A Very Special Watermelon

This is not trick photography. This really is a heart-shaped watermelon. Abby and I found it prominently displayed at that specialty fruit shop in Tokyo Midtown. Raised in Chiba Prefecture, this melon comes with an impressive price tag. At a whopping Y31,500 (or about $350 dollars), I doubt it is going anywhere fast.



The square melon on sale at the supermarket nearby is pedestrian by comparison.

Sunglasses Week

I totally get it. Eve: thank you for spotting and shooting this gem of a sign in Shibuya.

Potatong!

Potatong! Combining 'potato' and 'tong' into one tidy word, this is one of the silliest Japanese inventions that I have encountered in a long time. Shaped like chopsticks, these plastic tongs enable the removal of a single chip from its bag without getting grease on the fingers. It is hard to imagine that someone spent their working hours creating such a device. Manufactured by Suncraft, a Gifu Prefecture company that fabricates spoons, spatulas and other plastic kitchen tools, these tongs are not a joke.



I chanced upon Potatong at the Interiors and Life Style Fair. When I expressed incredulity, the sales representative presented a selection of colors and offered me a set of tongs to take home and try for myself. I must say that all of the colors were nice and vivid -- any of them would be a perfect compliment to a pale slice of deep-fried potato. The ridged tips designed to eliminate accidental chip droppings are another nice feature. Since we are not really chip consumers, we are not likely to test out our tongs anytime soon. In the meantime, Potatong will enjoy a place of honor amid the collection of designed goods that is growing steadily around the periphery of my desk.

Shigeru Ban's Partitions

Shigeru Ban is a remarkable architect. A very accomplished designer, he has authored the so-called Swatch Building in Tokyo, the Pompidou Center in Metz and the soon-to-finish Metal Shutter Building in New York. However, when disaster strikes, Ban drops everything and heads to the site to see how he can help. Championing the overlooked and the under served, Ban always ferrets out groups of people whose needs are not being met by government initiatives.



After the earthquake and tsunami toppled a good portion of Tohoku, Ban made a beeline for the blighted area and immediately assessed how he could help. Quick to spring into action, he turned his attention to the needs of displaced persons bedding down in gymnasia and other large rooms throughout the region. Though they had shelter and food, there was a palpable dearth of privacy. To ease this problem, Ban resurrected a scheme for partitions made of paper tubes that started out as a project with his students a couple years ago.





Earlier this week, I had the chance to see his paper tube partitions on display at the Interiors and Lifestyle Fair at Tokyo Big Sight. A simple assembly of tubes and tape, each unit is able to encircle an individual space with cloth curtains that provide a modicum of privacy. Ban told me recently that he is about to trot out a summer version made of mosquito netting.
Here is the link to my article about Ban's partitions published by Architectural Record in April: http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2011/04/110421-Ban-Offers-Japan-Aid.asp

Hydrangea Are Here!

I can tell that 2011 is going to be a great year for ajisai or hydrangea. Just take a look at these pictures! Last week I had lunch with a few friends at a cafe inside a very elegant flower shop located between Omotesando and Kotto Dori. Regrettably, I did not note the name of the shop (don't worry -- I know exactly where it is) but I did take a few photos of their potted hydrangeas. I just adore the rich colors and lush blossoms. The girls and I are gearing up for our annual pilgrimage to Toshimaen for the Hydrangea Festival followed by lunch at that sublimely delicious soba shop with the vegetable tempura and grilled sora mame or fava beans.

Coffee Cup Chandelier

This amazing light fixture elevates the lowly coffee cup to chandelier status. If you look closely, you will see that each of its tiered rings is composed entirely of white, Western style cups grouped together by style. Neatly nested together, they take on a completely different persona that is far and above their original lot in life. They probably started out as mundane, mass produced tableware earmarked for hotels and the like. There is something delightful about seeing them out of context, especially since they probably had little visual interest in their previous incarnation. While maintaining a connection to their original function, these iconic forms become geometric objects when aligned on their side. I am fascinated by that change in perception when we view objects in a group and in unexpected circumstances. Did the creator of these cups ever envision that they'd end up on the ceiling ???

Somehow these various cup collections had the good fortune to wind up at Pass the Baton, an unusual consignment store in the bowels of Omotesando Hills. Introduced to me by a design producer I met a few months ago, the shop's mission is to highlight the value of used goods and promote their re-homing with artful, attractive displays and clever juxtapositions. Historically, there has been little market for used anything in Japan, aside from American blue jeans and logo tee shirts. A bi-product of waste recycling has been an increased awareness that someone else's discards could be treasures. Especially among younger consumers.

In some ways Pass the Baton reminds me of the thrift, vintage and antique shops on Chicago's north side that my mother and I liked to frequent together. Yet the atmosphere here is a far cry from those musty places. On the contrary, the shop is well lit, clean as a whistle and the goods are cleverly grouped by theme on big tables in the middle of the shop or built-in shelving along the walls. Unlike at the Tokyo flea markets, there are no cardboard boxes to rifle through or piles of clutter to navigate around. Instead, each piece is labelled with a little information about the seller and marked with a price tag (no bargaining here). Resembling a line of tellers at the bank, a large desk along one side serves as the "passcounter" where sellers bring their no longer needed possessions (the shop posts a list of restrictions on their web site: www.pass-the-baton.com). The owner is asked to tell the story of each item so potential buyers can learn its background -- essential information that documents the previous life of and reaffirms the non-monetary value of each piece. Pass the Baton is the kind of place where I could linger for a long time but happily walk out empty handed.

Bento Box Tools

Since we are on the subject of mother appreciation, now is a good time to talk about bento lunch boxes. A cherished responsibility and privilege, bento box making is taken very, very seriously by moms (and some dads) throughout Japan. Careful compositions of little bits of lots of different foods, each meal-to-go is an edible work of art. I think I missed my calling. Besia in Tsukiyono has a most impressive selection of tools for the bento box maker. Here is a round up of our finds:


Cutters for the creative.



For musical notes made of bologna and dolphins made of cheese.



A cutter that can turn a sausage into an elephant.



A cutter that can turn a sausage into an octopus.



A ring mold for making onigiri rice balls and other fish-shaped delicacies.



A punch for nori seaweed.



Pre-cut nori shapes for the lazy.



Colorful furikake rice garnish.



Plastic pink and green grass to keep everything in its proper place.



Colorful cups for the bits and bobs.



Plastic flowers to prettify.



Scissors and tweezers for fine tuning.