Fiona Wilson
The sweet spot
With each Japanese household spending thousands of yen a year on cakes and sweets, confectionery is big business in Japan and nothing in the sweet-tooth calendar is bigger than the National Expo.
Asia
What to do with an ugly building project in Tokyo? Cover it with a park, of course. Plus: "clean-air" holidays in China and flying doctors in Thailand.
Way to go
The signs that enhance our cities come in a chaotic mix of shapes and sizes. The craft of creating inspiring text falls to those with clear heads – the sign-writers.
Home zone
Some of Japan’s best assets are its architects and designers, and their know-how is ripe for exporting. A new exhibition in Tokyo showcases the best ideas for the house of the future.
Treats in store
One-stop shopping in the Japanese capital gets a luxurious makeover as the owners of the prestigious Midtown spruce up their offer.
Asia
Japan's dapper finance minister is style leader this issue. Plus elections in Cambodia and cruising around Asia.
Camera obscurer
In Chiba, photographer Shinichi Ito found the perfect canvas for his laid-back style. Near the sea, he has crafted a cosy refuge within the wood and concrete shell of an unusual property.
Rummage sale
Shinji Kitada’s trade show, Jumble, is an intimate affair – by expo standards – that favours small and medium-sized fashion labels but which has an impressively global roster to match its international ambitions.
Comeback Kids
Monocle profiles four brands successfully brought back from the brink of failure, from a 400-year-old fabric company in Kyoto to an iconic British shoemaker. Here are their stories of revival and reinvention.
Tokyu Hands
We visit the description-defying Tokyo institution that sells just about everything you could ever need and is loved by everyone who visits.
