The Nakagin Capsule Tower is a retro classic. Built in 1972 and designed by Kisho Kurosawa, the mixed-use residential and office tower comprising 140 small capsules is a rare example of Metabolism Movement architecture.
The Audi Forum Tokyo, aka “The Iceberg”, in Shibuya Ward was designed by Tokyo-based Creative Designers International.
THE WORLD’S TRENDIEST CITY
Teen trends and fashions move like ever-shifting sands in Tokyo. One minute platform shoes are in, the next it is crop tops. One season neon is the new black, and then pink is the new neon; or tie-dye is suddenly in vogue after a month or two of nothing but stripes. The only constants are where the styles are born—the streets of Shibuya and Harajuku.
In Shibuya, in boutique-filled buildings like 109, new youth concepts and trends are unleashed on Tokyo before spreading out across Japan, often out of date in Shibuya by the time the rest of the country has caught on. Along streets like Takeshita-dori in Harajuku it is a similar story, while in Akihabara, an area known for its home electronics stores and anime and manga shops, otaku (geek) teens show off incredible cosplay fashions that can range from dressing up as comic book characters to donning a blood-splattered gothic nurse look.
Other world cities might argue against Tokyo being the “trendiest”, but Tokyo undisputedly has an amazing range and variety of fashions, from cosplay to glitzy and simple but trendy fashions offered by popular brands such as Uniqlo. Fashion-wise, anything can and does go in Tokyo.
No other part of Tokyo is as colorful as Shibuya (page 90) on Halloween.
Posing on the street for amateur photographers in Akihabara (page 54).
Some styles, of course, persist. Gyaru (a word derived from “gal”) street fashion, which is characterized by bleached or dyed hair, highly decorated nails and heavy make-up such as dark eyeliner and false eyelashes, has been dominant since it first came to prominence in areas like Shibuya and Harajuku in the 1970s. Yet, even that has branched off into numerous sub-gyaru styles.
You get a real mix of styles in the shops and streets of Shibuya (page 90).
Harajuku (page 84) is the place to check out the latest fashion trends among teens and young adults.
Hime-gyaru, for example, favor a princess look with pink or pastel dresses adorned with lace and bows. The ganguro look that was big in the 1990s and early 2000s brought dark fake tans and outrageously bleached hair to the basic gyaru style, and then warped into the manba and yamanba styles—look out for the same fake tans but with a mix of bleached and neon hair and heavy white make-up above or below the eyes. Confused? Unless you are a teen, you should be.
Some themes last too. Cuteness (kawaii) never seems to go out of fashion, whether reflected in the cuddly character goods and sparkly trinkets high schoolers have hanging from their ubiquitous cell phones or the distinctive mannerisms some seem to affect, be that pouting or raising the pitch of their voice to dog whistle range. Whatever you think of the fashions and styles, you have to tip your hat to Tokyo’s youth for one thing—they are not afraid to express themselves and Tokyo is a much more vibrant and dynamic city for it.
Among the suits and Western-style fashions, traditional clothing like these kimono are still a fairly regular sight. On Coming of Age Day, on the second Monday of January, woman aged 20 celebrate adulthood by wearing kimono like the ones pictured, with a fake fur stole. Some people wear kimono to events such as weddings, while others working in traditional stores or restaurants might wear them to work.
Outside the Louis Vuitton store in Ginza (page 44). No matter how long or deep Japan goes into recession, the high-end fashion brands still remain in demand.
A FOODIE MECCA
From simple ramen to sublime kaiseki-ryori, from kebab trucks to Michelin-starred French cuisine, the breadth and quality of food in Tokyo has made the city a gourmands delight, a city many call the culinary capital of the world.
Lanterns outside a restaurant often highlight the type of food and drink on the menu. This particular place has (left to right) oden, soba, seasonal kushikatsu and shochu.
To put Tokyo’s culinary clout into numbers, there are somewhere near 100,000 licensed eating establishments in Tokyo, the top end of which have garnered more than twice as many Michelin stars as any other city in the world. At last count, Tokyo’s 281 starred restaurants were way ahead of the 70 in Paris and 67 in New York.
Restaurants in Tokyo do not only cover the full range of Japanese cuisines but also European, Chinese, Korean, Southeast Asian and almost everything else.
Fresh sashimi (slices of raw fish).
A street vendor cooks up yakisoba (fried noodles).
Casual yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurants in Yurakucho, a stone’s throw from the plush Ginza district.
To judge Tokyo simply by its plushest restaurants, however, does not do the city and Japan’s culinary heritage justice. Tokyo is the foodie capital of the world, not just for its high end but because of its incredible epicurean depth and breadth, across which chefs from each culinary walk of life tend to share the same level of craftsmanship and dedication, be they focused on perfecting a single broth and noodle combination or creating seasonal delicacies delivered with artistic aplomb and traditional elegance.
Specialization is a defining trait, from affordable restaurants that serve only soba noodles to highly refined establishments where elaborate courses can revolve around a multitude
