Lists. We all do them. Especially when getting ready to travel. Things to pack, things to buy, things to do. You could say that lists emerged in my mind during my 2 week trip to Tokyo & Nagano…

Be sure to visit the flickr site to view the full set of photos!

The Good

1.    Books have gone smaller, greener. Partly to fit on typically smaller Japanese shelves, or perhaps to read during the train commute to and from work. Locally published design books 6 years ago were huge, hardbound, horribly expensive and plentiful. Now the titles have become somewhat selective, primarily softcover therefore affordable, almost pocketsized but chock full of great work. Western books imported or translated into Japanese are more prevalent these days but Japanese design still “reigns supreme”, to quote a certain chairman…

^{From Restaurant Graphics, published by Page One.}

^{From Restaurant Graphics, published by Page One.}

^{PIE Books is one of Japan's main publishers of design books. Previously averaging 15000 yen for single hardcover collections, their price tag has dropped as low as 3800 yen for much smaller softcover editions (with wider distribution channels).}

^{Western books imported or translated into Japanese are more prevalent these days. 1000 Package Designs published by Rockport Books was released in Japan before North America. The design is essentially the same as the English edition with Japanese script prominently shown in the titles.}

2.    Kenya Hara. An art director & designer who has created amazing brand design for Takeo Paper, Matsuya Ginza department store and Muji. His influence of white space, minimal type, quiet yet highly thoughtful work is an inspiration. It helps that his audience embraces that notion giving his creative product such a unique, intelligent voice.

^{One of Kenya Hara's creative success stories.}

^{Kenya Hara created the launch hoarding--featuring an innovative progressive building reveal--and brand materials for this high-end department store. Cool to see it for real; stunning exterior design.}

^{One of Japan's leading design journals, IDEA devoted a complete issue to Kenya Hara's work, with numerous case studies, interviews and essays. Appropriately, the cover was clean and white.}

^{Packaging design using only black ink and natural materials.}

3.    Good quality design is everywhere. Product design is highly functional, advertising & print design is tactile, even handmade soba is perfectly trimmed (and delicious). Nothing is mediocre and many design innovations appear almost invisible that you nearly miss it. Printing is always in register and color spot-on. Print is very alive and paper surfaces innovative. Traditional and contemporary calligraphy is respected and beautifully executed. Presentation is meant to touch your soul, whether it’s an art show, buying green tea or going out for lunch. Color reproduction on food packaging (particularly beverage cans) is incredibly well done and excessive in details but that’s how it is. Good IS in the details. (Maybe that’s why everything is so expensive and Japanese packaging design is so admired.)

^{Beautiful translucent textured paper with handlettered calligraphy. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks.}

^{Found at a giftshop in the Nagano countryside. I love how the graphic boldness of the typography dominates the package design.}

^{Is it Tide? Sure feels like it. The actual name is phonetically pronounced, Toppu.}

^{Kind of ironic this packaging. In the 1988 animated film, "The Grave of the Fireflies" this girl's ashes are carried inside this candy tin, which plays a pivotal role. The most devastating movie I've ever seen, but very good nevertheless. This candy is still popular after all that time and widely available.}

^{Mall menu board. I love how diverse Japanese typography can be.}

^{The Marunouchi Building logo. Beautiful, modern slimtype.}
 

4.    Kawaii is the Japanese word for cute. And there’s a lot of cute, with a current evolving style that's rid of the huge wet Japanese eyes normally seen in Manga. More European in style, simple and 60's retro. Products to buy, advertising, everything seems to be smiling at you. And you of course, smile back.

^{Leaving the underground train station to Shinjuku, I am greeted with this huge visual at street level. Likely targeted for pedestrians. Anyone care to translate?}

^{Everyone has them and many are targeted for young female shoppers. This major department store in Shinjuku is no exception. Very cute and lovely illustration style that's very popular at this time. More European in style than the huge Japanese eyes that were once commonplace.}

^{Walking back to the subway station at 9pm, the huge smiling face from McDonald's makes it all better. Nothing to fear, Tokyo still feels safe at night.}

^{"Sashi Remon" logo for a Tokyo laundromat.}

^{How can it NOT taste good? It says chocolate and it's smiling!}

^{My favorite drink from my last trip. A light orange drink with packaging labels that smiled, frowned or winked at you. Pick the one that matches how you feel! Also comes in apple, lime and red grape flavors.}

^{Pink and brown happy buns at a giftshop in the Nagano countryside.}

^{Super cute baby cracker packaging. 6 mini-bags sealed for your convenience. How could you deny your baby these??}

^{Obviously milk and apple-flavored...AND happy-inducing. For sale at a ryokan giftstore in Nagano.}

5.    Signage is definitely challenging if you can’t read kanji (Japanese characters). However, you learn to adapt when visuals help you along. Recently, English and clearer labeling has been incorporated into signage to help foreigners navigate some very complex walkways.

^{Nancy and her addiction to bathroom signage. I enjoy the cute icons with the embedded braille messaging. Adorable AND functional.}

^{Simple, beautiful running man graphic.}

^{Clear, clean signage that says so much that you don't need to read Japanese to understand the gist of it. However, the girl does have quite a small round head and the man is typically short.}

^{Entrance in Marunouchi INSIDE a huge corporate building. The white on white is a nice touch considering the size.}

^{New exploded maps in the subways help immensely to show exit locations. For a simple station, it's convenient; it gets more complicated with stations that have several levels and snaky walkways (eg. Shinjuku).}

6.    Some advertising is uniquely Japanese. Minimal or fine type, clean arrangements, beautiful illustration, clear concept…the same traits that work anywhere in the world. A contrast to the not so good….but that’s another category.

^{Posters in the Metro subway featuring station assistance for travelers.}

^{Serendipity made the timing of this shot possible.}

The Bad

1.    Still wasteful amidst the world’s desire for conservation, downsizing and recycling. Everything still looks incredibly beautiful but is it really that necessary for double-bagging gifts, wrapping purchased books (missing the original protective shrinkwrap) and taping everything down? It is when it’s all about cultural norms and serving with excellence. Print design is definitely in use, which in perspective could be perceived as a good thing with many North American paper mills suffering.

^{Food departments go all out in packaging. Products are individually packaged, and when purchased, are boxed, wrapped, bagged (sometimes double) and taped shut.}

2.    The use of English is more prevalent with each trip I’ve taken. However, that doesn’t mean it’s used correctly.

^{Har & har. In the lower food floor of the Shin-Marunouchi Building.}

^{Cafe Danmark, my favorite breakfast and lunch place. On the sleeve of the potato hash brown.}

3.    Somehow certain products that would NEVER get made in North America manage to get through production in Japan. Some of the strangest things are for sale, and yet people buy them. We did ourselves as a joke so it must work…

^{USB toys. Plugged in, it looked more like he was running or riding a bike really fast. (Ed note: Are those actually breast mountains?)}

The Ugly?

1.    Japan excels in outstanding ad design but also in loud crazy advertising. There are extremes of subtlety (noted in many traditional designs) and totally obvious cliché that it’s equally painful, obnoxious or unintentionally laughable.

^{Let the sad droopy face of Tommy Lee Jones make you wanna drink Boss. I know I do. Atop a 15-storey building near Tokyo Dome City. Where celebrity endorsements from western actors was once as common as a cold, it's almost dried up completely.}

2.    Fashion is…everything. And anything. Trends come and go so you either follow the crowd or be an enigma. And that’s okay when in Tokyo (which I like to describe as 10 New Yorks smashed into the space of downtown Toronto).

^{Current fall fashion: fuzzy fez type hats, layered clothing, skirts over colored tights, boots or metallic slipons. Purses have European influences, a nice change from our last trip.}

^{Waiting for her boyfriend, the Joker to pick her up.}

3.    Type can be beautifully set. And sometimes not. Type isn’t always treated delicately when trying to get your attention or when information is king (a universal truth, alas). Depends on the audience.

^{Restaurants across from an amusement park echo the same kind of visual stimulation for kids. Legibility is less important than the attention.}

^{That girl has money in sight. As long as it captures the busiest shopping crowd in Tokyo.}

The audience. Beauty is all subjective in the eye of the beholder. Until you go for yourself and truly understand the context or Japanese thinking, things can only be seen through limited vision. Experiencing Japan is definitely an eye-opener and perhaps the best way to enjoy it IS wide-eyed. If you can’t afford to fly there just yet, I recommend you check out “Tokyo Life: Art & Design” published by Rizzoli, 2007. As we didn’t get a chance to hit all the cool designer spots, everything that’s cool about current Japanese architecture, fashion, design, and art are gathered in this great collection.

Again, be sure to visit the flickr site to view the full set of photos as we couldn't use them all here. Thanks Nancy!

------------------
Nancy Wu, MGDC is a Vancouver freelance senior designer & art director, nancywudesign.com. This is her 4th trip to Japan in the last 12 years. For her "Food in Japan" article, visit foodists.net