Weekend Trip: Kawaguchiko
Breathe in some fresh air and take it easy on this gorgeous lake at the foot of Mt Fuji
FUMARE LOU-CHAN: the king of feet
“I love Japan more than anything.. except for being stepped on by women.” Take a look at the strange world of Brooklyn native ‘Lou-chan’ who has amassed over 26,000 followers via his highly public foot fetish.
SOICHI TERADA: the ever-smiling pioneer of japanese house music
Soichi Terada is a Japanese electronic music composer known for his drum and bass/jungle styled soundtracks for the Ape Escape video game series and contributions to the development of Japanese House music
TOMIYASU HAYAHISA: four years of human oddity around a ping pong table
Tomiyasu Hayahisa obsessively documented the bizarre actions of Leipzig residents around a ping pong table for 4 years straight
KMAKICI: from plush toy to pop star
The goofy looking plush toy making waves as a social media pop star
TOMO HYAKUTAKE: master of horror
Character designer, makeup artist, mask creator, director and more - Tomo Hyakutake is a tour de force in the Japanese horror scene
SUKEBAN: delinquent girls
In the 1970s, Sukeban wreaked havoc on the streets of Japan armed with razor blades, bamboo swords, chains and their school uniforms
IZUMI MIYAZAKI: modern japanese surrealism
Izumi Miyazaki’s humorous self portraits began on Tumblr and grew into an internationally acclaimed surrealist exploration of self
MONO-HA: the ‘school of things’
Mono-ha was an object based artistic movement that kicked off in the 1960s and had profound impacts on the modern Japanese art scene
KIMIKO NISHIMOTO: Japan’s absurdist obasan
Kimiko Nishimoto is more than just a quirky obasan - she’s an instagram sensation showing that those in their 90’s can still stay relevant in the social media age
BURAIHA: The ‘decadents’ of Japan
Known as the “school of irresponsibility and decadence,” the ragtag Buraiha (無頼派) authors became notorious for their nihilistic attitudes and bohemian lifestyles
MIYUKI-ZOKU: Ginza’s dapper summer of 1964
The Miyuki-zoku youth brought dapper clothes and a sense of flair to Ginza for one hot summer in 1964
A DIGITAL ALTERNATE REALITY: The art of Maruko Hirofumi
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Maruko Hirofumi is a digital artist who took full advantage of the booming digital art wave of the 1980’s to become a master of surreal 3D art that still retains a sense of early computer nostalgia
HOUSE: Japan’s Bizarre Horror Comedy
This hallucinatory comedy-horror film with a cast of amateur actors originally flopped but has gone on to become a cult favorite for horror fans around the globe
PAANTU FESTIVAL (パーントゥ)
A terrifying tradition on Miyako-jima sees 3 men dress as monsters and wander the town smearing mud on anyone and anything they see
NAKI SUMO: The Crying Baby Festival
This bizarre annual festival sees two sumo wrestlers hold a baby in a face off with the first to cry winning a blessing of good health
PROVOKE MAGAZINE (1968-1969)
PROVOKE (プロヴォーク) was an experimental and countercultural Japanese photography zine founded in 1968 with the subtitle “Provocative Materials for Thought”
LES RALLIZES DÉNUDÉS
Les Rallizes Dénudés were a seminal and highly mysterious Japanese psychedelic rock band formed at Kyoto’s Doshisha University in 1967
DOAI EKI: Japan’s creepiest station
The Silent Hill-esque platform at Doai Eki, situated between Gunma and Niigata prefectures, is 70m below the surface and enough to give anyone nightmares
MINAKAMI ONSEN, GUNMA
Minakami is a small town in Gunma famed for having the most beautiful onsen in the Kanto region