Tokyo Virtual Guides (WGSN)
With inbound travel off the table due to the pandemic, I produced a series of video-rich reports for global trend forecaster WGSN, giving subscribers an immersive, on-the-ground look at Tokyo’s creative scene.
Text and images are combined with video walk-throughs of key retail and hospitality openings, and video interviews with key local creatives. Interview footage I handled from start to finish; from shooting through to translation and subtitling.
Interview excerpts:
Gallerist Shinji Nanzuka told me what he believes makes Tokyo a key global city for art and creativity.
Having established the Nanzuka Underground gallery, followed by Nanzuka 2G within the Shibuya Parco building, Nanzuka recently collaborated with a Michelin-starred sushi chef to open 3110NZ, in Tokyo’s Nakameguro. With stunning design by artist-architect Daniel Arsham’s Snarkitecture, 3110NZ is a contemporary art gallery that each evening transforms into a sushi bar like no other.
Jo Nagasaka, architect and founder of Schemata Architects, tells how the pandemic has prompted Tokyo creatives to rethink their lifestyles, with some relocating to depopulated areas away from the capital.
Schemata is responsible for a string of standout retail and hospitality locations across Japan, including multiple Descente and Blue Bottle Coffee branches, and New Balance’s new T-House store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
Fashion designer Mihoko Mori founded innovative, outdoors-focused label And Wander with former Issey Miyake colleague Keita Ikeuchi, after the pair became immersed in outdoor pursuits yet could find little that they wanted to wear whilst facing the elements. Here she talks about Japanese consumers’ increasing awareness of issues around sustainability.
Thanks to Don Kennedy for additional on-location camerawork.
Tokyo Virtual Guides for WGSN (Oct. 2020 & Jan 2022, subscriber-only content)