by yk_service | Sep 2, 2020 | Tokyo
In Japan, there have long been societal standards governing the onset of middle-age: a youthful preoccupation with looks must cease, and to give up (akirame) is simply the right thing to do. These cultural expectations have seen the middle-aged forced to accept...
by yk_service | Jul 14, 2020 | Tokyo
A couple of years ago, I sat behind the ‘magic mirror’ of a Japanese focus group as they went through a conventional round of concept testing. A confectionary company was assuaging consumers’ guilt at indulging in sweets by emphasising that they used only free range...
by yk_service | Apr 7, 2020 | Tokyo
Getting Tokyo in shape for the Olympics may have become less urgent with the delay to 2021, but Shibuya will continue to rejuvenate at breakneck speed. A flurry of recent developments is all part of the effort to safeguard its position as Japan’s top shopping...
by yk_service | Mar 18, 2020 | Tokyo
During a visit to Daikin’s Innovation Centre in Osaka, I came across a beautiful, brown, wood-effect air-conditioning unit from the 1960s or 70s (I am too young to tell the difference, more of which later). Upon my suggestion to the Innovation Director that a relaunch...
by yk_service | Feb 6, 2020 | Tokyo
In the early 18th century, Tokyo became the largest city on the planet. Since then, Japan has been a country of urban sprawl, with an exaggerated scarcity of space, time and resources. In consequence, and long before the advent of Marie Kondo, clutter has defined its...
by yk_service | Dec 10, 2019 | Tokyo, Volume 1
A number of years ago, I found myself celebrating Christmas in the depths of Kyoto’s red-light district. The club was a time capsule of the bright and brash 1980s, albeit sparingly decorated in 100 yen store-bought tinsel, draped over the neon lights. Amidst the flash...
