The Sounds of the Streets / 沈黙の響き
by joostay
Daily life in Tokyo, Japan.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, design, environment, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, life, photography, photos, travel, travel writing, writing
Tag: art
THREE DAYS OF FUN IN TOKYO TOWN
by joostay
Last weekend was seriously one of the best weekends I have had in years. There is a fine line being a travel blogger – I obviously want to write informative posts about places, but sometimes I like the fact that this site is simply a diary for myself, and something I can look back on in years to come. And so this post isn’t really about anything, and yet it’s about everything. This is what my three-day weekend looked like […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: art, asia, blog, blogger, design, Diary, food, japan, justin egli, photography, tokyo, travel writer, Weekend
Hachioji Matsuri 2017
by joostay
What I was up to last weekend – and the next few to come…
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Traditional Festivals & Matsuris • Tags: art, asia, blog, blogging, buddhism, design, japan, japanese, justin egli, life, music, photography, photos, religion, traditional, Travel blogger, travel writer, video, writing
N.S. Harsha: Charming Journey / Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
by joostay
A trip through the cosmos – via Southern India
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, design, Gallery, india, japan, justin egli, mori art museum, review
TOKYO CITY VIEW
by joostay
Last weekend I was out at the Mori Art Museum reviewing the new NS Harsha retrospective for Tokyo Art Beat. I’ll hopefully get that article written and published later next week. I’ve always been a big fan of the Mori: it’s a space that never fails to enhance the exhibitions it hosts, not any easy task considering its size. What also makes the Mori special is that admission to the museum also grants you entrance to Tokyo City View on the 52nd floor. Offering 360-degree […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Uncategorized • Tags: art, city, culture, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, megacity, mori art museum, NS Harsha, photography, tokyo
The Emerging Street Art Scene in Borneo
by joostay
Hanging out with a crew of graffiti artists in Kota Kinabalu
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, asian, blog, borneo, design, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, kota kinabalu, photography, sabah, se asia, STREET ART, tokyo, travel, writing
The Bhutan Exhibition – Hint to Happiness @ Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo.
by joostay
A rare glimpse into the art and culture of one of the world’s most intriguing countries. A few weeks back I was invited along to the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo to check out its latest exhibition of art and relics from the Kingdom of Bhutan – a country I’d love to go to. Unfortunately, the only time I have ever seen the Himalayas was from the window of an airplane as I was evacuated from the earthquake in Nepal. […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, bhutan, blog, buddhism, buddhist, culture, design, himalayas, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, masks, nepal, se asia, travel
Kurayami Matsuri 2016 (Darkness Festival), Fuchu City
by joostay
Celebrating the newly born spirits of the darkness with the biggest taiko drums in Japan.
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: 2016, art, asia, design, drum, drumming, festival, fuchu, japan, justin egli, kurayami matsuri, music, photography, taiko, tokyo, travel
Japan & the Art of Happiness in Doing Nothing
by joostay
Sunshine makes me happy. I’m not sure if I’d go as far as to say I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but I also certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that was to be the case. There are many people I know who class winter as their favourite season, loving the snow, and actually preferring to wear about ten layers of clothing day in, day out. I’ve never been able to understand it. Give me shorts, tshirt and bare feet any day. […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, asia, design, happiness, japan, justin egli, life, lifestyle, nomadic, photography, tokyo, travel, Zen
IKIMASHO! x KING KONG
by joostay
KING KONG / キングコング
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, bizarre, blog, culture, dazed, design, fashion, fetish, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, king kong magazine, sex, tokyo
Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats
by joostay
A 100-metre long mash-up of otaku culture & Japanese art history. While it was always my intention to return to Tokyo in 2016, I thought I would most likely arrive in March, just in time for hanami. As it turns out, a position in my old company opened up in January, so here I am. Thankfully, coming a few months early meant I was able to catch the current Takashi Murakami exhibition before it closes in March. Murakami is one of the most […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, blog, contemporary, culture, design, ikimasho, illustration, japan, japanese, justin egli, mori art museum, roppongi, takashi murakami, travel
DISPOSABLE JAPAN #2
by joostay
Random images from Japan taken with a disposable camera 2003/04 [click to scroll] DISPOSABLE JAPAN #1
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo, Travel: Inside Japan • Tags: art, asia, blog, culture, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, photography, se asia, south east asia, tokyo, travel, urban
The good & bad side of Japanese sake
by joostay
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: alcohol, art, asia, design, drawing, illustration, japan, japanese, justin egli, paint, sake, travel
Rejecting the Cliché: Sunset over Mirissa, Sri Lanka
by joostay
A fisherman makes his last catch of the day as his wife looks on from the shore In travel photography circles, sunsets get a bad rap – widely considered as overdone and clichéd. The chances of taking a shot that’s different to the millions of others is slim, yet when the sun begins to set and the colours fill the sky most of us feel compelled to take out our camera. Photography means recording beautiful light. And sunsets are all about beautiful, […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, beauty, buddhism, CREATIVE, japan, justin egli, mirissa, nature, photography, se asia, sea, seascape, sunset, tokyo, travel, video
PLEASE VOTE FOR IKIMASHO! AS ‘BEST TRAVEL BLOG’!
by joostay
❤ IKIMASHO! NEEDS YOUR HELP! ❤ IKIMASHO! has been shortlisted for ‘Best Travel Blog’ in this year’s Irish Blog Awards. 30% of the judging for this round is by public vote, so if you would be sooo kind to click the link below and vote for IKIMASHO! You don’t need to register, or give your name, or any of that stuff – just click the link and vote. Remember, IKIMASHO! is 100% my own travel experiences. I’m not a tour operator. […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, awards, backpacking, blogging, CREATIVITY, drawing, japan, justin egli, northern ireland, photography, tokyo, travel, video, writing
IKIMASHO! YOUTUBE SESSIONS: ANKLEPANTS
by joostay
Anklepants delivers his infection selection for Ikimasho! Ikimasho! cordially invites you to meet Anklepants – the first of many faces of Dr. Reecard Farché, the devious mastermind and shapeshifting convict bred deep in the darkwood of the Australian bush that later absconded to Rise to the Summit of the übergründé. Born in 2008 but producing music in many forms for over a decade beforehand, Anklepants has steadily released over 20 singles, EPs and full-length albums on his own Qwerty Records imprint, with […]
Categories: YOUTUBE SESSIONS • Tags: animatronics, anklepants, art, bizarre, breakcore, culture, design, electronica, film, idm, ikimasho, japan, mechanical, mic, music, robot, sex, star wars, surreal, tokyo, travel, weird
CREATIVE COPENHAGEN
by joostay
I spent some time in Copenhagen last week. It’s a lovely city, and the Danes have a very high standard of living. Everyone looks happy and healthy. It’s also not as expensive as people make it out to be, so you shouldn’t let worries about costs put you off going. (£3 a pint where I was staying and supermarket prices on par with UK. Restaurants slightly higher but not extortionate.) I primarily came to Copenhagen to just sit about, go […]
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, blog, blogging, colour, copenhagen, denmark, design, designers republic, drawing, energy, ikimasho, illustration, japan, justin egli, museum, scandanavia, sculpture, street, sweden, tokyo, travel, urban
Reflections: Living through the Nepal earthquake / Part 3, Camp Hope.
by joostay
Please contribute to Camp Hope & help those affected by disaster rebuild their lives. It’s been two months since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake left a profound trail of destruction in the villages surrounding Kathmandu, Kavre District and Sindulpalchowk – along with many other areas of central and western Nepal. To date, more than 8,000 lives have been lost with countless homes and villages destroyed. Small (unreported) aftershocks continue to hit the country, and so those who survived the disaster unfortunately still have to live in fear. […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: 25 april, aid, art, blog, charity, development, earthquake, fundraising, hotel, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, kathmandu, nepal, schools, travel
Urban s̶p̶r̶a̶w̶l̶ scrawl: Belfast, Northern Ireland.
by joostay
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, belfast, creartivity, CREATIVE, design, grafitti, ikimasho, justin egli, northern ireland, photography, STREET ART, travel, uk
Hiya, I’m a travel blogger.
by joostay
. . .
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: art, blog, bloggers, cartoon, CREATIVE, design, ikimasho, illustration, japan, tokyo, travel blogging
Esglesia Parroquial de Sant Vincenç
by joostay
I was in Spain a few weeks back, walking about Tossa de Mar. I went into a church – Esglesia Parroquial de Sant Vincenç – and drew the image above while sitting there listening to the organ. No one else was in the church at the time. It was both relaxing and eery at the same time.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, church, CREATIVE, design, drawing, Esglesia Parroquial de Sant Vincenç, god, illustration, religion, saint vincent, spain, tossa de mar
Unforced Creativity #8
by joostay
OTHER STUFF I’VE DRAWN WITH MY BRAIN
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: acid, alleyways, anime, aphex twin, art, asia, backpacking, bangkok, bizarre, blog, buddhism, CREATIVE, culture, design, drawing, drinking, exhibition, fashion, illustration, justin egli
Textures in a Thai Market
by joostay
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, asia, backpacking, bangkok, graffiti, grime, hua hin, photography, real life, se asia, thailand, travel, urban
“A Labour of Love” / The Tokyo Rail Network
by joostay
One talented reader shows how the Tokyo rail network really can be a work of art I’m grateful to the people who take the time to write to me about Japan and Ikimasho! The majority of the stuff I get these days is from people wanting to know how to become a kindergarten teacher – actually this site ranks #1 if you Google the words Japan and kindergarten. Sometimes though, I get mails that are pretty left field and interesting. The other day I received a great […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: advertising, art, blog, design, ikimasho, japan, japanese, justin egli, map, minimal, otaku, public transport, rail, railway, tokyo, trains, trainspotting, yokohama
HELP ME I AM IN HELL
by joostay
Delving deep into the soul of a three-year-old
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, culture, david lynch, hell, horror, japan, kindergarten, lynch, nin, nine inch nails, surreal, teaching, tokyo, weird
Shun Owada / “dissolution”
by joostay
I should explain what is happening in the picture above. This is “dissolution” – an impressive sound installation by Shun Owada at the Tokyo Experimental Festival 2015. Chunks of limestone filled with extinct fossils from 270 million years ago are slowly dissolved by weak acid dripping from intravenous bags hanging from the ceiling. When the surface of the stone dissolves, it generates CO2 – releasing gas from the fossils which lived when reptiles first roamed the earth. The room is completely […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: acid, art, blog, dissolution, dissolve, ikimasho, installation, japan, japanese, performance, raindrops, shun owada, sound, tokyo, tokyo experimental festival
Ami Yamasaki / “till a quiet room sings”
by joostay
“Every space has its own sound, according to its shape and material, and it has already been singing long before you entered it.” A few weeks back I attended the Tokyo Experimental Festival where I saw a performance by vocalist and cross-media artist, Ami Yamasaki. The space was limited to 20 people, the walls covered with thousands of origami feathers to catch and diversify the sounds of the room. Of course, a quiet space is never truly quiet, and so […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Ami Yamasaki, art, blog, culture, ikimasho, installation, japan, justin egli, Ochanomizu, performance, surreal, TEF, till a quiet room sings, tokyo, tokyo experimental festival 2015, Tokyo Wonder Site, voice, weird
Shinji Ohmaki: Memorial Rebirth
by joostay
Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles… Stumbling across the extraordinary in Kita Senju. Last month, contemporary artist Shinji Ohmaki invaded Senju Asahi Park (also known as Taroyama Park) in Kita Senju, releasing massive amounts of sparkling soap bubbles and transforming the grey urban space into a dreamland. The result was an ordinary space turned extraordinary, with music, dancing, and thousands upon thousands of bubbles. You can read my feature for Tokyo Weekender here.
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, bubbles, contemporary, ikimasho!blog, installation, japan, japanese, justin egli, Kita Senju, Shinji Ohmaki, subrban, suburbia, tokyo, tokyo weekender, uban
IKIMASHO! x ACROPLANE RECORDINGS
by joostay
From Northern Ireland to Nippon with one of the world’s leading netlabels From its humble beginnings in a room in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Acroplane Recordings – headed up by Paul Moore – has matured to become of the world’s leading netlabels. Boxcutter (Planet Mu) and Space Dimension Controller (R&S) put out their first releases on Acroplane, and over the years Paul has played alongside artists as diverse as Autechre, Scorn, Luke Vibert, Remarc and Surgeon to name but a few. Acroplane […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: acid, acroplane recordings, ambient, art, beats, blog, culture, design, electronic music, electronica, Himuro Yoshiteru, idm, japan, japanese, music, netlabel, street, techno, tokyo, urban
EZYPT! EZYPT! EZYPT!
by joostay
Making friends with EZYPT – and all through the power of bananas. He was dancing. A lot. AND DID A BANANA DANCE I am now converted. EZYPT.NET
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, dance, electronica, ezypt, ikimasho, japan, japanese, pop, street, techno, tokyo, urban, weird, yokohama
IKIMASHO! YOUTUBE SESSIONS: SYNKRO
by joostay
Bass master Synkro steps up and makes his selection for Ikimasho! Synkro AKA Joe McBride returns to R&S offshoot Apollo Records this month with the new four-track Transient EP. With its distant vocals and sweeping synths it’s reminiscent of the incredible track Guidance he made with Indigo back in 2011: layered, tightly produced and ultra-spacious. Recently, of course, Synkro has been busy working as one half of Akkord – also alongside Indigo – which resulted in a stunning self-titled album on Houndstooth last year. Akkord are making […]
Categories: YOUTUBE SESSIONS • Tags: .apollo, acid, akkord, art, bass, blog, culture, drum and bass, electronica, houndstooth, idm, indigo, japan, japanese, jor mcbride, music, R&S, tokyo, transient EP, youtube session
IKIMASHO! YOUTUBE SESSIONS: JESSE MICHAELS
by joostay
Short films, Detroit hardcore and exploding brains. Jesse Michaels shares some vids with Ikimasho! Jesse Michaels is an artist, musician and writer from Berkeley California. Over the years he has played in bands, created fanzines and illustrations, and written fiction. He was the singer of the punk bands Operation Ivy, Big Rig, Common Rider and Classics of Love. He has created art for Neurosis, Green Day, Christ on Parade, Filth, The Criminals, Spencer Moody, Pretty Girls Make Graves and many […]
Categories: YOUTUBE SESSIONS • Tags: art, bay arae, blog, fine art, gilman street, ikimasho, japan, japanese, jesse michaels, justin egli, LA, music, operation ivy, punk, san francisco, short film, ska, tokyo, usa, writing
geometry / 幾何学
by joostay
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: angles, art, blog, geometry, gym, japan, japanese, outdoors, photography, tokyo, working out
A DATE WITH SKYWHALE
by joostay
BBW WLTM BF for fun times I was lucky enough to spend the morning with a very special girl last weekend. Standing 23-metres high and weighing in at half a tonne, she dominated me – and the skyline. If you`d like to have a date with SKYWHALE yourself, head on over to Kanda this weekend where she will be flying high as part of TRANS ARTS TOKYO 2014. To find out more about her, check out my full review for Tokyo Art Beat here.
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, canberra, contemporary, culture, installation, japan, japanese, kanda, modern art, Patricia Piccinini, skywhale, tokyo, trans arts tokyo 2014
#BCTION / TOKYO
by joostay
50 STREET ARTISTS. ONE SOON-TO-BE DEMOLISHED BUILDING IN CENTRAL TOKYO. #BCTION #BCTION runs until Sepember 15. For tickets, click here. (Registration required.) TOKYO STICKER BOMBING
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: art, bizarre, BUILDING, COOL, culture, graffiti, japan, SPRAY, STREET ART, TAGGING, TAKEOVER, tokyo, urban, weird
TOKYO TOILET MUSEUM
by joostay
Have you ever wanted to slide down a giant toilet while wearing a hat that looks like a turd? Well, in Tokyo, now you can. It’s 10am in Tokyo and my friends and I are staring at a picture of a cartoon poo called ‘Britto’. According to the text beside him, “his yellow color is not the result of suntan, but because he is in good health.” This is only the beginning of what will most likely be the strangest few hours of […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Bizarre/Unique, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, blog, exhibition, ikimasho, japan, justin egli, kawaii, kids, miraikan, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, science, shit, surreal, toilet, Toilet!? - Human Waste & Earth's Future, tokyo, tokyo toilet museum, unchi, weird
texture / テクスチャー
by joostay
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, blog, ikimasho, japan, photography, space, tokyo, urban
Tsuyoshi Hisakado / Quantize
by joostay
“The flowing river never stops and yet the water never stays the same.” – Kamo no Chomei (12th Century Buddhist Poet) Born in Kyoto in 1981, Tsuyoshi Hisakado completed an M.F.A. at the Department of Sculpture of Kyoto University of Arts in 2007. He formed the artist group SHINCHICA in 2002 while he was in university, taking charge of sound and installation. From this background, the two elements ‘sound’ and ‘sculpture’ are the main features in Hisakado’s art creation. I was recently invited […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, blog, culture, ikimasho, japan, ota fine arts, quantize, sonic, sound, sound installation, tokyo, Tsuyoshi Hisakado, wako fine arts
Fiona Tan / Photo Works
by joostay
The mundane is beautiful. See Tokyo in a new light through the private lives of others. Fiona Tan was born in 1966 in Pekan Baru, Indonesia, to a Chinese-Indonesian father and an Australian mother. Now living in Holland having studied in both Amsterdam and Hamburg, her works are known for contesting and underlining cultural identity. With such a rich cultural history herself, it’s no surprise that an in-depth exploration of identity has always been at the forefront of her artistic career. The main focus […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, children, exhibition, fiona tan, japan, life, new, nostalgia, old, photography, tokyo, wako works art
RBMA + IKIMASHO! YOUTUBE SESSIONS
by joostay
2013 was a good year for electronic music in Tokyo. A decent stream of quality names passed through: Shackleton, Drexciyan DJ Stingray, Machinedrum, LFO and OM Unit to name but a few – not to mention u-ziq rounding things off at the RBMA Weekender at the end of the year. 2014 is shaping up to be just as good, with the announcement that this year’s Red Bull Music Academy will be taking place in Tokyo in October. Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, electronica, japan, music, planet mu, red bull music academy, rephlex, tokyo
Yes, I’m definitely back in Tokyo
by joostay
I got back from Indonesia a few weeks ago, but despite my feet being firmly in Japan, my mind is still wandering around somewhere in SE Asia. I went out for a walk with my camera today to remind myself where I live. Yes, I’m definitely back in Tokyo.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, coming of age day, culture, inaka, japan, koto ward, moma, museum of modern art, tokujin yoshioka, tokyo, tokyo metro
TRANS ARTS TOKYO 2013
by joostay
Trans Arts is back. The format may have changed – but it still packs a punch. Centering around the site of the former Tokyo Denki University, Trans Arts Tokyo is a unique project which last year saw the participation of 300 artists and attracted over 10,000 visitors. It’s the most chaotic and creative arts event in the city – and this year I was kindly asked by Tokyo Art Beat to snoop about and give my opinion. You can read my full […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, CREATIVE, design, graffiti, installations, surreal, tokyo, trans arts 2013, travel, video
Unforced Creativity #7
by joostay
OTHER STUFF I’VE DRAWN
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: art, CREATIVE, CREATIVITY, design, illustration, japan, surreal, tokyo, weird
Smiling with the Indonesian artists of tomorrow
by joostay
Travel with a smile and the whole world smiles with you… OK, brace yourself. I’m about to say something extremely cheesy so please bear with me. Someone once asked me what the most important thing was to pack when going to Asia. I simply replied, “a smile.” Cheesy or not, I still stand by it. It goes for whatever country you visit. Body language is universal. I can’t speak Burmese but in the past I’ve been beckoned over to eat […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: art, backpacking, bali, experiences, guidebook, indonesia, sanur, smile, south east asia, travel
THE FACE OF JAPANESE POLITICS
by joostay
Never judge a book by its cover. True that. When I was a kid I demanded my parents buy me Weetabix as I liked the characters on the cereal box. “You won’t like it,” warned my mum. “Yes I will” I replied. Low and behold, I thought it tasted like shit and I threw it in the bin. I hope these guys have better tasting politics than their posters portray… THE ECONOMY IS A MESS AND SO ARE THE STREETS
Categories: Art Music & Culture, Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: art, asia, design, japan, politics, posters, tokyo
Unforced Creativity #6
by joostay
Click here to see more stuff I’ve drawn with my brain
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: art, asia, graffiti, illustration, japan, tokyo
‘Take a Shit Man’
by joostay
A superhero called ‘Take a Shit Man’ and little pieces of crap that want to escape… The books I find in my kindergarten keep getting weirder. Have you read… Unco the Unwanted Shit Taking a Shit in Japan: A Beginner’s Guide
Categories: Bizarre/Unique, Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, book, culture, gaijin, japan, kindergarten, shit, south east asia, surreal, teaching, tokyo, unko, weird
Kraftwerk 3D: Man Machine in Tokyo
by joostay
4 men. 1 album. 3 dimensions. After a sell-out (and computer crashing) run at the Tate Modern, Kraftwerk brings its catalogue retrospective to Tokyo: 8 consecutive gigs at the intimate Akasaka Blitz. It’s raining heavily in Tokyo. Outside a venue in one of the city’s central business districts, lines of people are waiting patiently, colourful umbrellas hoisted in the air. An almost fittingly minimalistic hand-drawn sign is taped to the door: KRAFTWERK. STARTS 5PM. Inside, you are immediately struck by the intimacy of […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, bass, berlin, bizarre, clubbing, culture, electronica, germany, japan, kraftwerk, moog, music, ralf, south east asia, synths, tokyo, travel, urban
FRANCIS BACON
by joostay
“You can’t be more horrific than life itself.” Your last chance to catch the master of the macabre in Tokyo. Described by Margaret Thatcher as “that man who paints those dreadful pictures,” Francis Bacon was one of the most exalted, most disliked artists of the postwar era. His abstract images of psychological and physical brutality still have the power to unsettle today – achieving on canvass what David Lynch achieves on film or what Beckett did on paper. The Tate gave […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, culture, drawing, francis bacon, japan, modern, popes, retrospective, south east asia, surreal, tokyo, weird
Unforced Creativity #5
by joostay
UNFORCED CREATIVITY #4 UNFORCED CREATIVITY #3 UNFORCED CREATIVITY #2 UNFORCED CREATIVITY #1
Categories: Art: stuff I've drawn • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, culture, drawing, fashion, fetish, graffiti, harajuku, japan, punk rock, shimokitazawa, south east asia, sticker, street, surreal, tokyo, travel, weird
Never a dull moment…
by joostay
April is a time of change in Japan. It’s the month that marks the start of the new school year, with many people changing jobs and others leaving the country for good. It’s been a very busy period for me: new schools, new responsibilities and new friends. But in between teaching, writing and drawing I’ve also managed to pack in so much stuff over the last few weeks in Tokyo.
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo, Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, backpacking, bar, Chim↑Pom, culture, exhibition, fashion, food, gaijin, harajuku, hello kitty, inaka, japan, kindergarten, louis vuitton, omotesando, saitama, shimokitazawa, south east asia, street, surreal, Taro Okamoto, teaching, tokyo, travel, urban, weird
Unco: The Unwanted Shit
by joostay
Hello children. Once upon a time there was a little crap called Unco that came out of a dog’s ass. He was happy until his owner ran away. All alone, he tried to make some new friends. He tried to make friends with a mouse but the mouse ran away shouting “You stink!” He tried to make friends with a snake but the snake slithered away shouting “You stink!” He tried to make friends with a bunch of rabbits but […]
Categories: Kindergarten Life • Tags: art, asia, bizarre, culture, drawing, english, japan, kindergarten, shit, surreal, teaching, tokyo, unco, weird
NOFX in Tokyo: So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes…
by joostay
Im 31. Wow. That sounds weird when I write it down. I first got into NOFX when i heard White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean way back in 1997. Since then I’ve seen them X number of times in five different countries, always jumping about, always having a laugh. Tonight i saw them again in Tokyo, and well, something had changed. It was average. The same old songs. The same old jokes. This is a band that doesn’t have […]
Categories: Art Music & Culture • Tags: art, culture, harajuku, japan, nofx, pop punk, punk, punk rock, queers, screeching weasel, street, tokyo, urban
Shimokitazawa: End of the Line
by joostay
On 23 March 2013, the level crossings at Shimokitazawa in Tokyo lifted for the very last time. It was a sad day for anyone who has ever lived in the area. The Odakyu train line has now gone deep underground, and with it has brought a huge, brand new station that is both sterile and soulless in equal measures. It is not what Shimokitazawa is about, but I guess this is what you call ‘progress’ in the modern age. I […]
Categories: Daily Life in Tokyo • Tags: alleyways, art, culture, graffiti, japan, keio, odakyu, otaku, shimokitazawa, street, tokyo, train, urban
