Kategorie: Japan

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JAPAN: Urban Art Tokyo – Shibuya – Magnet by Shibuya 109 – Streetart Mall, Graffiti and Tags

MAGNET BY SHIBUYA 109 is a large multi-story shopping center located at the north exit of Shibuya Station in Tokyo. In addition to the famous RECOfan record base, there are countless underground shops, alternative fashion stores and lots of stuff for anime and manga fans. The entire staircase, the walls on the roof and some of the rooms were decorated with great works of art by numerous Japanese urban artists. This collection also includes streetart works, graffiti and tags in the area around the shopping center.

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JAPAN: Urban Art Tokyo – Shibuya District – Sticker, Paste Ups & Stencils

There are some urban art projects in Tokyo and you can also find legal commissioned works, but the administration takes strict and quick action when it comes to illegal graffiti, and the wall paintings are often removed or painted over within a short time. It looks differently when it comes about stickers, there are simply countless of them and entire sticker walls have been created in the streets. Here is a sticker collection from the Shibuya district, including paste ups and stencils.

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JAPAN: Skull Art Taka – Takanori – Abstract Emotional Art – Skulls, Tribals and Darkness (and sometimes colors)

When you look on the fantastic paintings of SKULL ART TAKA you have to think of Alien, Giger and dark apocalyptic worlds. Of monsters that don’t scare you in the end, because they look so damn fascinating. The artist, also called TAKANORI is a master of this design, a visual genius for creatures and he is especially into the skulls. There are numerous other types of themes in the artworks, but the main topic was and is always the skull.

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JAPAN: Shinichi Yoshitomi´s nostalgic Movie-Adventure-Shop – Mangas, Animies and Superheroes

Comic fans and manga connoisseurs will surely understand the next one. In Okoyama we were amazed with the greatest anime in its original form, scripts in Japanese, and a wealth of unique footage and impassioned smorgasbord. By chance we found the store „Movie Adventure Shop“ by SHINICHI YOSHITOMI in a side street. Especially the original soundtrack of Battleship Yamato immediately got us hooked and we discovered a small gold mine with collectors‘ treasures from 40 years of film and comic history.

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JAPAN: Nara – UNESCO Historic Monuments of the Ancient

Many of the temples, shrines and ruins in Nara form the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara”, which is announced as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The complex includes the Tōdai-ji, the Kōfuku-ji, the Kasuga taisha, the Gangō-ji, the Yakushi-ji, the Tōshōdai-ji, and the Heijō Palace. The nearby Kasugayama Primeval Forest is also identified as part of the world heritage site and worth a visit.

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JAPAN: Gully & Manhole Design in Japan

Japan is just an awesome country, we really had an astonishing trip. The food is fantastic and the culture has a lot to offer. We have been so excited about all this „Japanese-Difference“… we went some kind of crazy… I don´t know how to describe it, it was like a „Japan-Obsession“. All these exotic signs, the loony pictures and the heaps of wacky things, which we saw and experienced there. For them normal, for us completely new, strange and fascinating. After a while we just have been overexcited about actually EVERYTHING. We were enthusiastic about the famous Samurai sites, about the great architecture and the wonderful gardens. But then we went as well mad in photographing soda machines, street signs and even manhole covers. It just all looks so stylish. Probably it would be different, if we could read the letters, but without that knowledge even „Please don´t park here“ looked like an amazing artwork.

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JAPAN: Grind Records – Osaka Vinyl Store

Today we have some more insight into the Japanese music scene and here is an article about a cool record store in Osaka. I wrote already about the Drum & Bass events in the land of the rising sun. In that previous article is an interview with the UNSALTED founder and organisator Munetoshi Maruyama or just Maru. For recording that interview we needed a place to meet with Maru and DJ Fetus, they suggested the place G.R. Café Terrace. First I thought I would be just a small café or a bar. Actually it is, but as well much more. The place is the homebase of the labels Grind Records and Undergrind. There is a record store included, a lounge where you can get several cocktails and craft beers and as well delicious food. They have cloths and streetwear, magazines and dj equipment and a room where you can get a bit louder and use this dj equipment, make sounds and dance. And of course there are heaps of vinyls and records.

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JAPAN: Historical Oldtown – Kurashiki

During our tour of Japan we made a stop in the historical-idyllic city of Kurashiki (Japanese 倉 敷 市, -shi). The Edo-era merchant town is located in Okayama prefecture and the former Bitchū province of Honshu, the main island of Japan. Kurashiki means something like „village from warehouses“. There are still dozens of buildings (Kura) preserved, which represent a symbol of the city due to their typical facades. It’s worth a visit. It is best to stay for a few days in the nearby Okayama and make a day trip by train to the cultural site.

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JAPAN: Himeji Castle and Shironoshita

Hundreds of castles, fortifications and fortresses are scattered all over Japan, some in very good condition or restored and made accessible to the public. During a trip to Nippon you can not avoid a visit, better you should not miss such an amazing and unique tour. One of the most famous sites is the castle tower complex in Himeji (Japanese 姫 路 城, Himeji-jō) from the 17th century. The Himeji-jō in Hyōgo prefecture is one of Japan’s national treasures and was also recognized by UNESCO in 1993 as a World Heritage Site. On our trip from Osaka to Hiroshima we made a stop in this castle town Himeji (Japanese 姫 路 市, -shi), looked at the Himeji Castle and walked through the Koko-en Garden, which is considered one of the three most beautiful in Japan, especially during the cherry blossom festival Hanami. We wandered through the Engyō-ji Temple, climbed Mount Seppiko and shot a video with Tomohisa Shiroshita about the new Shironoshita Guesthouse.

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JAPAN: Anago No Nedoko – Onomichi

The few but increasingly growing tourists who travel to Japan first of course visit the major cultural centers or high-tech cities such as Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. But if you have a little more time for your trip to Nippon, you have the opportunity to get to know many other sites in the country. Often the smaller villages are hidden and undervalued delicacies. For example, the fishing town of Onomichi (Japanese: 尾 道 市, -shi) on the southwest coast of Honshū Island.

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