MONOCLE

1874 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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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.

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

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…

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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…

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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.

A 81

Article

Good feline

16 February 2015

As a global Japanese image, Doraemon aptly combines cuteness and faith in technology. But with the blue robot cat from the future seeming increasingly rooted in the past, there’s a sense that Tokyo’s soft-power brokers want…

A 81

Article

Stand and deliver

12 February 2015

Japan’s faltering position on the world stage has been defined by its post-luxury population’s obsession with the good life, Italian style. It’s time for this proud nation to step up and get on with it.

1874 results for Japan

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