Aido Makoto: Monument for Nothing

We went to see Makoto Aida’s exhibition this last weekend, currently on display in the Mori Art Museum. Me and my wife both left feeling impressed – ‘brilliant’ was the word that encapsulated it for us. The works on display and perhaps the cumulative exhibition as a whole seemed to capture our perception and understanding of Japan, which is something that we struggle to articulate ourselves.

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Aida Makoto – the Non-Thinker

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The Changing Tokyo Skyline

[See below for updates to this post.] As frequently written on this blog, Tokyo has really got me interested in urban development and architectural history. Two timelapse videos are great examples of why that is. First, look at how Shinjuku’s skyline took shape over the decades:

Just as the vertical skyline is characteristic of central Tokyo, so is the scrap and build cycle. So, let’s take these skyscrapers down after the break! Continue reading

Ichibankan and Nibankan

With Ichibankan (“Building Number One”) and Nibankan (“Building Number Two”), Minoru Takeyama created two postmodernist icons in a part of Shinjuku that is generally known for its sleazy nighttime buzz. Its nondescript buildings usually only come to life at night when they’re illuminated by neon advertising lights. Takeyama’s towers, however, carry some of that “charm” into the daytime.

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Sky Greens Singapore

I have written about vertical farming before on this blog. Hence I was interested when I saw a story on CNN this morning. It profiles a Singaporean venture called “Sky Greens” that has been running innovative city farms for a while. Their farms are a little different than the monstrous ones imagined by mainly concept artists and (possibly weird) scientists. They remain quite small to this date and although the CEO of the company has big plans, they don’t seem megalomaniac.

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Happy New Year

We flew to Okinawa over the new year to escape the (admittedly mild) winter here in Tokyo for a few days. The weather held up to its reputation (we even swam in the ocean!), the beaches were beautiful and the food tasty. Now back in Tokyo, it’s time for me to put up a few pictures of the trip and look back at the first three months of my blogging here.

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American military plane in landing approach Continue reading