Welcome to Black Tokyo!  

I have a ton of pictures and video on Japan and never took the time to upload them to Flickr. Now that I revised the website, I have a good reason to share my various pictures of life in Japan. I will try to upload new pictures and video a few times a month!
Click here to view the slideshows. Enjoy!

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I love architecture and design. Business Week has a great story on Jun Aoki, winner of the 2008 top design award in Japan. Check out his story and the stories on the other 15 best designs in Japan.
Every year since 1957, the government-funded Japan Industrial Promotion Organization (JIDPO) has lent its prestigious Good Design logo to a list of new products. Most people tend to associate design with aesthetics. But while high-tech products perennially sweep the top awards—known as the Best 15—the 74-member committee of designers, architects, writers, and academics doesn’t …

Check out the Mekas website to learn about all things fashion in Japan. Below, Jean Snow gives a quick wrap-up on 2008 fashion trends:
Looking back, 2008 was not a particularly dramatic year for Japanese fashion. There was some good news: the industry did not succumb to total meltdown and panic, and some brands like Uniqlo, Cher, and Journal Standard managed to pull off impressive growth. But there was also the inevitable bad news: Japanese consumers’ seemingly-unflappable passion for European luxury goods took a major hit. Demand for import goods had been …

Photo: Firstview/VOGUE.com
Check out Vogue Japan’s Model Watch on beautiful and powerful (popular) black models here. I hope to see more positive images of Black women in Japanese publications (and elsewhere).
I also hope that the models put on a few more pounds/kilos!

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Introducing Ping Mag Make. Here is a blurb from their website:
ingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag. We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It’s the Japan-based magazine about people and making things, coming out once a week. We’re passing on the passion, ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors. Stay tuned!
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Hairfish posted some nice shots of her and some friends wearing kimonos at a Japanese garden. You can view the pictures, taken with a DS, here.
You can also view other pictures of temples and shrines on the Hairfish Blog here.
BTW, my new shipment of Kimono Girl oil-blotting paper made exclusively in Kanazawa, Japan has arrived. You can view product information and place an order here. The 963 Group, LLC ships worldwide!
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Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they’ve quickly become one of its most popular items.
Since launching two weeks ago on Rakuten, a major Japanese web shopping mall, the Wishroom shop has sold over 300 men’s bras for 2,800 yen ($30) each. The shop also stocks men’s panties, as well as lingerie for women.
“I like this tight feeling. It feels good,” Wishroom representative Masayuki Tsuchiya told Reuters as he modeled the bra, which can be worn discreetly under men’s …

Founded by film producer Andy Okoroafor,CLAM is a unisex magazine whose goal is to promote creativity, concepts and ideas in fashion, architecture, music, design, the arts, free-time, travels and African design…. these different themes are approached in two main areas: Lifestyle and Trends. 
Each subject is part of an original and conceptual artistic direction. The concepts are presented through the expression of the artists and creators coming from very different horizons.
The place accorded to the image is central: she wants to be unusual, so as to create constant surprise for the viewer.
Experimentation is one …

I love watches and found this great article on watchmaker Haruo Suekichi from Ping Magazine:
 

What a beauty! Looks like an accessory out of the Steamboy anime — except that it’s real and a watch you can (theoretically) wear! Crafted by Haruo Suekichi to beam you in an alternative time.
For close to thirteen years, Haruo Suekichi has been investing hours upon hours every day to develop watches with a Steampunkflair. Reminiscent of Jules Verne and influenced by manga, hisfinely crafted watches are of a vintage futuristic kind. And what started with an unsuccessful attempt to hawk them …

First of all, this man always handles his biz and was one of my virtual sensei when I lived in Osaka. At any rate, this in from Harvey at Japan Newbie:
 
Dude’s standing a pile of money!!! 
This wallpaper is from a famous Japanese TV Drama staring Riki Takeuchi called Minami no Teiou or, roughly translated, “The Caesar of South Osaka”.
I asked a random Osaka friend for tips on any interesting jdramas that use a lot of Osaka dialect, and she mentioned this one… Unfortunately I can’t seem to get my hands on the actual drama …

 

This in from Hairfish: 
Everyone goes nuts over Roppongi, and I admit, its interesting but Shibuya is where it’s at, mainly because it’s where the locals hang out. It’s far more affordable to spend a night in Shibuya and even go to a pub or a club without spending over 5,000 YEN (that’s about 50 USD). For my train fair, food, and karaoke, I only spent 2,000 YEN. There is so much to see and do. Shibuya really is something to see at night. There are arcades everywhere, purikura, places to …

Have you ever wondered how the Geisha, Maiko or Kabuki actors keep their make-up and lipstick so flawless? Curious to know why so many Japanese women have such clear complexions? Need a perfect gift? How about one of Japan’s top selling cosmetic gift items?
Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Paper is 100% natural, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and powder-free! Each Kimono Girl package is made from a hand-drawn Kagayuzen kimono pattern and no two Kimono Girl packages are the same!
The Kimono Girl concept was developed by the co-founder of The 963 Group, LLC. She …

Click here for the Yokosuka City Website.
Click here for Yokosuka 1chiban Website.
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Sista in Tokyo recently posted:
“Where Can I Have My Hair Done in Tokyo?”– Braids
Today is a national holiday in Japan, Marine Day I do believe. My husband and I spent yesterday and today at the beach in Onjuku. He surfs and I simply go in and out of the water or watch him catch waves. One day soon I plan to hop on the board along with him… Having braids make going to the beach and spending all day in the water a wonderful thing.
I initially came to Japan …

African-Americans have approximately 900 billion dollars in buying power and are more apt to spend it on fashion than their other cultural counterparts. With that said, here is a very interesting OpEd written by Paul Boakye in response to Italian Vogue Magazine’s all Black issue:
  

Please, please, please, please - no more invitations for me to rush out and buy the latest copy of Italian Vogue - cos it just ain’t gonna happen. I don’t care if it’s the “all black” issue this time. I have no interest at all in …

Omedeto to Hiroko Mima, Miss Japan 2008 for making it into the 2008 Miss Universe Final 15. She did a great job representing her country. She should serve as an inspiration to women here to be confident, get a degree, and to work to make their dreams become reality. 
Click here to read the Hiroko Mima interview. Enjoy the video tribute!
Oh yeah, a big shout out to Miss USA, Crystle Stewart of Texas and to Miss Denmark for rockin’ the ‘fro!
 
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I received an email today asking me what Japanese women wear in the summer. My response was along the lines of: “It depends!” Depending on age, attitude, location, and other things that determine what’s hot and what’s not, you may find many women in Japan wearing something that keeps them cool and comfortable.
One company that will aid in this is the Casual clothing retailer Uniqlo Company. Uniqlo is experiencing increased sales of its Bra Top series, which includes tank tops, camisoles and dresses. Women favored the clothes because they are comfortable …

Bikini Or Jeans?
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I received an email asking about fashion in Japan. Here are two that will get you started:  Fashion & accessories:  http://gw.tv/fw/ravi/index2.phpIf you are looking for intimate items in Japan, try this link:  http://gw.tv/fw/ravi/index2.phpor visit a  Ravijour shop, there is one at the famous Shibuya109 building. I will post more later!
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Kumi Matsumaru / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
Photographer Mariko Itagaki says she has a great affinity for Africa, and African women in particular. She says they seem to embody the energy of life. “Yet, I also find a sense of warmth or repose in them, similar to something we have had in Japan since ancient times,” Itagaki says.
This is why Itagaki, who has been capturing images of women and of Africa itself since a visit to Nigeria in 1984, is going to show her photos of women taken in West …