The wonders of Japanese design

The Crystal Tower OsakaI just returned from two weeks in Japan and once again was reminded by the wonders of Japanese design

The recent training I ran in Osaka was in a building called “The Crystal Tower” which looks like something out of the movie “Blade Runner” It’s my favorite building in Japan, possibly in the world!  To date I have run two trainings there and of course it looks absolutely amazing from the outside! This is one of many great examples of great Japanese design and this building sits alongside the ancient Osaka castle, an example of old and new in perfect harmony.

This was my tenth visit to Japan in recent years and I have come to the conclusion that Japanese design is the best in the world! Everything from buildings to packaging look absolutely fantastic and quite different to anything else on planet Earth.  There’s a level of attention to detail that is rare in my experience and of course the “bullet train” mode of transport makes out own rail system in the UK look like something out of the stone age!

Each year I travel extensively around the globe and am lucky enough to visit all kinds of cities from Oslo to New York to London and everything in between. Each city has a particular feel and look to it and of course Manhattan also remains a definite favorite.

The wonders of Japanese design also extend to musical instrument creation and I have been lucky to come across Takahiro Shimo who builds the most amazing ukuleles and guitars. He is a master luthier and his instruments are literally like no others. There is also a two year waiting list for any requests, a sure sign for a world class builder! Below is one of the best examples of his instrument build, the Comet 3 Shimo ukulele. Not only does it look amazing, but it plays like nothing else I have come across!

shimo comet 3

I look forward to many more visits to Japan and taking many more photos on my brilliant Fuji X Pro 2 camera, which you’ve guessed is also made in Japan!

 

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