment to excellence.
Rarely has rolling stock packed in so much
technology. As part of the wider national
Shinkansen network, East Japan Railway’s
E5 Hayabusa Shinkansen bullet train, which
debuted on the Tokyo-to-Shin-Aomori route in
December 2010, is designed to run quieter, faster
and on less energy than its predecessors. Its
15-metre protruding nose limits tunnel boom while
its bottom skirt and pantographs for overhead
electric cables suppress noise as the train tops
300km per hour. Inside, the Gran Class car brings
airline-style luxury and JR East’s safety record is
pristine: not a single death or injury even during
earthquakes. Meanwhile, Central Japan Railway
hopes to export its know-how on everything from
trains to safety systems to overseas markets. Its
high-tech control system manages railway traffic
and conductor schedules so everything runs perfectly, with an average delay per train at less than
40 seconds and staff on hand to make time fly.
jreast.co.jp/e; english.jr-central.co.jp;
westjr.co.jp/english; jrkyushu.co.jp/english
06
MOVING DESIGN FORWARD
All trained up
Ken Okuyama knows how to find an uncompromising balance
between design and technology – he spent years at Pininfarina
designing Ferraris. But his role designing Japan’s fleet of E6
Shinkansen bullet trains has forced him to raise his game. “The
E6 is more specialised because fewer Shinkansen trains are
made,” he says. “There’s so much craftsmanship that goes into
building these trains. They’re handmade.”
To build the complex yet sleek nose section of each E6,
workers at Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have to
pound and sand the train’s casing by hand before welding it to
the main cabin. The attention to detail is vital for aerodynamics
as the train speeds up to 320km per hour. At 13 metres, the
nose helps limit tunnel boom, while the other contoured pieces
allow all trains to be able to run in heavy snow.
When the E6 Shinkansen enters service in 2013, it will connect Akita prefecture in northeastern Japan to Tokyo. The E6
Shinkansen will stop for about two minutes to attach to another
Shinkansen arriving from Aomori on the way to Tokyo. Okuyama thought a train connecting communities should inspire
business workers and tourists. “I also wanted Akita residents
to love it,” he says. It wasn’t enough to build trains with the
world’s most advanced technologies. “I felt the design had to
symbolise that,” he says. “The train carriage is red on top and
when you see it from above it looks like a red arrow – as
if pointing to the future.”
kenokuyamadesign.com/en
hitachi.co.jp/environment
khi.co.jp
Big airports have a tendency
to look the same. But when
the new international terminal
at Haneda Airport in Tokyo
opened in October 2010
after an expansion and extensive renovations, it made a
statement: this travel hub
is made in Japan. That goes
for every one of the restaurants and retailers in the
terminal, a collection that
includes convenience store
Lawson, 108-year-old Ginza
stationers shop Itoya; toy
store Hakuhinkan and shirt
maker Kamakura. Branding
an airport might seem odd
but it was crucial for Haneda,
which was getting a large
addition to its international
wing after a period of neglect.
The extra runway extending
over Tokyo Bay adds an extra
60,000 flights and seven
million passengers annually
who arrive from and depart
to the US, Europe, and other
parts of Asia.
haneda-airport.jp
WATER PURIFICATION
Clear winner
In many countries, the debate
over drinking water comes
down to this: filtered or
bottled? Products in Japan
like Mitsubishi Rayon’s Cleansui home-use purifiers remove
rust, bacteria, pesticides and
lead. The company’s filters
began from a simple idea:
why not make a water filter
from material used for artificial lungs? Clearly, it worked.
cleansui.com
TRAIN TRAVEL
CLEANER WATER
Plenty of craftsmanship goes
into Japan’s Shinkansen bullet
trains, but cabin interiors tend
to be the same. Not so with
the Tsubame 800. Kyushu Railway (JR Kyushu) hired Japanese artisans to create distinct
interiors: maple or gold-leaf
walls, armrests of plywood,
seats covered in Nishijin-ori
patterns from Kyoto and even
window shades made from
Japanese cherry trees.
jrkyushu.co.jp/english
Only one per cent of Earth’s
water is safe to drink. Enter
Japan’s Nitto Denko Hydranautics. The 94-year-old
Osaka firm turns seawater
and wastewater into drinking
water and water for farms
and high-tech factories, using
reverse osmosis filters (membranes, essentially). Countries where water is scarce,
particularly in Asia and the
Middle East, use the filters.
membranes.com
Inner beauty
Cash flow
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Keep it clean
•••
With a focus on raising energy efficiency and lowering greenhouse
gas emissions, Japanese companies are showing the way forward
in clean technology.
•••
The Japanese are masters at saving energy.
It’s only natural. After all, the resourcescarce country has to import more than 80
per cent of its energy which adds to the
cost of doing business. To ensure Japan’s
competitiveness, the government has been
an active promoter of low-energy technologies for decades. That has fueled an innovative streak, leading to the world’s most
energy-efficient cars and refrigerators.
It’s also made companies and consumers
more willing to embrace clean technologies. From solar panels to fuel cells that
convert natural gas into hydrogen, Japan
is constantly on the lookout for new power
alternatives.
FRESH THINKING
Eco shops
Can a rooftop lawn make a retail shop “green”? Ministop, a
major Japanese convenience store chain, thinks the question
is worth exploring. It’s one of many ways retailers in Japan are
experimenting to make their shops a little more eco-friendly
and to slash their energy costs. Ministop has set energy-saving
targets per shop by 2015. To meet its goals, Ministop has been
testing a next-generation shop with LED lights, solar panels,
and energy-efficient refrigerators, freezers and ventilation systems, and it’s already begun a phased rollout to some shops.
Only two Ministop shops have rooftop lawns but the greenery’s cooling effect has the company considering an
expansion to other locations.
ministop.co.jp/english
RENEWED DRIVE
Plugging in
The race to design the ideal
eco-friendly car is gathering
pace and leading the field
is Toyota’s Prius Plug-in Hybrid, unveiled earlier this year.
The car acts like an electric vehicle for short errands, where
a recharge point isn’t too far
away, but for long trips its
ultra-fuel-efficient gas-electric
hybrid design kicks in.
toyota-global.com/
innovation/
A new leaf
•••
A Japanese eco-friendly innovation
is redefining why leaving your car at
home can help the environment.
This may sound too good to be true but there is a
car that can supply electricity to your home during
a blackout: Nissan’s Leaf electric vehicle. The
Leaf-to-Home technology, now available in Japan,
draws on the energy stored in the car’s lithium
batteries when needed through a power unit
made by Nichicon, a company in Kyoto. There’s
enough juice in the batteries – 24kWh – to keep
the lights on and the refrigerator running in the average Japanese home for two days. Not bad for a
car that burns no gasoline and emits no CO2. The
Leaf can also reduce the load on a city’s power
grid if recharged at night and tapped during
the day when electricity use usually peaks. The
best place to see it in action is at the Kankankyo
house, built by Sekisui House and located next to
Nissan’s headquarters, in Yokohama, one of 11
cities in Japan’s “FutureCity” Initiative.
nissan-global.com
futurecity.rro.go.jp/en
08
COTTON RECYCLING
WASTE RECYCLING
Towel-making is a tradition in Imabari that dates back more
than a century. But nowadays towel companies in the city, in
Ehime prefecture, southern Japan, aren’t only in the business
of production; they’re also recycling towels. With technology
developed by Japan Environment Planning, a Tokyo startup, old
towels become biofuel for the machinery at factories that make
new towels. The project, called Imabari Cotton Recycle, is
helping to raise awareness of local environmental concerns.
jeplan.co.jp
imabaricottonrecycle.com
Dumping organic waste into the sea used to be standard practice for producers of shochu, a Japanese distilled tipple made
from rice, potatoes or grain. But more than a decade ago, as environmental laws changed, 16 distillers in southern Japan known
collectively as Southern Green Union joined forces to invest in
a facility that would lower waste without significantly increasing
energy costs. What they got, courtesy of Japanese engineering
firm IHI, was a multi-stage plant, with a methane-fermentation
reactor, that treats wastewater and captures and reuses biogas
to generate energy. Distillers use the energy to tackle waste: and
byproducts that would normally get discharged are turned into
fertilisers and feed that can be sold
to farms. It’s a model for boosting green credentials.
ihi.co.jp/en
Full circle
Finding the energy
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NEW RECORDS
Tohoku Medical Megabank
05
Life skills
The 2011 earthquake that hit Japan’s northeastern Tohoku
region robbed cities and towns of hospitals’ doctor and
patient records. Local officials wondered how they would cope
without enough medical staff to care for communities. Now a
10-year project from Tohoku University and Iwate Medical University could offer a solution called Tohoku Medical Megabank,
a so-called biobank. It will create a massive repository of digital
patient records, DNA samples and disease data by 2016. Ultimately, Masayuki Yamamoto, a professor of medical biochemistry leading the biobank project at Tohoku University, says the
hope is that it will establish the Tohoku region as a centre for
innovation, attracting more doctors and researchers.
megabank.tohoku.ac.jp/english
•••
The high quality of life in Japan
means residents are living longer
and the nation’s technology is
evolving to match the pace
•••
Adversity can inspire innovation. Japan’s
response to the March 2011 disaster is evidence of that. Facing a shortage of medical
professionals in earthquake-hit communities, Japan is now looking to digitise patient
records and modernise the medical system
in one of its regional cities. The country
has taken a similarly optimistic approach in
other areas. For instance: the swelling ranks
of elderly Japanese. Any other country
with a population that’s graying as fast as
Japan’s might worry, but the Japanese have
tackled the problem head-on. They’re looking to use robots to improve medical care
and quality of life for seniors. Technology
might let doctors check in remotely on patients at home and new futuristic research
could give doctors the tools to develop
treatments that are tailor-made for patients.
MOBILITY AIDS
STEM CELL RESEARCH
It looks like a lightweight leg brace but Honda’s strap-on
prototype device, called Stride Management Assist (right
model), has a built-in battery and motors that help the wearer
walk. The automaker has been developing the technology for
more than a decade to restore mobility to people with difficulty
getting around. There’s also a sturdier version the Body Weight
Support Assist (left model) with a saddle, hip-to-ankle frame
and shoes equipped with sensors to measure the force of the
wearer’s walk. The technology comes from Honda’s robot
research programme, says project leader Jun Ashihara, and
might be used by factory workers and the elderly. The company
is drawing up plans to produce and sell the devices soon.
corporate.honda.com/innovation/walk-assist
Scientists have used stem
cells to clone dogs and
sheep. But these days stem
cell research generates
excitement for a different
reason: these building blocks
of life could one day repair
damaged organs, blood cells
and nerves. A team at Kyoto
University’s Center for iPS
Cell Research and Application
(CiRA), led by Haruhisa Inoue,
is working on yet another use.
The lab has turned stem cells
into motor neurons (a type of
nerve cell) with abnormalities
found in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal
disorder that attacks the brain
and spine and leads to the
eventual loss of muscle use.
The lab’s success in making
these cells gives doctors a
new way of testing experimental treatments and drugs
on human cells without
the risk of actually trying
them on humans.
cira.kyoto-u.ac.jp/e
Big steps
Testing times
•••
Japan is drawing on a broad range
of different medical expertise to help
push science into new frontiers.
Pioneers in science tend to devote their careers
to lab work. Masayo Takahashi is cut from different cloth. A project leader at Riken’s Center for
Developmental Biology in Kobe, Takahashi is an
opthamologist who also knows the ins and outs
of a promising field of research: stem cells. The
hope is that these cells can be the starter material
for new body tissue in transplants and treatments
from Parkinson’s disease to diabetes and that patients can use donated cells stored at banks. For
Takahashi, treating people is the goal. In 2013 she
is expected to be the first in the world to test a
type of stem cell iPS, or induced pluripotent stem
cells, made from a person’s skin, on patients who
suffer from age-related macular degeneration, an
eye condition that can lead to vision loss. “This is
just the first step of preliminary testing on a few
patients,” says Takahashi. “It will take another 10
years of data-gathering to show that stem cells
are safe and work as they’re supposed to.”
cdb.riken.jp/en
10
Positive growth
VISIONARY TECHNOLOGY
Watch this space
James Nakagawa (pictured
right) set out to help a friend
with diabetes. In 2003, he
set up Mobile Healthcare and
created the service Lifewatcher that lets patients track everything from what they eat to
blood-glucose levels. Patients
take photos of meals and send
them to an online database
that assesses nutritional value.
Several hospitals and clinics in
Japan are using the service.
lifewatcher.com/english
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Moving minds
•••
Arts in Japan have always been
intrinsic to its identity but new
investment allows the country’s
cultural exports can travel further.
•••
The Japanese government’s latest “Cool
Japan” plan is far more targeted than ever
before and heading out on the road. For
example: a fashion exhibition in Florence, a
food festival and pop-up clothing shop in
Singapore, an animation festival in Mumbai,
a hospitality and services pavilion in Beijing.
With smart strategies, the government is
forming collaborations with the corporate sector, turning to the likes of ryokan
operator Kagaya, property developer Mori
Building and online dining guide Gurunavi.
At home, efforts are also being stepped up
with a full schedule of food, fashion and art
events dubbed Tokyo Spring/Autumn, and
the Creative Tokyo Forum, where creators
and businesses get together to start new
collaborations. If all goes to plan, Japan’s
cultural exports could double to ¥17trn
(€175bn) by 2020 to make Tokyo an even
more attractive destination.
COMMUNITY LIVING
MARCHE JAPON
Homegrown success
Sharing the load
The weekend farmers’ markets – organised independently in
seven of Japan’s biggest cities but branded collectively as Marché Japon – aren’t just an assemblage of stalls. They’re a small,
hand-picked group of farmers and food producers who act
as ambassadors for their trade and stand for a high standard
of quality. Along with local produce, visitors can find cuisine
and products here from all over Japan. It also helps that the
markets resemble festivals. Now in its fourth year, the markets
have won a steady, loyal following. “It’s about having city residents communicate directly with farmers and producers,” says
Hirokatsu Morohashi, who organises the market at the United
Nations University in Tokyo.
marche-japon.org
The March 2011 earthquake
that caused a tsunami to
wash over northeastern Japan
destroyed the livelihoods of
farmers, fishing communities
and food processors. It also
reminded many Japanese how
intimately their food is tied
to local communities. Within
months of last year’s disaster,
the Japanese government
was urging the public to
boost stricken farmers,
brewers, sweets makers and
bakers. The call was similar to
a national campaign, dubbed
“Eat to Support”, that aimed
to raise awareness for the
plight of domestic farmers
and promote the increased
consumption of domestic
agricultural produce. Soon
buying Japanese sake, soy
sauce, desserts or even
vegetables became more than
just a transaction. It became
a statement of support for
producers struggling to get
back on their feet.
syokuryo.jp/tabete_ouen
TOKYO RETAIL
More in store
Year-round craft
•••
Initiatives giving Japanese craft a
fresh look and designers a chance
to collaborate.
A broom, a tea strainer, an oven mitt and a soy
sauce dispenser are the kinds of everyday items
that can be found in most Japanese homes.
But when Japanese artisans and contemporary
designers team-up to put their own spin on the
most standard objects the results are stunning.
By doing so, they draw attention to the country’s
tradition of craftsmanship that has won a worldwide fanbase. Japan’s dedication to preserving
skills can be seen in brooms and baskets sold by
Matsunoya, a shop in Tokyo, or the soy sauce dispenser made by family-owned kilns in Seto, Aichi
prefecture for Ceramic Japan. It’s in the wooden
tableware designed by Rina Ono and Masanori
Oji and made by Takahashi Kogei, in Asahikawa,
Hokkaido prefecture. And it’s even in the canvas
oven mitt that’s a collaboration between Drill
Design and textile brand Jobu.
365things.jp/en.html
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To get a glimpse of the
future of fashion retail, head
to Tokyo. Start off in the
Ginza district where the Fast
Retailing Company has just
opened its new flagship
Uniqlo shop (pictured above
left), a 12-storey glass temple
of spinning mannequins in
affordable, well-made basics.
Cross a bridge to the Dover
Street Market, where Comme
des Garçons doyenne Rei
Kawakubo has handpicked art
and fashion labels for a store
whose concept is beautiful
chaos. Across town, in Harajuku and Shibuya, it’s select
shops like Tomorrowland,
Beams and United Arrows that
demonstrate the Japanese
skill of mixing and matching
the best of home, European
and American design. And the
city’s backstreets host a thriving ecosystem of one-room
specialty shops: FilMelange
for ultra-soft high-quality cotton undergarments, Steteco
(pictured left) for a modern
take on traditional attire, and
Soph. for sharp streetwear.
SAKE’S EVOLUTION
Brewed to perfection
Most sake makers in Japan brew only during the frigid winter months and rely on the
instincts of the master brewer, or toji. Not
Hiroshi Sakurai. The president at Asahi Shuzo,
a brewery nestled in the mountains of southern
Yamaguchi Prefecture. He has done the
unthinkable and taken control of his brewery
away from the toji. Instead Sakurai built a
fermentation lab and temperature-controlled
rooms. The result: a junmai daiginjo, the
Dassai brand’s premium sake. Japan’s other
well-known tipple, shochu, is a fiery distilled
drink (on ice) that’s been gaining in popularity.
asahishuzo.ne.jp/en
13
JAPAN
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New ambition
•••
Attracting tourists after the March
2011 earthquake and tsunami
was a challenge. But now the
Japan Tourism Agency is inviting
more tourists than ever before.
•••
The slogan was just two heartfelt words.
“Thank you.” Launched in early 2012,
Japan’s tourism campaign wasn’t meant
only as a display of appreciation for the
help and donations following the March
2011 earthquake and tsunami. It was also a
bold statement: Japan is back! Communities are rebuilding, getting back to work.
Only a year after the number of tourists
dropped 28 per cent, the Japan Tourism
Agency is now expecting 9 million visitors,
a jump of 44 per cent. The agency’s hope
is to double visitor numbers by 2016 and
top 25 million in 2020. Its short-term plan
is to host Visit Japan Travel Mart for travel
industry professionals in November. They’ll
be shown around Tokyo, offered seminars
on Japanese culture, and led on overnight
trips to Hokkaido, Kyushu and Okinawa, so
they will be able to offer tips to travellers
who want a similar experience.
EASY ACCOMMODATION
Simple pleasures
Japanese inns, or ryokan, feature stripped-down design, from
the gardens and the onsen (hot spring) bath to the yukata robe
and the kaiseki meals in small portions, everything is fussed
over and impeccably prepared. It all forces you to slow down,
to take a breather. And yet it’s strange that ryokan rarely make
“top hotel” rankings which are biased in favour of the boutique
and high-rise offerings. For an escape, there’s Murata Ryokan,
a complex of 12 guesthouses in the small onsen town of Yufuin,
on Kyushu. Its harmonious mix of traditional farmhouse and
modern furnishings was the work of architecture and design
firm Simplicity and reflects the kind of understated elegance
that defines the ryokan experience.
sansou-murata.com
LUXURY HOTEL
Regal relaxation
When the owners of Tokyo’s Palace Hotel tore down the
building in 2009, many Japanese wondered whether they
had lost an old icon of hospitality. The plans called for a
rebuild but would the new hotel be a soulless place? Three
years and €1bn later, those worries have been put to rest.
The Palace Hotel, which reopened in May, is a tasteful mix
of classic Japanese hospitality and design – kimono-clad
attendants, modernist chairs and a full range of international
cuisine, from Teppanyaki to French is available. It’s a muchneeded sprucing-up and not a moment too soon – the
competition for luxury hotels in Tokyo is very close-run.
palacehoteltokyo.com/en
Old favourites
•••
Eco-tourism makes the most out of
Japan’s richly varied natural wonders.
14
FRONT RUNNER
Sports tourism
Even before Tokyo hosted its first marathon, in 2007, the city
was a runner’s paradise. It only takes a lap or two around the
Imperial Palace, a 5km loop with views of the moat and tiletopped outer walls to grasp why. And it’s not just the scenery.
Breathe deeply: not a whiff of the soot or smog that you would
expect from a metropolis of 13 million people with cars zipping
about thanks to tough emissions laws and lots of hybrid cars.
Of course, for runners the city tour-of-choice is the Tokyo
Marathon in late February, with a course that winds past
Tokyo Tower, past the department stores and fashion outlets
in Ginza, and over the bridges to the breezy man-made islets
that sit atop Tokyo Bay.
tokyo42195.org/2013_en
15
© TOKYO MARATHON FOUNDATION
Pristine forests at Yakushima (pictured right),
Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
(pictured above) and the animal kingdom of the
Ogasawara Islands. They’re not on most tourists’
itineraries for Japan but these Unesco World
Heritage sites are high on the list of destinations
the government is eager to preserve and promote.
Eco-tourism isn’t big in Japan but Unesco World
Heritage sites like Yakushima and the Ogasawara
Islands could change that. It also encourages
local communities to get involved in protecting
traditions and natural surroundings from urbanisation and environmental destruction. Japan boasts
16 Unesco sites, including the well-known shrines
and temples of Kyoto and Nara and the Hiroshima
Peace Memorial. Not only does Japan support
its own renowned World Heritage sites but it has
intensively supported Unesco’s Japanese Fundsin-Trust programme to help countries, including
Bolivia, Morocco and Uzbekistan.
whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/jp/
JAPAN
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Stay ahead
•••
The race for new technology in
Japan is a balancing act between
innovation and conservation.
•••
There are three big new ideas for the future
of Japan: disruptive technologies, crossborder collaborations and open innovation.
They’re aimed at pioneering advancements
to save on energy and lower Japan’s
dependence on fossil-fuel and mineral
imports. And of course, developing smarter
systems to forecast natural disasters.
Space to grow
•••
It’s not just technology on the ground
that Japan excels in, its space projects
are helping shape a new world view.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA)’s satellite GCOM-W that blasted into
orbit in May is picking up weak microwaves from
Earth and beaming home data. As part of an
international Earth observation satellite constellation, it will look at water in its many forms, be that
oceans, clouds, ice or soil moisture. The information is giving climatologists a real-time picture of
droughts, floods and extreme weather patterns,
where sea temperatures are rising and falling and
how quickly the polar ice caps are melting. “We
know that climate change is happening but there’s
no way to directly observe it so we look at indicators and water is a crucial one,” says Keizo Nakagawa, the project manager. JAXA’s satellites don’t
just monitor weather; they were key in restoring
telecommunications to northeastern Japan in the
aftermath of the 2011 disaster. “It’s not just about
developing new technologies. We constantly ask
ourselves, ‘what’s the benefit?’” says Nakagawa.
jaxa.jp/index_e.html
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