Plastic Moon House by Norisada Maeda Atelier

Japan may be known for the wacky and wonderful, but it’s also known as one of the most stylish and cutting edge places on planet Earth. Take this Plastic Moon House for example.

Built in Tokyo, Japanese architects Norisada Maeda Atelier designed this house that includes a dental practice and swimming pool.

As you’d expect (err), the swimming pool is stylishly integrated on the top floor above the dental practice area on the ground floor.

Plenty of pictures after the jump.

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Japanese Mini Erasers – “We Rub Japan”

“Collectible Erasers” sounds like an oxymoron to most people outside Japan, but in the Land of The Rising Sun (or Rising Fun in this case) these are hot collectibles for those who are in and out of school. They are literally too cool for school.

Take a look at the above dimsum set for example. The fine detailing extends to individual grains of fried rice and four sets of chopsticks!

The sushi, snack food and cake erasers have to be seen to be believed. They look so good you’ll be tempted to take a bite, so don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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9h Capsule Hotel by Design Studio S

I, for one, welcome our capsule overlords

When in Japan, you absolutely have to set aside time (say, about 9 hours) to have this particular unique experience at least once.

No, I’m not talking about buying used girls underwear from a vending machine – I’m talking about staying overnight at a capsule hotel.

Three years in the making, the 9h Capsule Hotel (designed by Design Studio S) is named that because you’re supposed to only stay there nine hours, and each room is so small you can’t even stand up in it. That’s right: it’s a capsule.

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Haute CAToure (Ready-to-Wear Collection) by United Bamboo

It was only ever a matter of time before the catwalks (you see what I did there) were dominated by real cats.

Well, Japanese fashion house United Bamboo has begun seriously designing for cats.

To kick it off, United Bamboo has created a line of ready-to-wear (haute CAToure?) items for cats, designed to match their women’s fashions for the Fall and Winter season 2009 – 2010.

Jump through for a preview of what’s on offer…

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Anatomically Correct Hello Kitty …Not What You’re Thinking

Chances are good that even if you know only a little about Japan, you would have heard of Hello Kitty.

The fictional feline character from Sanrio is Japan’s answer (and eternal nemesis?) to Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse. And like Mickey Mouse, the merchandise range brandishing the Hello Kitty image is enormous.

This time around, Dr. Romanelli (trendy streetwear and fashion designer), Sanrio, and Medicom Toy Co, have come together to release three limited vinyl figures in the “Anatomy” series.

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Scope Node Mouse, For Those Ultra-Sensitive Applications

One thing you have to love about Japan is the way its manga/anime culture permeates into normal everyday life. From the life-sized Gundam in Odaiba to the futuristic Himiko watercraft in Tokyo Bay (we’ll look at both of these soon), you can’t help but be bombarded with anime-inspired paraphernalia everywhere you go.

Take this computer mouse by Elecom for example. It has styling and design cues straight from the pages of “Ghost in the Shell” or “Metal Gear Solid“. But it’s all not just style and no substance.

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Kusho – "Writing in the Sky"

To put it simply, Shinichi Maruyama hurls black India ink into water (or vice versa) and photographs the millisecond that these two liquids collide.

Maruyama takes full advantage of a recent advancement in strobe light technology which can record physical events faster than the naked eye can perceive them – 1/7500th of a second, in fact.

In the series Kusho, which means “writing in the sky,” Maruyama’s goal is to arrest in space and time the sublime intersection of two different media before they merge into one.

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Goemon – A film by Kazuaki Kiriya

Goemon - A visual feast from Kazuaki Kiriya

Whilst many people outside Japan are familiar with Anime (Japanese animation), Manga (Japanese graphic novels/comics) and Doramas (Televised Japanese dramas), Japanese films are often a hit and miss affair.

I stumbled upon Goemon whilst I was flying home from Tokyo last September. I was familiar with Kazuaki Kiriya’s earlier film, Casshern, which is about one hour too long and 50 plots too many.

Despite that, it was achingly stylish. Think Bleach or Naruto meets Final Fantasy (the game, not the awful one off movie). So with some reservation, but in the Australian spirit of mateship, I gave Goemon a… go.

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Stickpecker by MicroWorks

Feeling peck-ish?

In Japan, there is apparently a silent movement towards the use of one’s own chopsticks in public eateries. In today’s environmentally conscious world, disposable wooden chopsticks are increasingly seen as a waste of resources.

If there is one thing that most Japanese miss about the wooden disposable chopsticks, it’s the satisfying feel when they pull them apart. This ritual also happens to signify the starting of any meal.

Rituality to Japan is what breathing is to the normal human being; rituality defines Japan and the Japanese.

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Made of Japan – Celebrating 60 years of Onitsuka Tiger

Thin mikromowell silk-screened carton sleeve with laser-cut Tiger motif

Onitsuka Tiger is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year – an event of major significance in Japan.

‘Made of Japan’ is the beautiful end result of the journey: 260 achingly beautiful pages presenting the brand’s original sports heritage, its vision and evolution, and its influence as a style icon amongst fashion leaders, artists, athletes and sports fans around the world. Only 250 of these are in existence!

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