Tokyoite

When people first land in Japan, the most common phrase used to describe the experience is: ‘It blew my mind.’ We’ve taken this feeling, analysed it, and broken it down into 100 specific ways that this country will blow you away. Starting with kawaii icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, our list includes things like the receptionist robots at newly opened Hennna Hotel, the crazy new Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku, the bonsai that ‘flew’ to space, and everyday wonders like the pens with erasable ink and the sun visors that sparked a fashion trend on global catwalks. Who ever said culture shock was a bad thing? Words James Hadfield

ART DIRECTOR STEVE NAKAMURA PHOTOGRAPHER YASUNARI KIKUMA STYLING KUMIKO IIJIMA HAIR AND MAKE-UP, MASK PAINT MINAKO SUZUKI

MEET THE ART DIRECTOR Born in 1973 in Los Angeles, California, Steve Nakamura is an art director and designer who has been based in Tokyo since 2001. A graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Steve has created a wide body of work that has profoundly influenced pop culture in Japan and abroad. He has served as art director for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s album covers since her debut, has worked on annual ad campaigns for the iconic department store Laforet Harajuku, and has designed Time Out Tokyo’s magazine covers since issue 2. stevenakamura.com

001 Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

As the Japanese pop culture icon prepares for her October concert in London, we ask her what’s behind those bizarre costumes and cheeky facial expressions. Interview Kunihiro Miki

You’re known for your outlandish costumes. Did you enjoy the wardrobe for this issue’s cover shoot? I’ve done Japanese-themed shoots before, where I wore kimonos or yukatas. But this was my first time doing something that was, I guess, masculine. It’s kind of cool and innovative. Pamyu. When I was introduced on TV as part of Cool Japan, I was the image of Cool Japan. What do you personally Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, while mixing in traditional culture. different at each venue, you truly get to experience what it’s like to perform in another country. I was surprised to see that a lot of the London fans were very punk-ish. Quite a few people had long hair and were wearing punk T-shirts. It was interesting to realise how many of them

What do you wear on your days off? What do you always do before a show? I really like clothes, but I get tired of always wearing bright, I practise greetings in each country’s language. The Asian pop-style clothes, so on my days off I often wear darker languages are especially hard, because if you change the colours. Like black dresses and sporty looks. I think it’s intonation even a little, it can change the meaning. I’m a little different from the public image of Kyary Pamyu not very good at English either, so I want to work on that. aren’t the type of people who are into cute things. You’re known for your poses and facial Of all the phrases that have been used expressions. What are you feeling when to describe you in overseas media, you make these? which one resonated with you the most? I like dark I sometimes make a cute pose when I’m wearing cute outfits, but to really Oh, I wonder… Maybe when they say ‘Japanese pop icon Kyary’. That is something I always wanted to achieve, stories... things with show off my personality, I also make funny or mischievous faces. I don’t always know if those bits will get used, though so when people from other countries say it, it makes me happy. heartless relationships, [laughs]. Your music videos also contain some Do you come across misleading clichés about Japan in the Western stalkers... darker elements. What are these inspired by? media? My apartment has a lot of pink, cute things Yes, I get asked a lot of strange questions during in it, but the manga I have on my shelves are things like interviews. In terms of fashion, they always ask me about ‘Himizu’ and ‘Ushijima the Loan Shark’. I like dark stories designers, which is something that hardly ever comes up [laughs]. It’s the same for movies; I like things with in Japan. heartless relationships, stalkers, that kind of thing. I try Any surprises in the overseas reports on you? concerts, too. really surprised. My image of Cool Japan was mainly Are you influenced by any Western musicians or pop anime, food or culture, promoted politically, and so I stars? didn’t imagine music or artists would be considered I’ve always been a huge fan of Katy Perry. Lately, I’ve been part of that. listening to a lot of Meghan Trainor. Most of her songs I would think that including you actually improved have a retro feel. Her music videos are also super cute. think is cool about Japan? Are you interested in Japanese idols from the ’80s I think traditional Japanese culture is cool. Like with and ’90s? today’s shoot, I was shown pictures of Children’s Day Kyoko Koizumi is super enchanting. I met her once and dolls as inspiration, and I thought those gallant young she mentioned how she was sick of the logic that idols boys in dignified poses were really beautiful. And there’s had to be cute and fluffy all the time, so she chopped her the Girls’ Festival (Hinamatsuri) too. So depending on the hair into a boyish look – that ushered in a new craze and occasion there are parts of tradition that are beautiful the ‘Kyoko Koizumi look’ became a thing. I like the idea and have elements of fashion. I want to incorporate these that something that starts out from your frustration can things into my outfits. I want to display my identity as turn into a success. to put some of that darkness into my music videos and are about being true to yourself. I also like how the tunes You also have this aspect of seeming like a cute You’re performing at Roundhouse in London in pop idol at first, but in fact you’ve carved out a October. Previously you played at Shepherd’s Bush unique aesthetic. Do you plan to develop a different Empire and 02 Academy Brixton. What’s it like to persona going forward? perform at such historic venues that are unlike I’ll be 23 soon, and up to now most of my work has anything found in Japan? focused on the cute aspect of things, so I want to explore It’s absolutely nothing like in Japan. It feels almost something more edgy. I definitely want to develop a like being in a church and since the atmosphere is so new side.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

002 THE ROBOTS ARE TAKING OVER (AND IT’S KINDA COOL) Making good on its ‘country of the future’ reputation, Japan has been stealthily repopulating its service industry with automatons. At the newly opened Henn-na Hotel (www.h-n-h.jp/en) in Nagasaki’s Huis Ten Bosch theme park, the receptionists and porters are all robots. The venerable Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo made headlines earlier this year when it put a kimono-clad humanoid on the front desk for a couple of days. Things are going cybernetic on the home front, too. In June, SoftBank started selling the world’s first personal robot, Pepper, a cutesy droid that can read people’s emotions (www.softbank.jp/robot/ special/pepper). Despite costing ¥198,000, the first batch of 1,000 sold out in a minute. And there’s more to come: Suzumo Machinery has even developed a line of sushi-making robots.

003 INTERCITY TRAVEL HAPPENS AT BULLET SPEED The world’s first high-speed rail service, the Shinkansen (aka ‘bullet train’) is still one of its best, with a network extending from Kagoshima in southern Kyushu to Aomori in the north. The only thing more impressive than its operating speed (up to 320km/h) is the time it takes station staff to clean an entire train: just seven minutes. Expect things to get considerably faster when a new maglev line linking Tokyo and Nagoya opens in 2027. In test runs in April 2015, the train set a world speed record of 603km/h.

004 3D TECHNOLOGY IS GETTING MIND-BENDING From ceramics to prosthetics, Japanese businesses are making inventive uses of 3D printing technology. One of the most impressive developments comes from scientists at the University of Tokyo Hospital, who are working on a bio-printer that uses stem cells and a collagen-like substance to make artificial implants. Need a new ear? Meanwhile, imaging experts are muddying the divide between the physical and virtual realms: Japanese researchers recently unveiled a 3D hologram that you can actually touch.

005 EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the Internet of Things – where everyday objects embedded with electronic devices can communicate with each other – but few countries have done as much legwork as Japan. Aided by some of the fastest Internet speeds in the world, the country has spent the past decade networking everything from infrastructure to vending machines, household appliances and umbrella stands (no, really). The market was valued at ¥11 trillion in 2013 – and that’s predicted to double by 2018. Buckle up.

006 WE’VE GOT THE FOOD (AND FUEL) OF TOMORROW You need a microscope to see it, but a microalgae being commercially cultivated in Japan may be the

answer to two of the world’s most pressing problems. Hotly fancied start-up Euglena is pitching the eponymous single-celled organism as a nutrition-rich dietary supplement that could solve world food shortages – and as a viable biofuel, too. 007 THE BEAUTY PRODUCTS ARE NEXT LEVEL Overseas fashion magazines are just waking up to the wonderful world of Japanese cosmetics, turning beauty products such as Cure Natural Aqua Gel and DHC Deep Cleansing Oil into must-have items. It’s hard not to love the novel treatments and preference for natural ingredients here. And with so many pharmacies around, prices stay competitive, too.

008 THERE’S A GROOVIER WAY TO PLAY YOUR RECORDS Why mess with a classic? 35 years ago, Tamco released the Sound Wagon, a toy VW camper van that plays records by driving over the grooves. DJ gear specialists Stokyo just unveiled an updated version, the Record Runner, which offers better sound quality than the original, without sacrificing an iota of cuteness. 009 YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE ‘ECO’ Japan’s automakers have been a driving force (sorry) in developing fuel-efficient hybrid cars and electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf. But you’ll find all kinds of eco-friendly products here, from Panasonic’s energy-saving intelligent air conditioners to PET bottles that are made from other recycled PET bottles.

010 SELFIES? BEEN THERE ALREADY Long before selfie sticks became the accessory of choice for teen narcissists, Japanese youngsters had purikura: photo booths where you can pose with friends, then decorate the pictures and print them as stickers. Oh, and spare a thought for Hiroshi Ueda, a Minolta engineer who patented a commercially unsuccessful selfie stick way back in 1983.

011 THE HIGH-RISES KEEP RISING Improvements in anti-seismic technology are allowing Japanese developers to be ever more ambitious. Tokyo is in the grip of a skyscraper boom that’s transforming the city’s skyline, while Osaka boasts the tallest building in the country, the 300-metre Abeno Harukas. And don’t forget Tokyo Skytree: at 634 metres, the tallest tower in the world.

012 THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Given that fares have barely changed since the early 1990s, you’d think that Japan’s public transport system would be suffering from benign neglect. Think again: rail companies are constantly upgrading their rolling stock and investing in large-scale redevelopment projects, while bus operators are taking pains to make their services more accessible to foreign tourists. 013 THE GAMING INDUSTRY IS STILL BOOMING Japan may have given the world many of its greatest videogame consoles, but these days most of the gaming action has gone mobile. Ludicrously popular smartphone game ‘Monster Strike’ – produced by social media company Mixi – is currently raking in ¥500 million every day, while rivals ‘Puzzle & Dragons’ and ‘Tsum Tsum’ aren’t far behind. Still, it’s too soon to call time on the traditional console makers: worldwide sales of Sony’s PlayStation 4 passed the 25 million mark earlier this year, taking even the company’s executives by surprise.

014 EVEN THE APPS ARE CUTE Making sure even your smartphone can get the kawaii treatment, CocoPPa is an app that lets you customise your phone’s wallpaper and icons (even for standards like Facebook and YouTube), choosing from over a million designs. With 40 million downloads and counting since 2012, this is one of Japan’s most successful apps ever.

015 YOU CAN DRIVE THE CAR OF THE FUTURE It may bear a passing resemblance to the bubble cars that Messerschmitt churned out in the ’50s, but don’t be fooled: one day, the Toyota i-Road (below) could be the automobile of choice for city dwellers. Powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, this compact, car-motorbike hybrid is both eco-friendly and easy to park. If you need something smaller, try Honda’s Uni-Cub, a personal mobility device that ‘USA Today’ compared to ‘a bar stool on wheels’, or Cocoa Motors’ WalkCar, a moving platform that’s dinky enough to fit in a briefcase.

STUFF THAT MAKES LIFE BETTER…

016 Toto washlet Once you’ve experienced a heated toilet seat, there’s no going back. The Toto Washlet elevates the act of excretion to wondrous heights, complete with built-in bidet, blowdryer and an automated seat that rises to greet you.

017 Rechargeable IC cards Not just a convenient way to pay your train fare: you can use them at convenience stores and vending machines too. What’s more, a Suica or Pasmo card bought in Tokyo is compatible nationwide.

018 Sci-fi stationery Rather than lament the death of handwriting, Japan’s stationery makers continue to innovate. Pilot’s FriXion pens use heat-sensitive ink that you can actually erase, while Kokuyo’s Harinacs is a stapler without the staples. Brilliant.

019 Stackable parking Space is at such a premium in Japan’s major cities that around 540,000 car parks nationwide have gone vertical, using lifts and conveyor belts to stack vehicles on top of each other.

FOOD AND DRINK

020 YOU CAN COOK WHILE YOU EAT Diners who like to take a more active role in the preparation of their meals are glutted for choice here. Okonomiyaki (right), shabu-shabu, yakiniku: there’s a plethora of restaurants that let you cook your own food. At the Zauo chain of fish restaurants, you can even catch your dinner before eating it.

021 IT’S A NATION OF PERFECTIONISTS ‘I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit,’ says octogenarian sushi master Jiro Ono in 2011 documentary ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’. ‘There is always a yearning to achieve more.’ Perfectionism is hardwired into Japanese cuisine (washoku), and you don’t have to go to Sukiyabashi Jiro, Ono’s Michelin three-star restaurant, to appreciate it. In fact, you don’t even need to eat washoku: from haute cuisine to burger bars and pizzerias, Japanese chefs show an attention to technical mastery and carefully sourced ingredients that leaves many of their Western contemporaries in the dust. There’s a reason why Tokyo has more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.

FLAVOURS WE’RE FAMOUS FOR…

022 Umami: There aren’t many countries in the world that can claim to have birthed an entire taste category, are there? 023 Wasabi: The pungent plant is an essential – and frequently eye-watering – condiment for sushi and other washoku. 024 Sansho: Frequently confused with Sichuan pepper, this spice brings a tonguetingling citrus kick to any dish. 025 Tsukemono: Japanese pickles encompass a rich array of tastes, from refreshing cabbage shiozuke to mouthpuckering umeboshi. 026 Miso: A meal just wouldn’t feel complete without a bowl of soup made from this fermented soybean paste. 027 Shio-koji: When you’re in need of an umami kick, reach for this natural seasoning – like MSG without the drawbacks. 028 THE WHISKY IS BETTER THAN SCOTCH Japanese whisky has been in such demand recently that producers can barely keep up. That’s hardly surprising, when Suntory and Nikka are scooping up international awards, and esteemed critic Jim Murray picked a single malt from Suntory’s Yamazaki distillery as his whisky of the year for 2015. Closer to home, the success of NHK’s TV series ‘Massan’ – based on the life of early whisky pioneer Masataka Taketsuru and his Scottish wife, Rita Cowan – has encouraged a new generation of drinkers to kick out the drams.

029 EVEN THE EXPENSIVE LUNCHES ARE CHEAP Perhaps the best advice you can give to someone on a culinary tour of Japan is: eat out at lunchtime. Discount lunch sets are the norm here, especially on weekdays – and that’s as true at high-end hotel restaurants and sushi shops as at the cheaper eateries frequented by office workers. Even the odd Michelin three-star restaurant is getting in on the act: Aoyama Esaki in Tokyo offers a Saturday-only lunch course for a surprisingly reasonable ¥5,500.

030 EATING AND DRINKING IS THE THING TO DO As your parents might have warned you, drinking on an empty stomach is the fastest ticket to a stinking hangover the morning after. That’s less of a problem in Japan, where drinking sessions tend to take place in izakaya – meaning there’s always plenty of food to help soak up the booze. 031 THERE’S A COFFEE BOOM BREWING The days where visitors struggled to find a good cup of Joe in Japan are long gone. Specialty coffee is booming at the moment, thanks in no small part to the likes of Karuizawa’s Maruyama Coffee and Tokyo’s Nozy Coffee. And the ¥100 coffee on sale at 7-Eleven and other convenience stores? It’s actually pretty drinkable, too.

032 THE SAKE SCENE IS GOING PLACES As the US and UK grow ever thirstier for sake, young Japanese drinkers are also rediscovering the pleasures of premium nihonshu. Following years of slumping sales, sake producers are innovating like wild: adopting eye-catching packaging, embracing new styles like sparkling sake, and reviving old-school techniques such as the kimoto brewing method.

034 THE FAST FOOD IS ACTUALLY GOOD Washoku isn’t all fancy, you know. Over the past decade there’s been a resurgence of interest in heartier, homier fare such as ramen, Japanese-style curry rice, okonomiyaki and donburi rice bowls. Dubbed B-kyu gurume (B-class cuisine) by the locals, it’s the kind of fast food that you won’t feel guilty about eating.

033 WAGASHI WILL REFINE YOUR SWEET TOOTH Sophisticated, seasonal, unlikely to make your teeth rot: there’s a lot to like about wagashi, Japan’s traditional sweets. These elegant morsels evolved as a complement to the tea ceremony, and were crafted in such a way that their shape, colour and flavour would subtly evoke the time of year. Today’s wagashi are just as classy, and forward-thinking sweet shops such as Tokyo’s Higashiya and Yokohama’s Kouro-an are putting a fresh spin on traditional techniques.

035 CRAFT BEER IS ON THE RISE Twenty years after Japan deregulated its beer industry – and after a ‘lost decade’ of fairly awful microbrews – the craft beer scene is in rude health. It’s not all hoppedup IPAs, either: the likes of Baird Brewing, Coedo and Y Market Brewing are using local, seasonal ingredients to make some only-in-Japan beers too.

036 WANT TO TURN YOUR FOOD INTO ART? GO AHEAD You’ll never look at sushi the same way again after encountering the work of Tama-chan. Known to her friends as Takayo Kiyota, the illustrator and sushi artist sculpts multicoloured makizushi rolls to resemble everything from Buddha statues to ukiyo-e prints and Vermeer paintings. Good, wholesome fun, in other words. 037 ONE WORD: ONIGIRI If you want a pocket-sized snack that will keep you going for a few hours, there’s nothing quite like an onigiri (rice ball). Every convenience store offers a wide variety of these nourishing treats, with typical fillings including umeboshi (pickled plums), salmon and mentaiko (seasoned cod roe), wrapped in a layer of nori seaweed.

038 EVEN THE LUNCHBOXES ARE INSPIRED Why settle for a sandwich and a packet of crisps when you can have a well-balanced meal? The bento lunchbox puts most other takeaway options to shame, and there’s a dizzying variety on offer in Japan. Bento artists such as Mari Miyazawa transform their ingredients into cartoon characters, giving new meaning to the phrase ‘playing with your food’. 039 COSINESS IS A VIRTUE Real estate doesn’t come cheap in major Japanese cities, and bar and restaurant owners have adapted by squeezing into every available space. Many of the best spots to eat and drink in cities like Tokyo and Osaka are crammed into locations barely any larger than a student bedsit, resulting in a gloriously intimate experience.

Kawaii Monster Cafe 040 YOU CAN HAVE A THEME PARKWITH YOUR DINNER Like an izakaya and amusement park ride rolled into one, Japan’s theme restaurants offer some of the most bizarre dining experiences imaginable. Whether you want to eat in a zombie-infested prison hospital (that’d be Alcatraz E.R. in Shibuya), have your food served by ninjas (Ninja Akasaka), or spend an evening inside the pages of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ (Alice’s Fantasy Restaurant, which has seven branches nationwide), there’s something to suit most proclivities. The newest – and cutest – addition to the ranks is the just-opened Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku (kawaiimonster.jp), a lysergic, dayglo fantasia created by artist and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu collaborator Sebastian Masuda.

W E D O N ’ T N E E D K A L E . W E ’ V E G O T T H E S E …

041 Matcha Used in traditional tea ceremonies, the antioxidant-rich, powdered green tea is also a popular flavouring in ice creams and desserts.

042 Gobo The long, slender root vegetable, also known as burdock, contains ample antioxidants and is believed to be effective against high blood pressure.

043 Natto They may not look appetising, but these pungent, fermented soybeans are rich in vitamin K2 and probiotics that keep your gut healthy.

044 Goya A staple of Okinawan cuisine, the appropriately named bitter melon is a good source of Vitamin C, and said to lower blood sugar levels.

045 Collagen Japan helped kickstart the trend for ingesting this skin-rejuvenating protein. You can get collagen-infused hotpots, health drinks – even beer.

Tokusen Akebono Crab Leg Meat Foreign team: HHH Japanese team: HHH Who would imagine that this small can could be packed with such authentic crab meat? If you can get past the rather strong aroma, you’ll be impressed by how tender it is. This is like crab meat for royals (it even costs ¥9,800!).

046 EVEN THE CANNED FOOD IS DELICIOUS

There is probably no other nation on earth that loves to put things in cans the way the Japanese do. Besides the staple canned foods like salmon and mackerel, you can buy pretty much anything in tins here – from the kind of top class red king crab you usually only see at luxury restaurants, to roast chicken, volcanic ash, or even air captured at the peak of Mt Fuji.

It’s a mystery when exactly this love affair with canned foods began, but the reason is pretty obvious: the kind we make in Japan is really quite delicious. Here, we introduce you to 10 high-quality examples from Maruha Nichiro Corporation. To make things a little more interesting, we asked both the foreign and local editors at Time Out Tokyo to rate* each one – do you think the flavours will go down equally well? *Star rating is out of three

Sanma Kabayaki Foreign team: HHH Japanese team: HHH Prepared with the popular flavour of ‘kabayaki’ (a sweet and sticky soy-based sauce used for grilling fresh fish), this local sanma (saury) has a genuine barbecue taste that appeals to universal palates.

La Cantine Balsamico Foreign team:HHH Japanese team: HH The charm of this new series lies in their quality sauce and their trendy packaging that goes against the canned-food norm. Out of the different flavours on offer, this one is especially popular for dipping bread.

Tinned Smoked Mackerel Foreign team: HH½ Japanese team: H½ Smoked mackerel is a flavour that’s found worldwide so it was interesting to note the drop in score on this one. The Japanese team in particular found the taste to be a little plain.

Sardines in Ume Sauce Foreign team: H½ Japanese team: HH½ Sardines and ume? Some may find this combo strange, but have faith in the delicate palate of the Japanese and give it a try! The slightly sour taste is highly addictive.

Tokusen Red Salmon Chazuke Foreign team: HH½ Japanese team: HH½ This product superbly mimics the taste of fresh salmon. It’s salty and fatty, so we recommend eating it with rice or toast and salad. Although it didn’t get the top rating, it got the nod from everyone on both teams.

Chicken Ga-Prao from Thailand Foreign team: H½ Japanese team: HH½ This canned food series is themed after Asian cuisine and faithfully reproduces the authentic spicy taste of Thai dishes. Pair it with white rice for maximum enjoyment.

047 YOU CAN GO TO AN ART ISLAND. THREE, IN FACT Since 1992, a sleepy island in the Seto Island Sea has been slowly transforming into a modern art sanctuary, teeming with galleries, site-specific installations and architecture that blends into the landscape. As if Naoshima wasn’t impressive enough, it now has siblings, Teshima and Inujima, with stunning art shrines of their own.

048 REMIXING IS A NATIONAL PASTIME The rise of otaku has made remixing a central part of pop culture. Fanmade dojinshi art concocts new (and lewd) storylines for characters from popular manga, open-source Vocaloid star Hatsune Miku lends her voice to thousands of songs produced by fans, and Nico Nico Douga is awash with the aptly named ‘MAD movies’ – hilarious remixes of TV shows, ads and anime.

049 BIBLIOPHILES ARE IN FOR A FEAST There’s more to Japanese fiction than Haruki Murakami, you know. The literary scene is ripe with talent at the moment, as authors including Hiromi Kawakami, Hideo Furukawa, Risa Wataya, Tomoyuki Hoshino and Yoko Ogawa (all woefully underrepresented in English translation) take the modern novel in new and unexpected directions.

050 ANY MESSAGE CAN BE MANGA-FIED In a nation raised on comics, it’s only natural that manga would end up being used to educate as well as entertain. School textbooks aside, there’s a rich library of informational manga on topics ranging from disaster preparedness to social security reform, making even the dreariest of subjects accessible. 051 BONSAI AIN’T DEAD YET Bonsai, the millenniumold art of cultivating miniature trees, may not seem like the most obvious candidate for a high-tech makeover, but Makoto Azuma has managed just that. The selfdescribed flower artist has been taking bonsai to some unexpected places recently, from fashion shows to an abandoned power plant in Belgium. Most famously, in 2014 he sent a 50-year-old white pine bonsai up into space, as part of his ‘Exbiotanica’ project. 052 THE POP MUSIC IS DELICIOUSLY DIFFERENT With international pop music reaching peak homogeneity – as artists from Sweden to South Korea enlist the same genre styles, songwriters and production techniques to craft songs that sound staggering similar – thank heavens Japan has remembered how to be different. Love ’em or loathe ’em, Oricon chart heavyweights like AKB48, Exile and Arashi couldn’t be mistaken for music from anywhere else. Meanwhile, some mutant strains of J-pop have been finding a well-deserved audience overseas, from Babymetal’s inspired idol-mosh mash-ups to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s kawaii singalongs, Scandal’s chipper pop-rock and Perfume’s 22ndcentury electro-pop.

053 THERE’S A MASCOT FOR EVERYTHING. MAYBE THREE In recent years, a pot-bellied, rosecheeked bear has been giving Hello Kitty and co. a run for their money. But Kumamon is no ordinary cartoon character: he’s an official mascot, originally created in 2010 to promote a new bullet train link to Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Kyushu. Japan is home to thousands of such mascots, known as yuru-kyara, which supply a cute public face to everything from local industries to police forces

and prisons. There are so many, in fact, that the Finance Ministry proposed a nationwide cull last year.

054 VIRTUAL POP STARS ARE ALREADY A REALITY When William Gibson’s ‘Idoru’ came out in 1995, the idea of a holographic pop star still qualified as science fiction. Not any more: in 2014, Hatsune Miku – a bluehaired avatar whose voice is created using vocal synthesiser Vocaloid – opened for Lady Gaga in the States and performed live on ‘Late Show With David Letterman’. For many overseas viewers, it was their first taste of Japan’s hugely popular Vocaloid scene, an alternate-reality J-pop universe where the stars are all virtual.

055 WE’VE GOT THE WORLD’S BEST SECOND-HAND SHOPS The petite size of the average Japanese home makes life difficult for hoarders, but a bonanza for second-hand shoppers. With people constantly shedding their unwanted clobber, there’s never a shortage of products for the nation’s many impeccably stocked recycle shops and vintage clothing emporia – and you can find bargains aplenty.

056 WE’VE GOT THE BEST MUSIC FESTS IN ASIA Though they’re facing increasing competition from events in South Korea and China, Japan’s outdoor music festivals are still the top dogs in the region. Fuji Rock Festival is the closest you’ll get to an Asian version of Glastonbury or Roskilde, while the twin-city Summer Sonic serves up big-name pop and EDM acts at locations within easy striking distance of central Tokyo and Osaka. There’s also a vibrant scene of festivals that specialise in homegrown acts, including Rock in Japan and Rising Sun.

057 ‘MADE IN JAPAN’ IS KEEPING TRADITIONAL ARTS ALIVE Japan has one of the richest artisan cultures in the world, but with many traditional crafts requiring long and demanding apprenticeships, they’ve been at risk of dying out. That’s all starting to change, as an increasing number of fashion and product designers find new uses for age-old techniques. At department stores such as Coredo Muromachi in central Tokyo, there’s an explicit emphasis on ‘Made in Japan’ products, which are updating traditional crafts while shedding some of their fustier associations. Win-win.

058 THE SCARY MONSTERS ARE IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN While Western writers content themselves with endless rehashes of vampire, werewolf and zombie tropes, Japan has a much broader pantheon of spooks and monsters to draw on. Collectively known as yokai, these range from yurei – best represented by Sadako, the vengeful wraith in horror movie ‘Ringu’ – to magical foxes and Akaname, the notorious ‘bathroom licker’. They bring a ghoulish edge to many manga and anime: try current kids’ favourite ‘Yokai Watch’, or Shigeru Mizuki’s classic series ‘GeGeGe no Kitaro’.

059 OBSESSIONS ARE CELEBRATED One of the biggest shifts in Japanese pop culture since the early 2000s has been the rise of otaku, the obsessive fans who gorge on anime, videogames and idol pop. But the country was a hotbed of hobbyists long before the otaku went mainstream. Wander around the unashamedly nerdcentric Nakano Broadway mall in Tokyo, and you’ll find shops devoted not just to manga, cosplay and figurines, but also model trains, lucha libre masks, antique dolls and accessories shaped like cats. It’s like nothing is too niche.

060 THE ARCHITECTURE IS WORLD-CLASS It’s no secret that Japan’s architects are among the best in the world; only the United States has produced more winners of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, the industry’s answer to the Nobel. 2014 laureate Shigeru Ban is perhaps the prize’s worthiest winner to date: his pioneering use of paper tubing has allowed him to create temporary structures for disaster survivors in countries including Rwanda, Japan and, most recently, Nepal. While there’s much to admire in the concrete edifices of earlier masters such as Tadao Ando and Kenzo Tange, Ban is crafting a sustainable, humane architecture for the future.

061 ANALOGUE CULTURE IS STILL THRIVING Remember Tower Records? The once-mighty chain of music emporiums is still alive and well in Japan. Digital media may be booming, but consumers haven’t lost their love for the analogue here, whether it’s magazines, books or vinyl. Bibliophiles are advised to start at the expansive Daikanyama T-Site, a shrine to print media, while crate diggers should head to one of the many branches of Disk Union.

063 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS Japan has a well-deserved reputation for attention to detail, and that extends to life’s unmentionables, too. The greater Tokyo area has over 50 branches of Takarajima 24, an internet café specifically geared to customers who want to watch porn (they even give you a condom when you check in). And then there’s Tenga, the ‘Apple of adult goods’, whose stylish masturbation aids and luxury vibrators have picked up Red Dot Awards for their sophisticated product design.

Sticklers for detail will be in heaven here. Pay close attention, and you’ll discover thoughtful touches in some unexpected places, from the localised designs adorning manhole covers to the station-specific melodies that play when train doors are closing. Even humdrum packaging isn’t spared – witness the fish-shaped soy sauce bottles

WE’RE STILL INSPIRING FASHION TRENDS

062 THERE’S A SOLUTION FOR EVERYTHING – EVEN YOU-KNOWWHAT included in bento boxes. 064 THE REVOLUTIONARY BRIEFS Wondering what this sexy golden pair of men’s briefs is doing on the list? Well, it’s made by local brand TOOT, which is credited with revolutionising the way Japanese men view their underwear. Since the brand’s launch in 2001, its premium fabrics, artisanship and styles have by all accounts turned men onto the value of expressing their individuality through their underpants.

065 KARAOKE KEEPS ON GETTING BETTER Even people who profess an abject hatred of karaoke may be forced to reconsider after a visit to the glitzy Pasela Resorts chain or the lavishly equipped Karaoke Adores in Akihabara, which has booths where aspiring axe gods can practise their guitar licks. The karaoke industry just keeps on moving forward: recent innovations include Joysound Musicpost, which lets users upload songs, and an initiative by NTT to make karaoke machines easier for elderly people and foreigners to use.

066 IT’S A BRAND THING Don’t just take our word for it about how great this place is. Last year, Japan came first in FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index, which rates nations on factors ranging from awareness to whether they evoke positive associations. Beating out Germany and Switzerland to the top spot, the country was ranked particularly highly for its business potential, heritage and culture, and the quality of its products. Can’t argue with that. 067 MOVE OVER, LEVI’S The secret’s out: long championed by obsessive bloggers, Japanese selvedge denim is starting to attract mainstream attention. Okayama-based brands such as Evisu and Momotaro take an oldschool approach to manufacturing, using vintage shuttle looms and natural indigo dyes to produce fabric that’s prized for its distinctive texture, colour and durability. Japan’s artisanal denim is now increasingly in demand, too: UK high street fashion brand Topman recently teamed up with Okayama’s Kurabo Mills to produce a limited-edition range of clothing. ON THE STREET ON THE CATWALK

068 Darth Vader style Sure, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen caused a kerfuffle when they brought the visor back to the catwalk in 2012, but Japanese grannies had been sporting them for years to shield their skin from UV rays. Take that, fashionistas. 069 Kabuki chic New York designer Thom Browne went the whole geisha with his Spring 2016 menswear collection, featuring kimono suits and geta clogs. This high-fashion tribute to Japan makes a lot of sense: the country is Browne’s biggest market. 070 Origami all around Fashion designers including Calvin Klein and Gareth Pugh have found inspiration in the techniques and motifs of origami, but recently it’s been turning up in furniture too, from Julie Walbel’s ‘cone’ seats to Tracey Tubb’s folded wallpaper. 071 Foot wrapping Searching for a follow-up to its minimalist FiveFingers shoe, Italian footwear brand Vibram turned to the traditional wrapping cloth known as furoshiki. The company’s namesake shoe is a gripped outsole that wraps around the wearer’s foot. Nifty.

072 JAPANIMATION!

Introducing the studio that’s paving the way for a new kind of digital animation in Japan. Words Dai Yoshida

When people imagine what it’s like to comfortable environment. ‘The turnover rate is work at a Japanese animation studio, high [in this business]. This is because of long they usually visualise piles of drawings working hours and low wages; I want to improve stacked up high and a group of exhausted-looking this first.’ Uda has also had to find a solution to creatives who’ve been working steadily with little make up for lack of funding, so he branched out pay or sleep. Studio Colorido, however, is bucking into digital animation. the overworked-underpaid industry trend, and its office space looks more like an THE DIGITAL FUTURE orderly IT startup with a bright future. At Colorido, one of the youngest and

The company, which is set in the most talented employees is Yojiro regenerated Tokyo Bay district of Tennozu Isle, is an up-and-coming animation studio founded by At just 26 years Arai. At just 26 years old, he directed the anime ‘Taifu no Noruda’, which debuted in June this year. Arai began Hideo Uda. A former corporate planning manager of a largescale electronics manufacturer, old, Arai directed his career as an animator at Studio Ghibli. But even though he was working for one of the most revered Uda gained experience in the animation industry by working on Gonzo’s ‘Saikano’ and Khara’s ‘Taifu no Noruda’ animation studios in the world, he felt the need to find an outlet for his overflowing creativity. ‘There were ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’. After things I wanted to do, and in such an experiencing first-hand the harsh working already perfected environment I felt constrained.’ conditions, Uda vowed to open a studio of his Around the same time, Hiroyasu Ishida, own where employees could work in a more known for the independent animation ‘Fumiko’s Confession’, reached out to him. Ishida works for Colorido and invited Arai to the studio. ‘Colorido has extensive digital animation know-how, much of it brought in by Ishida. In a way, he is my rival, but I respect him,’ says Arai.

Colorido is indeed committed to digital animation. By using liquid crystal pen tablets, they are able to maintain the hand-painted style of traditional Japanese animation while greatly reducing the workload. This has a huge impact on the workplace.

Kentaro Kurisaki, who is in charge of checking the final videos, says, ‘One of the features that allows us to be very thorough when it comes to movement is the ability to preview and play back freshly completed work. However, the biggest change that this technology has brought about is the communication between the staff.’ Within a traditional Japanese animation studio, work flow is usually as follows: the chief animator first draws the original beginning, middle and end point of motion. Then the head video animator draws the parts in the middle to make the motion smooth.

OTHER ANIME BY STUDIO COLORIDO

‘Taifu no Noruda’ (left, above and right) Released in June 2015, this is Yojiro Arai’s debut as an anime director. The film is set at a school in Japan where students must wait for a typhoon to pass. Two friends have been arguing when they meet a mystery girl called Noruda and must figure out her connection to the storm. Notable scenes that show off the excellent animation include the two boys running and the depiction of the swirling typhoon standing in Noruda’s way.

While this system is very efficient, the downside is that it’s very similar to an assembly line; animators find it hard to imagine what their drawn portion will look like when complete. The answer to this problem is communicating through a digital animation system. ‘For each section of work, we share and check what the finished product will look like through a movie on the display. Every animator will then have a clear picture of what they need to do before starting work. The digital tools are also helpful when passing on one’s work to colleagues,’ says Kurisaki.

‘Taifu no Noruda’ is full of these digital animation techniques. Despite being only 26 minutes long, it has a total of around 18,000 frames. When you realise that the average 30-minute-or-so anime tops out at around 10,000 frames, you get a sense of just how much extra animation they were able to fit in.

Arai describes the film: ‘It’s a story about two boys who get in a fight and then make up. We want the viewers to get a deep sense of their relationship. We worked hard on the motion, the rain, the wind, and other parts of nature.’

Kurisaki, on the other hand, says that he wants viewers to pay attention to scenes featuring a Colorido speciality: camera mapping. 3D models are pasted onto the background and technology is used to make the characters move around on this background, satisfying fans of both hand-drawn and CG animation. Why is this important? Because while Disney and Pixar have built up a reputation for their 3D animation, Japan’s industry has preferred to stick to the old-fashioned hand-drawn style. There is a certain charm to this style that doesn’t exist in 3D. And while Colorido doesn’t intend to entirely abandon this traditional style, they are definitely paving the way for innovative techniques and technologies that just might lower resistance to 3D anime in Japan. Watch this animated space. Hinata no Aoshigure (2013) Directed by Hiroyasu Ishida, this is the tale of elementary school student Hinata, who secretly falls in love with his classmate, Shigure. One day, the shy and reserved Shigure, unable to make conversation with her peers, transfers to another school. Hinata, desperate to express his feelings for Shigure, sets out to find her.

Marukome CM (2015) A series of commercials for miso and food manufacturer Marukome. The commercials are titled ‘Mother and Son’, ‘Working Away’ and ‘Supper’, with the first one telling the story about the family bonds of parents and children living far away from each other. ‘Mother and Son’ was directed by Yojiro Arai.

Fastening Days (2014) This commercial was created for the world’s largest zipper manufacturer YKK, and has been aired multiple times abroad. The protagonists are a boy and girl who live in a city in the near future, and the ending theme of the ad is sung by famous Japanese band Perfume.

074 CITY LIFE IS OUTRAGEOUSLY CONVENIENT Japan has over 50,000 convenience stores nationwide, most of them absurdly well stocked, with facilities ranging from ATMs and photocopiers to public toilets and dry cleaning services. More impressive still is the tally of vending machines: over five million, or one for every 25 people. 075 THERE ARE NO RAIL STRIKES Technical expertise and careful management aren’t the only things that make Japan’s public transport system so reliable. Thanks to a variety of factors, from the waning influence of unions to an ingrained customer service mentality, there hasn’t been a major rail strike in the country since 1992. 076 HOME DELIVERIES ACTUALLY ARRIVE WHEN YOU WANT THEM TO There’s no need to spend a whole day waiting at home for a package 073 WE TAKE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL ‘O-mo-te-na-shi.’ Speaking before the International Olympic Committee in 2013, in support of Tokyo’s winning bid to host the 2020 Games, bid ambassador Christel Takigawa stressed the importance of Japanese-style hospitality. And if the way she pronounced the word – pausing between each syllable for emphasis – prompted a few giggles at home, the message rang true. Meticulous, deferential and disarmingly polite, customer service in Japan can be a wonder to behold, and that’s not just true of the luxury ryokan (traditional inns) and Ginza department stores. Even the shop assistants in Uniqlo take their omotenashi very seriously indeed.

to arrive. Offering the convenience of a courier service without the ruinous expense, Japanese home delivery companies let customers choose exactly when they want a parcel to turn up – and even let them pay cash-on-delivery. 077 PEOPLE ARE REALLY, REALLY GOOD AT QUEUING When Blue Bottle Coffee opened in Tokyo in February 2015, customers queued up to three hours just to get a cup. Waiting in line is a national pastime in Japan, and it’s been refined to a high art: passengers form orderly queues on station platforms, and you hardly ever have to worry about people cutting in. 079 THE LOCAL HIGH STREETS ARE STILL GOING STRONG While big-box stores dominate the retail landscape in rural Japan, city dwellers still do much of their shopping in their neighbourhood shotengai. These old-school arcades can be found throughout the larger cities, and while some

078 THERE ARE LIVELY TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS HAPPENING YEAR-ROUND Age-old traditions are kept vividly alive at Japan’s matsuri, the boisterous street festivals that erupt throughout the year. There are few more inspiring spectacles than watching local residents don traditional garb and haul heavy portable shrines through the streets, to the accompaniment of taiko drumming and lots of sake. are faring better than others, they’re always interesting, packed full of small eateries, family-run businesses and lots of local flavour.

080 YOU CAN DRINK ANYWHERE, ANYTIME On the corner, in the park, riding the train: there are no restrictions on public drinking in Japan, meaning you can hit the bottle wherever you like. With alcohol on sale 24/7 at many convenience stores, as well as a plethora of late-night bars and izakaya keeping the liquor flowing, you can drink whenever you like, too.

F L O O R C U L T U R E R O C K S

081 Tatami Fashioned from tightly woven rice straw, tatami mats have been the flooring of choice in Japanese homes for centuries. It absorbs carbon dioxide, regulates humidity, and is comfortable enough to sleep on.

082 Futon Speaking of sleeping on the floor: futons are the perfect complement for a tatami room. Firmer than the average Western mattress, they’re also easy to fold up and stow away, meaning you can use a single room for multiple purposes.

083 Tea ceremony You’d think that a centuries-old ritual devoted to making a cuppa wouldn’t have many modern adherents. In fact, many people continue to study tea ceremony. For the rest of us, it’s a handy introduction to Japanese aesthetics.

084 Kotatsu Winter is the best time of year to appreciate Japan’s floor culture. Homes tend not to have central heating, so families snuggle around a kotatsu, a squat table with an electric heater built into its belly. It makes every evening feel like a slumber party.

085 No shoes Some Japanese customs seem odd. Others, like the tradition of removing your shoes on entering a home, don’t brook any argument. The habit is so ingrained that you’ll even see children slip their shoes off before standing on the seats of trains.

086 ALL-YOU-CAN-DRINK IS ACTUALLY A THING In a binge-drinking nation like the UK, any establishment offering free-flowing drinks at budget prices would probably go out of business within the week. In Japan, cheap nomihodai (all-you-can-drink) deals are standard at a lot of izakaya and karaoke boxes – and if you’re an even moderate drinker, they can be an absolute steal.

087 YOU DON’T HAVE TO TIP – EVER While restaurants in the US are only just starting to experiment with enforcing no-tipping policies, Japan is already way ahead of the curve. Waiters, taxi drivers, hotel porters: you don’t have to tip any of them, and they’ll actively rebuff you if you so much as try. Haggling is rare, too: what you see is what you get. 088 LOST-AND-FOUND ACTUALLY WORKS When you lose something here, there’s a good chance that you’ll actually get it back. It’s easy for people to turn in lost items at the nearest police box (koban), and they tend not to pilfer the contents first. Last year, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department Lost & Found Center processed nearly ¥3.5 billion in cash that had been turned in by the public, three quarters of which made it back to the original owners.

089 THE FIREWORKS WILL MAKE YOUR JAW DROP Think you’ve seen some impressive fireworks in your time? Wait until you witness the bombastic displays that happen throughout Japan during the summer months: the largest events, like the Suwa Lake Fireworks Festival in Nagano Prefecture, use a staggering 40,000 fireworks. 090 IT’S THE BIRTHPLACE OF EMOJI A staple of every smartphone, the cute ideograms known as emoji were originally created by NTT Docomo employee Shigetaka Kurita, who drew on manga and kanji characters for inspiration. Instant messaging app Line takes the idea even further with its vast (and mildly insane) library of stickers. 091 A TRIP TO A HAIR SALON IS A TRIP TO PARADISE Wander past many Japanese hair salons and you’ll see the staff practising late into the night. As if their precision hairdressing techniques weren’t enough, salons habitually shower customers with perks, from complimentary drinks to free ear cleaning and head and shoulder massages. 092 THE GARDENS ARE EXQUISITE Many have tried, but nobody does Zen shrubbery quite like Japan’s gardeners. You can still find beautiful traditional gardens in the middle of major cities, where they provide a serene – and slightly surreal – oasis amidst the din of modernity.

093 IT’S A NATION OF CYCLISTS From schoolchildren to salarymen, young parents to pensioners, everyone seems to cycle here. There are an estimated 72 million bicycles in Japan, and 14 percent of all journeys in Tokyo are made by bike. Only a handful of countries in northern Europe boast higher usage rates. 094 YOU WON’T MIND MINDING YOUR MANNERS If you’re going to tell someone how to act, you might as well do it imaginatively. For decades, Tokyo Metro’s subway manner posters have been using smart, witty designs to encourage people to behave a little better towards each other. What’s not to like?

095 THE FLYERS ARE ACTUALLY HANDY Most people aren’t interested in being given leaflets, so Japanese companies started bundling their flyers with stuff that people did want. Tissues are the most popular option, and in the summer you can snag a complimentary uchiwa fan outside most stations. 096 THERE’S A CHARACTER FOR EVERY YEAR Each December, the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society unveils the character that best represents the passing year. Unlike the ‘Word of the Year’ tradition in countries like Germany and Norway, it’s less focused on buzzwords – and, crucially, the public gets to do the voting. 097 DEPARTMENT STORES: RETAIL HEAVEN For a taste of retail paradise, go to a Japanese department store when the doors open in the morning, and watch in awe as the staff line up to greet customers with a bow. In a country where shopping is akin to religion, department stores are the high temples. 098 YOU CAN FIND A NICHE FOR (NEARLY) EVERYTHING Restaurants that specialise in a single dish, shops that specialise in a single product, bars that specialise in a single type of drink: none are considered remotely unusual in Japan. It’s all just a question of finding your niche. 099 A CAT CAN SAVE A COMPANY Faced with closure, a lossmaking railway line in Wakayama Prefecture revived its fortunes in an unusual way: by appointing a stray cat as a stationmaster. Though Tama-chan passed away earlier this year, her popularity helped restore Wakayama Electric Railway to profitability – and she now has a successor, Nitama (Tama the Second).

100 THE PUBLIC BATHING CULTURE IS OH SO REFRESHING For a nation with a reputation of being a bit uptight, Japan is awfully blasé when it comes to getting naked with strangers. Whether you’re taking a dip at an onsen (hot-spring) resort or a neighbourhood sento (public bath), you’ll have to leave your inhibitions where you left your clothes: in the changing room. The bathing culture can take a while to get used to, but it’s worth persevering. Thermal onsen waters have a range of therapeutic effects, while a trip to the sento can be a fascinating social experience. The practice of washing before you get in the bath is something that more Westerners might learn to emulate, too.

10 THINGS G-SHOCK MT-G DOES BETTER The multitasking Casio watch just got even smarter

LOCAL INSIGHT

MT-G GPS HYBRID

MTG-G1000D-1A2 ¥160,000 (excl tax)

1Determines local time, even in the middle of the desert Casio developed the world’s first hybrid system that combines GPS satellite radio waves with standard radio waves. This means that even Whether you’re on a long-haul

when you’re in areas with poor reception, it’s still possible to determine local time accurately. It’s 3pm already? Stop the caravan, 4 Sheds light

it’s tea time! 5 Switches

3Maintains its core strength flight and the lights are out, or you’re off on an adventure and waiting to see the aurora in pitch darkness, you’ll still be able to tell the time with MT-G. Its dial is illuminated with a high-intensity LED, ensuring clear visibility at all times. 7 Stays loyal for life Featuring a layer of fine resin panels that are smooth to the touch and have low thermal conductivity, the solid stainless steel band is light and comfortable to wear. It also ensures less wear and tear than conventional urethane bands, so you know you can depend on this timepiece for years to come.

8Keeps you on time, no The hassle of figuring out time-zone differences is no more. MT-G has the ability to display the time in two different cities on one watch face, so no matter where you are in the world, you’ll be able to instantly compare the local time with the time back home. Even when distracted by a dazzling Himalayan night sky, a simple glance at your watch will remind you that it’s time to make that goodnight call to your family.

G-SHOCK STORE MARUNOUCHI 3F Kitte Marunouchi, 2-7-2

Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 03 3217 2026

Mon-Sat 11am-9pm, Sun & hols 11am-8pm 9 Combines delicacy and toughness How does the MT-G mix functionality with elegance? The trick is in combining an extremely robust scratch-resistant titanium body with a highly specialised and elegant textured polishing technique, which only a handful of experts in Japan

2Resists all kinds of shock The G-SHOCK MT-G boasts a shock resistance so great that even daredevil pilots swear by it. What’s the secret? The Triple G Resist function, which can withstand powerful gravitational forces and violent vibrations.

between cities at the touch of a button Who says multifunctional watches are difficult to operate? With MT-G, you can switch between home time and local time at the touch of a button. There’s no need to carry that thick user manual around. matter what zone you’re in practise.

10 Employs Japanese manufacturing techniques From design to parts manufacturing and even assembly, Casio performs virtually the entire watch-making process at its own factory in Yamagata, Japan. The brand’s highend product lines, including MT-G, are Casio masterpieces, issued from premium production lines with personal workmanship, assimilating artisanal craftsmanship with LSI

Where to buy your G-SHOCK MT-G watch

What really sets MT-G apart is its Core Guard Structure, which guards the watch’s resin core with metal frames secured with screws cushioned by Alpha GEL. It’s this gel that makes the Triple G Resist function so effective as it absorbs external vibrations.

6Beats the glare

MT-G’s face is protected by sapphire crystal mineral glass with an antiglare coating, ensuring you’re never affected by the sun’s reflection when trying to read your watch. technology. G-SHOCK STORE ODAIBA 3F Aquacity Odaiba, 1-7-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 03 3599 2251 Daily 11am-9pm