Categories
Games Music

Chip Tanaka’s Django

Chip Tanaka (better known as Hip Tanaka) created the gaming soundtrack to your childhood, and this week he’s releasing his first full-length solo chiptune album, called Django (and he’s present on the newly released Diggin’ in the Carts compilation). The Japan Times has published a great piece looking back at the man’s career.

Categories
Games

More on Dangen

The Japan Times recently published a piece that gives a nice rundown of what Dangen Entertainment — a publisher+ that wants to be the bridge between Japan and the west — is all about. Glad to see my buddies Ben, John, and Nayan getting so much great coverage for their new business.

Categories
Toys

The Story of Gachapon

Reading this piece from The Japan Times sure made me miss having access to gachapon machines — I never bought tons, but it was always fun to get one once in a while, especially when there was a new series of something I really liked. It’s a shame we don’t really have access to these in North America.

Categories
Film

The Story Behind You Only Live Twice

Bond fanatic that I am, seeing this article in the Japan Times about the making of You Only Live Twice sure put a big smile on my face — it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film’s release in Japan. Makes me want to watch it yet again (even though I re-watched it last year).

Categories
Design Magazines

Redesigning the Times

As I mentioned a few times earlier this year, I was incredibly excited to see my buddy Andrew Lee redesign the Japan Times. At the most recent PechaKucha Night in Tokyo (Vol. 147, held on my birthday no less) he did a presentation on how the whole redesign came about, and it’s now available online. It’s a great watch.

Categories
Society

All About Business Cards

As you probably know, business cards are still a pretty big deal in Japan — you’ll feel pretty naked if you don’t have some in any business situation — and here’s a big piece from the Japan Times that tells the full story on where this all originated.

Categories
Design

The New Japan Times

I posted last week about the redesign of The Japan Times, and today (April 1) saw the publication of the first regular issue sporting the new look. A big otsukare to Andrew and his team on the fresh new design.

Categories
Design

Papers, Please

The latest edition of my old “On: Design” column in the Japan Times is made up of a rather nice selection of paper-related goods.

Categories
Design Events

The Boundary Between Kogei and Design

That’s the name of an exhibition taking place at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (until March 20), curated by Naoto Fukasawa (one of my favorite designers, and I still think the Neon is the best mobile phone I’ve owned). The Japan Times interviews him about the show, which compares modern design to crafts.