Shared living often means shared cost and lower quality. But in Tokyo, The Share, an innovative scheme offering modest personal spaces linked to sprawling, well-designed communal areas, is attracting a new breed of house…
Tokyo Designer's Week has become an annual fixture in the creative calendar, with the city literally taken over by exhibitions, events and parties. Monocle explores the shops and galleries of Aoyama, Harajuku and Shibuya…
Wednesday 18 April
Anyone walking down Omotesando – the busy street that is home to Monocle’s Tokyo office – might be wondering what is going on this week.
Monday 14 March
The regular frisson of fear that earth tremors produce in Japan.
Friday 1 January
If the increase in young-chef driven “boutique” ramen stores around Tokyo is any indication, 2010 is going to be a good year for ramen noodles.
Wednesday 9 March
Japanese “gyaru” (gal) fashion works to a different set of rules.
Saturday 23 February
This weekend enjoy the latest film from Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda, tuck into some great food in Montréal, and enjoy a curious Anglo-German musical collaboration.
There’s nothing that irritates architects more than the word ‘cosy’. We believe they should rethink their view. Whether it’s a grand urban master plan or simple apartment block, the vast majority of us are looking for…
A company that started out making bikes for professional cyclists decided to expand into a wider market. The result is customisable models for people who care about design as much as they enjoy a two-wheeled jaunt through…
A welcome addition to airport retail, new routes to Colombia, and the essential addresses for your visit to Helsinki.
A decade ago it was rare to see a pair of Tokyo teenage boys out shopping in kimonos. But attitudes to national identity are starting to change. Genbei Yamaguchi’s new collection for United Arrows is targeting this shift…
Alongside the vast Tokyo International Gift Show – 2,400 exhibitors and counting – has grown a smaller, carefully edited craft and design show called For Stockists. But this bijou event is now the hot ticket, thanks to its…
The Japanese love vintage, but the idea of bidding for second-hand furniture is an unfamiliar concept. Now three entrepreneurs are bringing design classics to a new market in the country’s first modern and contemporary…
Japan is a nation moving beyond an unthinkable disaster to re-establish itself as a regional leader in culture and innovative lifestyles. This issue we meet the people spearheading the unusual evolution of Japanese society…
Old Town, new look, Porter's bag for all seasons and how to pocket the prefect T-shirt.
In July the world woke up to how rich Japan’s Fast Retailing Co had become when it tried to buy Barneys. Now the group is set on making its Uniqlo brand a powerful – and very Japanese – global brand.
The Green Bird team of Tokyo is an army of young people, with cool haircuts and bibs supplied by Nike. cleaning up their city. Picking up litter has never been sexier.
A perfect day: How often do you sit and plot what your perfect day would look and feel like? Do you try to imagine what sounds will wake you? Conjure up what smells will pull you out of bed? Do you think about what would…
Pottery, paper, furniture maker: it’s a varied mix at the For Stockists design show – which has gained a reputation as the place to spot Japan’s rising design talent.
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