Sanja Matsuri: Shinto festival in Asakusa
Sanja Matsuri, translated as “Three Shrine festival” is one of the biggest shinto festivals in Tokyo. The festival lasts for 3 days in which nearly 2 million people are expected to gather around the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa. This religious procession includes people carrying large mikoshi (kind of a portable shrine) and musicians, performers or dancers dressed in traditional Japanese costumes (heron-costumes, geisha or hakama) I was by chance in...
Street festival in Nogecho, Yokohama
A couple of weeks ago I went to this street festival in an area unknown to me: Nogecho in Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken. It`s a 5min walk from Sakuragicho station and it was filled on that day with street performers, food vendors and, well, people… The roads were closed off for this event. It was impressive to see the amount of people joining this festival. Blowing some magic into Japan. Kung fu...
Rock`n`rolla Yoyogi
Going to Yoyogi Park on a Sunday can bring out lots of surprises, like seeing people dance to rock`n`roll music dressed as if the 50`s had never been closer. The park usually hosts lots of intercultural events, street dancers or people going out for a picnic, as well as members of the Rockabilly Club (ロカビリクラブ). They usually meet up at the entrance of the park, wearing old leather jackets, Elvis style...
Thai festival and picnic in Yoyogi park
Thai festival was held in Yoyogi park this year, bringing together thousands of people enjoying Thai culture, great food, drinks and performances. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, me and some friends met up to have a small picnic and have a quick look at the festival… The place was super packed with people laying down their blue sheets for an urban picnic next to food stalls and people passing...
Apron izakaya: Oden in Harmonika Yokocho
Last year my laboratory designed Apron, a new izakaya in Harmonika Yokocho (Kichijoji) serving delicious oden and tenpura. Design and construction took roughly 3 months, which was just ridiculously little time. The schedule was so tight that even on the day of opening, construction workers were still making adjustments to the windows! Regardless of that, the project turned out quite nicely. The space is very small but cozy and friendly,...
Nezu: A walk in the rain
Walking around Nezu, Yanaka or Nippori area on sunny days can probably be one of the nicest experiences you can have in Tokyo. These areas are very old and feature lots of narrow streets filled with old Japanese atmosphere, beautiful flower pots on the sidewalks and traditional Japanese shops. Today was not sunny though. It was actually far from sunny: it was occasionally raining (which I think is more annoying...
Nakano Broadway: Otaku haven
Nakano Broadway is a shopping complex known for its numerous manga and idol shops. It features Mandarake stores selling anime and manga related items, various idol shops, cat maid cafes (Kuroneko) and other entertainment places. This weekend was rainy and Sao`s friend, Chrissi was visiting Tokyo. Nakano Broadway seemed an interesting choice for taking shelter from the rain together with numerous anime/manga otaku. It felt a bit strange to be...
Humans of Asakusa: Suits under sakura trees
Even though hanami season was almost over, people were trying to enjoy the last weekend of cherry blossoms. I went to Asakusa to walk down the small streets around Sensoji Temple ending in Sumida Park. It’s an interesting area to walk through because of its mix of locals and tourists. This will be my final post on hanami and people, hope you enjoyed it!
Humans of Ueno: Hanami atmosphere around Ueno station
Last week I went to Ueno for a walk with good friends visiting Tokyo and got to continue documenting hanami through humans and the general atmosphere of this season. Here are some photos from my walk:
7×7: March 2013
Continuing the 7×7 project: 7 photos a week for a year, here is how my March 2013 looked like in Japan: Note: I am trying to post photos on a daily basis on Tokyo Republic facebook page, but sometimes you just don`t have time to download all the photos from your camera and post so it gets post-poned. Nevertheless, I am happy to have been able to take a photo...
Humans of Nakameguro: Volume 2
Humans of Nakameguro is about documenting hanami through people and atmosphere rather than the flower. Here’s volume 2 of Humans of Nakameguro:
Humans of Nakameguro: Different view on Hanami
Hanami is probably one of the most anticipated and popular events in Japan. Weeks ahead of the sakura trees blossoming, everyone starts talking and preparing for this beautiful event. There are many good spots in Tokyo for hanami, one of them would be along the Meguro river around Nakameguro station. I chose to go here during the weekend, when the cherry blossom season was at its peak and the narrow...