Was walking around Tokyo last night listening to music and took note of the songs I gravitated towards.  In spite of the less-than-inspiring cover art, I really enjoyed listening to this album and particularly enjoyed this standout track.  A very nice soundtrack to the futuristic utopia that is Tokyo.

The Field – From Here We Go Sublime – "Everyday"

[audio:everyday.mp3]

 
Some more wonderfully designed signage from Tokyo.  Most of these were taken in the Harojuku area, a few are from Shibuya.   The type and design of the subway system is incredible, so well thought out.  More to come….

My friend Paul used to live here in Tokyo so yesterday we met up with his friend Ena who showed us around some new parts of the city.  We went to the shopping district in Harojuku then to the temple there.  All sorts of great stuff to look at.  We ended up in Shibuya at this tiny bar that only sat 5 people.  I am not sure of the name of the area, but on some back alley in Shibuya there is a row of these little bars apparently all built very quickly after the war. I have to say Harojuku has been my favorite part of the trip thus far.

The typography in Tokyo is absolutely incredible.  Everywhere you look you’ll find great examples of type usage. The images above are just a random sampling, mostly from the Roppongi Hills area of Azubu-Juban Tokyo. I wish I had more time to take some better shots with film, but I’ve been using my Nikon digital for quick posting.  I will try to get the Lomo out in the coming days, it seems to be the only camera I can get consistently good results with.

Today we hit the Roppongi Hills area of Azubu-Juban in Tokyo.  There’s a great contemporary art museum there and the Mori Tower which has an excellent view of the city from the top floor.  There were all sorts of great examples of design and also the weirdest pair of pants ever made available for sale (see above). We had lunch at "Freshness Burger", a spot my friend Paul recommended. It definitely lived up to the hype, try to get there if you’re ever in Tokyo. 

Great poster from Pink Ponk’s Flickr via FFFFOUND. Sadly I myself won’t be doing much skiing this season though.

My brother and I arrived in Tokyo this evening and took the Narita Express to Tokyo Station.  We’re staying at this great hotel that my friend Paul recommended, the Sanuki Club in the Azabujuban neighborhood. This whole city is like some giant prayer to the graphic and industrial design gods. I don’t think I could get enough pictures of it all if I was here for a year, everywhere you look is some perfectly thought out sign or machine. I think I took 20 pictures in the airport bathroom alone.  I’ll try to post as much interesting stuff as I can find over the coming week.

I’m at the airport about to leave for Tokyo, then it’s on to Thailand, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Prague, and finally London. All told it will be about a month of travel during which time I may not be posting here quite as often as usual.  But I will try to post as many shots of interesting things I find along the way.  The above image is from the Flickr Tilt-Shift pool, an interesting photography technique I’ll be posting more on later.
Hope everyone is having a good new year!

Thought I’d kick the new year off proper with a song from the French Kicks album "Two Thousand".  Buy the album, it’s great, here’s a taste. French Kicks – So Far We Are:

[audio:kicks.mp3]

Not to sound macabre, but the time has come to lay another year to rest and welcome the unknown.  It’s a little bittersweet, 2007 was a great experience in many ways, but I am sure 2008 has some treats in store and hopefully some hefty doses of learning and evolution. 
I want to thank everyone for supporting me and inspiring my work and to wish you all a happy newyear!