Travel
The World of Ryuji Mitani
With my seat at the table of a quaint soba restaurant in Japan directly at the opposite end of the acclaimed Ryuji Mitani, I wondered, how did I get here? I…
Life and Home of a Potter Family | The Otanis
One morning in January, it was with immense joy that we hopped on a train from Kyoto bound for a small station in Shigaraki where we were to meet Momoko…
Spotlight on Mitsuhiro Konishi
Mitsuhiro Konishi is a sculptor and blacksmith who creates handcrafted metal cutlery well known for its incorporation of textures. Konishi, originally from Okinawa, gained an appreciation of craftsmanship from his…
Three Kyoto Pit Stops
A lot of our clients have mentioned that they are heading to Japan so we wanted to do a quick post about three great spots in Kyoto that we would…
Toshiya Archery Competition at Sanjusangen-do Temple
Every year in Kyoto, come the second week of January, the streets are flooded with young men and women lugging around exceptionally tall bamboo bows and feathered arrows. It’s the…
Yuichi Takemata at Sayuu
For those unfamiliar with Yuichi Takemata, he is a metal artist and the owner of Sayuu, a beautiful gallery in Kanazawa. He began his career repairing antiques, mostly jewelry, and…
A Day with Kazumi Tsuji of factory zoomer
Typically it takes us awhile to get a Journal recap up about our trips to Japan but this time we made it a point to post quicker than usual. This…
Kyoto Moyashi House
In a quiet temple district of Kyoto, dotted with Buddhist temples, stands the Kyoto Moyashi House. Its unassuming façade is like most kyōmachiya (traditional Kyoto style townhouses) but take a…
Church of the Light in Progress
The above image is of Tadao Ando giving directions during the construction of one of his most iconic structures, Ibaraki Kasugaoka, otherwise known as Church of the Light. The photo…