Month: May 2003

I just saw the following quote on the Japan Today website from prize-winning author Yoshinaga Fujita, criticizing the new Roppongi Hills, which pretty much described my experience there:

I just walked around confused, and when I felt like sitting down to take a rest, all the coffee shops were full.

And for fans of the modern architecture that’s popping up around town (like the new Prada building in Aoyama), you could do worse then check out the SANAA exhibit at Gallery MA. Again, from REALTOKYO:

SANAA is the name of the collaboration project by Sejima Kazuyo and Nishizawa Ryue, that was set up after Nishizawa left Sejima’s office in 1997. Even though they both run their own companies now, both architects are still actively working together as SANAA in such large-scale projects as the “21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa” (Ishikawa), the “Dior Building” (Tokyo), or most recently “ISSEY MIYAKE” inside Roppongi Hills. This exhibition focuses on plans that are currently in progress, whereas the point that it illustrates how the two collaborators’ work flows look like in detail is what makes the event especially attractive. As a chance to observe the backside of collaborative operation, it’s also recommended to catch the lecture at Tsuda Hall on 6/4.

And another way of looking at urban rewewal (from REALTOKYO):

The “R-project” dealing with “potential buildings” that Baba Masataka has been writing about in his entries in RT’s “Tokyo Editors’ Diary” has taken up serious operation. The ambitious idea is to reform in a physical way the evaluation of “life in the city” by converting empty buildings in hollow areas across Tokyo into appartments, ateliers, galleries, cafes, etc. To begin with, this walking tour of central Tokyo’s eastern part is a chance for a personal inspection of concrete objects “before and after.” After the excursion, RT invites you to have a drink or two while listening to some of the project’s core members’ reports at another volume of the “RT BAR.” Participants are limited to 30 people, applications can be made by email.

This is the cover of the Arling & Cameron album (All IN) that was given to me by Elsbeth and Derk the other night. You can see how approriate a gift it was, explicitly illustrating the Amerdam-Tokyo connection. As for the album itself, I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it on my iPod these past few days. Lots of very fun Japanese samples abound in this great club-pop record. Definitely recommended. As for A&R, they unfortunately called it quits at least a year ago, and Derk was saying how Cameron is now based in Berlin and exploring his singer-songwriter roots (it’s how he started, before getting into the DJ thing). His wife, Karin, was in town DJing at the Readymade Party I attended at Yellow last December.

To continue on the same topic (I’m posting a new entry because old entries tend to get lost in the churn, as do the comments), a couple of articles came to my attention today. First, I was late picking up METROPOLIS this week, but finally got around to it and found a cover story featuring the father of Roppong Hills (and many other development projects, including the Dojunkai apartment renewal), Minoru Mori. His reasoning behind the need for this vertical extension:

“Commuting shouldn’t consume our days. We need high-rise city centers where all facets of life are within easy walking distance.”

Also, today’s TOKYO WALKER features a cover story on “New Tokyo Spots.” The article then goes on to list all of the recent places we’ve been discussing of late, but also talks about new areas I didn’t know about, like Toshimaen, which is a big green space that would include various spa/hot spring facilities. So it seems that Tokyo is not totally ignoring the need for green spaces. Even for the Ando designed Dojunkai apartment space, “the zelkova tree-lined boulevard will remain an integral part.”

I’ll also point to a very interesting link that was suggested by Joao in the comments below, the Bionic Tower.

On Friday I met up with Elsbeth and Derk, from Amsterdam, who are in Tokyo visiting for 10 days. They first contacted me a few months ago after having discovered my site. They share the same interest in design (Elsbeth works as a graphic designer), and as I discovered on Friday night, in music also. We met up in Aoyama after I was done work, and I brought them to Frey (from where I moblogged) and then Low. I was planning on bringing them to Office, but since they had already been there, I figured it would be more interesting for them to check out some new places. I also thank them again for the wonderful CD they brought me as a gift, an album from Holland’s own Arling & Cameron.

Meeting people like this reminded me (and we talked about it) of how interesting it is when people who read your site and then meet up with you seem to already know so much about you. My website, Nej, is like my avatar on the Net, and it’s what people are basing their opinions of me from. I do think that what I put online is a rather correct image of me, of my likes and dislikes (although I don’t tend to dwell on my dislikes much), and what I’m about and what I’m into. People from half a world away probably know more about me than the people I work with on a weekly basis. Am I putting too much of me out there? For now, I don’t think so, but time will tell. The next question, which gets deeper, is why am I putting myself out like this? I do tend to see my site as a report of the things that I think people should be made aware of, as well as a place where I can express my design sensibilities (with the look of the site, the TB.Grafico photolog, and GEISHA). Is there an exhibitionist streak in me? I’ve never felt that way, but…

I’d just like to point out that there’s a discussion going on in the comments section of one of my previous entries about the new Roppongi Hills complex, and I’d be curious to hear what others think. You don’t need to have visited it for yourself, it’s more a question of whether or not there is a use for this type of urban development. Is this the way to go? Does Tokyo need this type of adult playground (or rather, does it need another one)?