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Sweat the Small Stuff
2012-2014
The Thing Is...
2009-2012
Category Archives: sweatthesmallstuff
More Trash Talk
You can tell a lot about a culture from how it disposes of waste. Especially in a place like Japan which is so fastidious where garbage is concerned. Apparently, you can also tell a lot about a person by what … Continue reading
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Tagged cool Japan, garbage, Japanese Customs, multigeneration houses, Tokyo, trash cans
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Recycling Tokyo-style
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Tagged cool Japan, COOL TOKYO, Japanese Customs, Japanese product design, recycling, trash
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The Little Crosswalk that Could
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Tagged artichokes, dogs, Nerima-ku, Tokyo, train crossings
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Umbrella Musings
One of the things I love most about Japan is the national enthusiasm for seasonal change. Here the shift from one sector of the year to the next is heralded with great fanfare. The arrival of ume plum blossoms at the … Continue reading
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Tagged cool Japan, COOL TOKYO, NUNO, seasonal change, umbrellas
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New Year’s Apples
I meant to post about these apples in January but, alas, I did not. Better late than never, right? Intended as gifts, each apple is tenderly cradled in its own styrofoam net and adorned with “2013” and a kind of … Continue reading
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Tagged apples, COOL TOKYO, Food, Japanese Customs, Japanese gift giving, New Years 2013
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Bike Parking
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Tagged Architecture, Food, Higashi-Kurume, Japanese bicycles, Japanese Customs, Mozart, opera, Tokyo, Tokyo train stations
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Made in Japan Debuts
“Made in Japan” is a simple phrase, but one full of meaning. From cutlery to chairs, Japan creates some of the most innovative, elegant, whimsical and well-made objects in the world. I should know. I just wrote the book. Called … Continue reading
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Tagged COOL TOKYO, Japanese product design, Made in Japan
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