sandinista

Whenever I am in Tokyo, there seems to be an odd global synergy where all kinds of events happen at the same time, and there are always lots of gaijin like me in attendance. This trip is not different, there are so many Tenjikais (exhibitions) happening, and Halloween night was especially busy. I started the day off with a trip to Carnival to work on Usa’s bike which he was nice enough to lend me for my whole trip (thanks again bro!).  I bumped into Yohei at Wbase, where the crew was getting heading down to Kyoto Loco for the big messenger race/event.

That evening Shimpei-san from Nike invited me to the Hi-Lo opening, an art show curated by Hiroshi Fujiwara, it was a full-house. I finally got to see some of Jose Parla’s recent work in real life!  I first met Jose in NYC through our mutual friend Ro, and both were in Vancouver a couple years ago for their friend Adam’s wedding – Jose (aka EASE) threw down a couple mean pages in my blackbook, it’s great to see his transition into the world of “fine art.”

The photos don’t do justice, as with all art openings, it’s hard to get some decent shots!  There was a very good representation of current works by a number of great artists:  Damien Hirst, Mark Gonzales, Wolfgang Tillmans, Takeshi Murakami, etc…We went to Nike TDS in Nakameguro for a party afterwards, but didn’t have enough juice to make it to the Claska 5 year anniversary, nor the Wax Poetics Japan launch party.

There are also alot of brands showing for Spring/Summer 2009. I dropped in at our friend’s exhibition to check out the new Nonnative collection.  An impressive selection as usual, their exhibition space was interesting as well, an old warehouse/factory converted into a cafe.  The best part was the huge “Wandering Man” flower installation.  Takayuki designs the garments for Nonnative, he looks tired because he produced over 150 pieces, otsukare!

My friend Taro Mizutani also came through – he is an amazing photographer who worked in Vancouver a couple summers ago to shoot a piece for Huge magazine. I love that he still uses a vintage field camera, I don’t know how he lugs that equipment around.

Tenjikai season also means alot of eating and drinking – well, actually more drinking with a bit of food on the side.  Takeshi took us out for some robata/izakaya, we ordered gindara and I was happy to see this huge filet arrive on our table (in Vancouver, the gindara is usually, what, maybe a tenth the size of this bad boy?)!!!

Cafe A+ by our friend Asuka (see earlier post):  his original steak curry with a side of the best fries in town.

The Sandinista exhibition is just around the corner, and the boys are hard at work shooting the catalog and lookbook for Spring/Early Summer 2009 season.  Sho-kun about 16 feet up at Aoyama studio:

Mori-chan, the hardest working assistant!

Luna Plena exhibition:  the women’s line exhibition has just started, the location is great, right on the Meguro River in Naka-meguro. 

Marico and Mari!

Design Shop is hard to find, located near Nishi-Azabu (as far as I can tell) but is worth the trek.  Featuring the best selection of traditional and modern Japanese design objects with a few Sandanavian pieces thrown in for good measure.  I always stop by at least once, and this time, I was lucky to be here for a Morioka iron works special exhibition.

Yesterday I had a chance to roll around “Downtown” as I know it – that would be Aoyama, Shibuya, and Harajuku.  It was nice to drop by some spots and visit some friendly people: first drop was one of my favorite shops here, Goros.  This is the spot to cop some original and beautiful traditional Navajo Indian silver and leatherworks created by Goro-san (or “Yellow Eagle”).

Mito-san was kind enough to overhaul a couple of my shabby coin cases.  I was hoping to cop a few pieces, but as usual, the stock was very, very depleted.  It was nice to catch up though, it’s been a couple of years. There has been talk of tearing down their building, which is one of the older ones remaining after they’ve torn down entire blocks to make way for Omotesando-Hills.  I am glad that the original shop will remain intact.

I stopped by Carnival on the way back to the office.  Yoppi’s bike shop was the first of several “piste” only shops to open very recently in Tokyo. I have mixed feelings about the trendiness of track bikes. The most important thing, is that kids are riding bikes instead of driving SUVS. Some will hopefully develop a true love for cycling culture, which runs deep and true. Many others, will dump their bikes after a year. It’s already happening, as the ultimate hipsters are now riding 20″ BMX bikes in response to the trend of track bikes.  How silly is that?

I don’t know what you’re going to do with a Cinelli Pista Tandem in Shibuya…but I love it.

On a separate note, this morning I finally got Tenkai-san to pose for a photo. Blessed.

When you are in Tokyo, you better get to know your bentos, here are the three most recent ones:

OK, so I finally made it over to Tokyo and it sure is good to be back.  I haven’t been posting much but will do my best to keep the blog up to date while I’m here for the Spring/Summer 2009 exhibition. Since it’s pretty much all about food, fashion and design here, there will be alot of posts related to said topics. If I’m lucky, the first day always starts with a bento from Tenkai-san. I first met Tenkai about 5 years ago after getting a bout of food poisoning here (it’s rare, but happens).  After a 3 day haitus from solid food following a heavy IV treatment, I was not about to jump back into the heavy ramen rotation.  My friend suggested I try a bento from Tenkai-san:  his food is as good for the body as is it for the soul.  In my opinion, it combines all the best aspects of macrobiotics, veganism, and the 100-mile diet.  It’s based on shojin-ryori (traditional buddhist fare), but geared for the fashionistas of the the Daikanyama shopping district.  Sorry for rambling – short version, eat his food and you will be blessed.

The second piece to fall into place this trip was my transport:  Yohei is an amazing stylist here in Tokyo and he was kind enough to lend me his custom-made Kalavinka track bike for the duration, that is a serious bro move!  Thanks Yohei!

Yohei’s whip is fast and a joy to ride – nasu (eggplant) color scheme, Columbus SLX tubing throughout, fastback seatstays, Campa, Chris King and Phil for all the nerds out there.  The killer detail for me is the ancient bonji script on the underside of the downtube – style is king!

The best part about coming here is catching up with old friends.  I stopped by the TNP studio (Nonnative, Hobo and Transit Magazine – www.nonnative.com) and had a good chat with the boys.

Satoshi and Taiju took me out to Parentesi for a little pizza and pasta lunch, thanks fellas!  We had some sort of tamago (egg) pizza which was original and very tasty!

I also stopped by my boy Asuka’s french cafe in Hiroo for a chat and coffee.  His father runs the upstairs, very posh French restaurant – Petit Point, and Asuka runs the downstairs which is a more casual, cafe style affair.  The whole joint is hung with amazing woodblock prints by Asuka’s grandfather, Fumio Kitaoka – a well known Japanese print artist.  If you are in the area, check it out! http://www.petitpoint.co.jp

Today I finally dropped by the Vendor shop, pretty much the only place I have ever bought gear from when I come to Tokyo.  Fuku-san is the man, say what’s up to him and he will drop mad knowledge on you, this guy knows what’s going on!

I also rode over to Meguro to visit Tsukumo Sports, the workshop of Akio Tanabe, creator of Kalavinka handmade bicycles. I feel blessed to be riding a Kalavinka myself at home in Vancouver, it’s a beauty.  The workshop is a super fun place to visit, especially since Tanabe-san is so welcoming and humble and entertaining all at once.  Fingers crossed, we’ll be doing some sort of Kalavinka-related exhibition at SuperChampion (www.superchampionshop.com), so stay tuned.  Here’s a sneak preview:

My friends Tsuyoshi and Misato invited me to their folks place tonite for my first home sushi party – I couldn’t stop eating the toro sashimi!

The newest addition to their family, North-kun, is the happiest black lab I have ever met (well, is there any other kind?!)  We took him for a long walk around Den-en-chofu before dinner and I was pretty stoked on how well trained he is now.  A handsome fella for sure.