MONOCLE

1997 results for Japan

Travel

Tokyo

It would take a lifetime to get to know every facet of Tokyo, so large that it spreads as far as the eye can see. But look closely and you will find a city of exceptional charm and breathtaking efficiency. The Japanese…

Travel

Kyoto

Kyoto may be full of hushed streets steeped in tradition and hidden institutions run by kimono-clad custodians but don’t be fooled: there’s more to this captivating city than timeworn teahouses and graceful geiko. Japan’s…

Radio

Monocle on Design - Design in Japan

17 February 2015

A look at the new Japan-themed Issue 81 of Monocle with the magazine’s photo-director Poppy Shibamoto. Plus, a look back at the career of industrial-designer Kenji Ekuan, we savour the scent of Parisian perfumers Ex Nihilo…

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Article

Swede dream

18 October 2018

A wooden house made in Sweden but set in a Japanese forest. What could be more idyllic?

A 60

Article

Homely heroine

17 January 2013

Harumi Kurihara is an unlikely celebrity, a down-to-earth housewife at heart who has hit the big time with her cookbooks, TV shows and chain of cafés and restaurants. Meet Japan’s unassuming answer to Martha Stewart.

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Article

Liquid Gold

17 October 2012

‘Genki’ drinks – nutrition and energy beverages – have flooded the Japanese market yet manufacturers are now targeting female consumers and soaking up foreign customers. Is saturation imminent?

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Article

Expo 43: Treasure trove

21 April 2011

Japan is full of master craftsmen, traditional stage artists and virtuoso musicians. But it’s only the elite – and those who have been plying their trade for decades – that is rewarded with the accolade of “living national…

B 20

Article

What's in store

17 January 2009

In tough economic times, shops will need something special to keep customers. Monocle’s new star retailers are a supermarket with a concierge, a childrenswear store with staff chosen for their childcare skills, and a boo…

B 12

Article

Prime mover

17 March 2008

Mitsubishi built Tokyo’s first office block, in the Marunouchi district, 114 years ago, and the firm is behind the area’s current redevelopment into a major financial centre. Overleaf, we dissect a Marunouchi building site…

C 2

Article

Novel Concept

17 March 2007

Downloadable novels, written to be read on mobile phones, are the most remarkable success story in Japanese publishing. The fledgling industry is already worth ¥9 billion (€57m) a year – while sales of traditional books are…

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Article

Bouncing back

17 May 2019

With its new rubber shoe designs, footwear company Moonstar has both rediscovered its manufacturing pride and found a new fan base.

L 2019

Article

The art of eating alone

28 June 2019

Recommendations are vital in the restaurant world but why are hundreds of thousands of Japanese poring over the culinary musings of a fictional salesman? We meet the Solitary Gourmet.

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Article

Process power

19 November 2019

The Japanese fashion industry’s dedication to perfecting production techniques has set the bar for manufacturing excellence. How did this celebration of the specifics come to define the country’s exacting output?

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Article

Moving targets

19 October 2017

The man who grew United Arrows into a Japanese fashion powerhouse has set his sights on reviving the country’s artisanal clothing culture. Osamu Shigematsu talks career choices, challenges to bricks and mortar, and recra…

D 107

Article

Upwardly mobile

21 September 2017

The Tateyama mountain range may yield jaw-dropping views of verdant valleys and mist-cloaked peaks but the ramblers ambling up its ridges aren’t bad-looking either. With the line between fashionable finery and outdoor…

D 95

Article

Transport design: full steam ahead

22 June 2016

Japan’s long-distance trains are entering a new era of luxury and innovation. Monocle visits the industrial and interior designers who are redefining train travel.

1997 results for Japan

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