Made by Kenichi Tanaka, this video represents through various infographics some of the well know statistics about Japan… and some more other ones really worrying  that I was not aware of (like food consumption). While I was living in Japan I was overly struck by the amount of bottled water, plastic bags, disposable chopsticks (article on reducing the use of bottles, plastic bags and disposable chopsticks) and other behaviors that are not your typical nippon cliche.

(Via Coolinfographics.com and Slidecoach)

This post is writen in English (top) and Italian (bottom)

In English
[ego mode ON]
The second issue (April 2009) of Wired’s Italian edition has just been released and guess who’s article is featured in page 33…

You guessed right! My article on the Pasona 02 project, writen while I was living in Tokyo, has been published from page 33 to 36 (for now only available in Italian in print and online). I describe Pasona Group’s idea of creating an underground hi-tech greenhouse to provide food in a city environment and train unemployed people (mainly freeters, that are Japanese unemployed people with a lot of free time that take occasional short time jobs) on a sector that is growing in demand. Japan produces only about 28% of the food it consumes and imports the rest. But even that small percentage of production is at stake due to the lack of qualified workers. A by-product of the greenhouse located in the Otemachi financial district skyscraper is the production of fresh oxygen that the visitors to the dining area can enjoy while they eat the food yielded by this futuristic experiment. Using hydroponics and new techniques based on artificial light, the Pasona 02 project offers a partial remedy to the lack of agricultural areas of the country of the rising sun, which in a mere 378,000 squared km holds more than 128 million inhabitants.

In italiano
Il secondo numero di Wired Italia (aprile 2009) e’ stato appena pubblicato e tra pagina 33 e 36 trovate un mio articolo su Pasona 02, scritto mentre abitavo a Tokyo. Il testo lo trovate online qui.

In questo pezzo descrivo l’idea del Pasona Group di creare una serra nel sotterraneo del loro grattacielo nel distretto finanziario Otemachi di Tokyo per produrre cibo fresco in un ambiente cittadino e allo stesso tempo formare ragazzi senza lavoro (in particolare dei “freeter” ovvero persone che hanno molto tempo libero e lavorano solo occasionalmente) alle tecniche di agricoltura che oggi sono molto richieste. Attualmente il Giappone produce soltanto circa il 28% del cibo che consuma, e deve importare tutto il resto. Ma anche questa bassa percentuale e’ a rischio perche’ la manodopera qualificata scarseggia. Un prodotto secondario della serra e’ dell’ossigeno fresco che oggi viene respirato dagli impiegati di Pasona Group che usufruiscono degli spazi della mensa, mentre godono anche dei cibi prodotti da questo esperimento futuristico. L’utilizzo dell’idroponica (per la coltivazione in assenza di terra) e nuove tecniche basate su diversi tipi di luce artificiale, Pasona 02 vuole proporre un rimedio parziale alla mancanza di terre coltivabili delle isole nipponiche che nei suoi scarsi 378.000 kmq ospitano piu’ di 128 milioni di abitanti.

[ego mode OFF]

This video of Shibuya (Tokyo) at night was made by my friend Jose and posted in his blog UnGatoNipon. Jose lives in Tokyo and blogs in Spanish about all things Japanese. He is my point of reference for what is going on in Japan and a great friend.

The video portrays a typical nocturnal view of Shibuya though it might me meaningful only to whom has lived it… and now that I’m far away it has taken me there for a few minutes. Nothing fancy, just a collection of moments, expressions and usual places I was walking around until recently.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I deed. Ciao!

Tokyo Nights HD from ungatonipon on Vimeo.

The PLEO lifeform by Ugobe has very different meanings in Italy and Japan. During my sabbatical in Japan in 2008, I was exposed to a gazzilion video-advertising in the subway and, specially in the JR Yamanote Line, a recurrent one was promoting the PLEO dinosaur.

The curious thing is that in the video, this “intelligent” life form (or robot for a more banal description) was showcased interacting with an adult woman. It apparently reacted to the woman’s loneliness by coming near to her and asking for a caress, just like a little dog would do. In all three scenes of the advertising, PLEO’s interaction with the human resembled that of a pet and its owner. At the time I remember thinking that it was pretty weird and sad at the same time that a toy should replace a living creature and it reminded me of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Ship by Philip K. Dick, where normal people (read “not rich”) cannot afford to buy live pets so they use robots instead so as to save their social status.

What could be the advantages of replacing a dog, cat or hamster with PLEO? Well, you don’t have to feed, clean, or take out for a walk the electronic dinosaur. It is always in a good mood and if you have to travel, you can just keep it in the closet instead of having to take it to your sister’s place.

I was surprised when I came back to Milan that the same object was sold to a very different target: In many shops PLEO was being sold in the toys department and the obvious destination of it was a kids room, not that of his parents. PLEO is clearly being marketed as a toy for kids, just like any other (if maybe more basic) robot or remote-controlled car. Products like Lego Mindstorms are in the ambiguous sector destined  to children and adults at the same time, but PLEO was not even near of this category in Italy.

This is an interesting article on PLEO by Michael Singer full of details.

So you’re planning to buy a second-hand Hasselblad in Tokyo? I will tell you my experience that you might find useful. I recently bought a Hasselblad 503cx with an A-12 back and a Zeiss 80mm/2.8 lens (the so called “basic kit”).

My hunt for a ‘Blad started a month ago after I had used one several times at National Photo’s studio in Harajuku (btw you can rent their 503CX by 6,000 yen/day or 3,000 yen/day if you use it at their studio). Initially I was interested in a Rolleiflex, but after playing with the Hasselblad 503CX I found that its size was rather manageable and that being able to change lenses and the film back was an advantage. I had discarded a Mamiya RZ67 because of it’s big size and weight, though this camera is relatively cheap in Japan compared to Rolleis and Hassies.

Before visiting the shops I did some research on which model to look for. This article by Karen Nakamura on the Hasselblad 500 series gave a lot of useful tips.

Since the Euro has dropped against the Yen (near 40%!!), it has been difficult to find bargains in Tokyo… if only I had bough it 3 months earlier… Tokyo is a paradise for buying used cameras, specially foreign brands like Leica, Voightlander, Rollei and Hasselblad, but also for locals like Mamiya, Canon and Nikon. There is a huge offer (it is said that 2/3 of all the Leicas ever produced are here in Japan) and the conditions of the hardware are usually excelent as Japanese people tend to be maniac with their photo-gear (and not only).

There are no certainties on when a good piece of hardware is going to be available and at what price, so the best thing is to visit the shops frequently. After wandering around several ones, these became my points of reference:

Lemon Camera in Ginza (see map)

Lemon is a big shop and a point of reference for new and second-hand cameras in Tokyo. Located in the 8th floor of a building that hosts a church, it is a paradise for people who adhere to the religion of photography.  As most shops here, they have an impressive array of Leica but also Rollei, Hasselblad, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Mamiya and some Horseman and other niche products. Prices are on the lower side of the spectrum (that is good) and they have high quality products and a long standing reputation for serious business. On used cameras, they get a % of the price, which is usually set by the seller, so there is no negotiation on the final price. The staff is very professional and some of them speak a bit of English. They accept major credit cards. At Lemon I found several 503 Hasselblads and many 500C/M plus lenses and backs.

Fujiya Camera in Nakano (see map)

Fujiya tends to have the best prices in new and used cameras. The shop is distributed in several buildings and Hasselblads are in the second floor of the main one (the same that carries Nikon gear). They have a smaller selection of Blads, but I found them all in good condition. Anticipation: I bought mine here (see the end of this article for more details). Some of the staff speak good enough English. The main store is a 1 minute walk from Nakano Station’s North exit.

Lucky Camera in Shinjuku (see map)

A small shop near the South entrance to the Shinjuku JR Station, Lucky camera had many expensive Hasselblads cramped on its shelves. Prices were more expensive than at Lemon or Fujiya. There was a lot of other interesting stuff and I suggest to visit it in case some good opportunities are available.

Map Camera in Shinjuku (see map)

Map Camera is divided in 2 buildings, one for Auto-Focus equipment and the other for Manual-Focus… although you will find medium format cameras in the basement of the former building. The first impact of this shop is given by the huge amount of Leicas that they have aligned in their shelves. Hasselblads are at the back of the basement and though the number of them is discrete compared to Lemon, there were several ones to choose from. The prices tend to be in the middle to high part of the spectrum, but quality is very high. I also found one of the members of staff that was fluent in English.

National Photo in Harajuku (see map)

These guys are Hasselblad experts (ask for Togashi-san if you need help, he is the ‘Blad expert and speaks English). They have few cameras on sale but each one of them is sent to Hasselblad in Sweden for a revision and eventual adjustment, so this is a solid warranty that the gear is in excelent condition. Their price tends to be on the high side of the spectrum because of this, but hey… if you want good quality and certainty on the state of the product it has a cost! The cameras are on the 2nd floor and you can also rent a lot of professional equipment (cameras, lenses, flashes, an even their excellent studio on the 3rd floor).

My final decision: I found 2 Hasselblad 503CX and a 503CXi kits at Fujiya and decided for the one in best conditions. The shop gave me a 10 days return period (money back if there is some problem with the camera or if you change your mind) and a 6 month warranty on eventual problems with it.

Links to more second-hand photography stores

This is a list of online resources to more camera shops:

• A Guide to New and Used Camera Shops in Tokyo
• Lightstalkers
• What’s Hot In The Tokyo Used Camera Biz?
• PhotoGuide Japan

Since today, Tomy is selling in Japan it’s XIAO digital camera that features an embedded Zink ink printer for producing instant photos. The concept is similar to the Fuji Instax Mini instant cameras (which themselves derived more or less directly from Polaroid insant film) with the huge difference that the Xiao (which means “small” in Chinese) is a 5megapixel digital camera, which means that you can preview the photo before printing it. The camera prints 5×7.6cm borderless photos which are said to be durable and fade resistant (still haven’t seen one).

This first model by Tomy is a bit clumsy and according to the company is targeted to women in their 30’s and 40’s (that might find it kawaii!) and families.

The pricing in Japan is of ¥34,800 for the camera and ¥880 for 20 sheets of photo paper (therefore cheaper than the Cheki/Instax mini ¥540 per 10 photos).

Zink (zero ink) is a tecnhonogy developed in the USA that allows to print photos without using ink but through a reaction to heat. You can find more details about how Zink ink works here.

Polaroid had also released a Zink product one year ago, the PoGo instant mobile printer.

I don’t try to be an eco-hero but to test on myself if it is possible to severely minimize the use of certain disposable products. I live in Tokyo, a city which has a lot of eco-friendly habits but also some very nasty ones regarding the use of disposable materials like: chopsticks, plastic beverage bottles and plastic bags. Japan in general, and Tokyo in particular, is full of vending machines with the ones selling non-alcoholic drinks being the most ubiquitous of them all (according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association an average 1 vending machine every 22 inhabitants!). It is very comfortable to be walking around and just grab a drink from one when you are thirsty, specially during the hot and humid summer months. You can find them: on the street, in the subways stations and train tracks, inside buildings and hotels, in shops and even on the mountains! They generate an immense amount of PET and other plastic bottles. Fortunately, Japanese people tend to be very clean and mindful about recycling, so probably a big part of them do not end in landfills, but anyway they are still mostly waste (I wonder how many of them end up as useful recycled products).

A similar thing happens with disposable (mostly wood or bamboo) chopsticks: once required for hygienic reasons, nowadays Japanese consume more than 25 billion chopsticks per year, 95% of them imported mainly from China and other Asiatic countries. It is a huge industry but it’s becoming unsustainable for a world that is getting “hot, flat and crowded” (Tom Friedman dixit). A similar problem occurs in China, where more than 45 billion are consumed each year. It is not only about the waste produced by these tons of chopsticks but also the fact that with actual population growth rates and consumption, there is not enough bamboo to produce them and we are depleting bamboo forests at a higher rate that the time needed to regenerate them.

And what about plastic bags? Japanese are maniacs regarding packaging, in particular of food. While it might be a nice thing for presents, it is more often ridiculous to have something packed in 3 stratus of plastic, paper, etc. Even when you buy a bar of chocolate the salesman will try to put it inside a plastic bag.

I believe that in most situations the use of these products (one-use plastic bottles, chopsticks and plastic bags) can be avoided and we could make a positive impact on the environment. I understand that some industries will suffer but I also think that when a constraint is applied, a full array of new opportunities can bloom.

The solution I am testing on myself, to fully understand the implications, is to carry my own reusable chopsticks, an eco-bag that fits in my pocket and a plastic bottle that I can refill with tap water. These should apply for at least 70-80% of my everyday situations. There will be times that I won’t be able to avoid the use of these kind of disposable products, but I hope those to be the exceptions instead of the norm. And if I get a plastic bag to carry something, I will use it for my home’s garbage. If I want to buy a beverage apart from tap water, say a sports drink, I’ll buy a huge 2 liter bottle at the supermarket and refill my carry-on bottle.

I found the tools for this experiment, portable chopsticks, 500ml drink bottle and eco-bag, at (yes, you guessed right!) Muji, one of my fav stores. These guys usually sell very “environmentally conscious” products.

Most restaurants that serve their food in ceramic (or non disposable) must do the washing somehow, be it manually or in a dishwasher. Why not offer reusable chopsticks or cutlery and was them too? It is said that Japanese people don’t want to use chopsticks used by others, so they should carry their own. As a matter of fact, there’s a movement called “bring your own chopsticks” though in my everyday life I haven’t seen much people doing it. More on the “My-Hashi” movement here.

What would happen if everyone adopted a similar attitude?

How many trees would be saved?

How much garbage would never be produced?

How much less oil  (for making plastic produts) could we consume?

]]> http://www.gchicco.com/2008/11/09/experiment-eliminate-the-use-of-disposable-chop-sticks-plastic-bags-and-bottles/feed/ 6 http://www.gchicco.com/2008/11/01/taking-hula-hula-photos-in-tokyo/ http://www.gchicco.com/2008/11/01/taking-hula-hula-photos-in-tokyo/#comments Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:41:06 +0000 Gian http://www.gchicco.com/?p=64

When I was first proposed to do a photoshoot of a Hula Hula performer I was a bit skeptical. But after I met Deanne from Tokyo’s Hooplovers my idea of what Hula Hula means changed and it was a lot of fun actually. Deanne dances with 3 rings with colored LEDs that make mind-blogging effects against a dark background in low light. Maybe because of the music, the action in the studio or the fact that Deanne and the other photographers (Tim, Lars, Vladimir and Daniel, the make-up artist) are such interesting characters, I learnt a lot of studio photography tips and tricks (and now I understand why the negatives of my previous photoshoot using film with my good ol’Nikon F3 were ruined… the damn sync speed!).

These are some of my photos from today. Enjoy!

I love stationary in all its forms, specially portable stuff, and I have recently got a notebook that could be renamed “the notebook of notebooks”.  It is produced by Powershovel, which I have learned to love through their great toy cameras like the Blackbird, fly, Ikimono and Golden Half (all under the Superheadz brand), but also their photography books and music albums (Women are beautiful will be their next release, a wonderful album of cuban music recorded with young and old women). Powershovel is now amongst my fav Japanese [product designers] together with Muji and Uniqlo.

The idea behind this small notebook is rather simple: they scanned the pages of other famous notepads and printed them together. Inside you’ll find squared and lined pages, plain and pentagrammed ones. Just a small touch of creativity, design and nostalgy. I guess they make it just for fun as their core business is somewhere else.

I made this small video of me flipping through its pages. Enjoy!

Powershovel Notebook of Notebooks from Gianfranco Chicco on Vimeo.

Tokyo is a big city. Tokyo is full of huge malls. Tokyo has plenty of small shops. I love the latter. I like to discover them and get lost amongst crazy and original products.

During my sabbatical, I’m dedicating a lot of time to one of my passions: photography. I’m a gadget geek too, so I like to check out new products. Having more free time also means that I’m back to experimenting a bit more, in particular in the analogue and lo-fi photo worlds.

In the last months I’ve been playing mainly with analog cameras: a fuji instax cheki 50, a Superheadz keyring camera and a Blackbird, fly (BBF135) TLR camera, apart of dusting off my Nikon F3.

Serendipitously I discovered Camera Cabaret in Shibuya, Tokyo… and it was love at first sight. Not only it is full of great vintage and new products, but the staff is cool and stylish… a DJ plays live to make it even cooler. In fact it has been defined as a  “camera shop for music lovers” by Jun Akaike, manager for international affairs.

Camera Cabaret from Gianfranco Chicco on Vimeo.

These are some pics of this photographic paradise, below a short interview to Jun and a visit to all the products on sale.

If you want to by one of these beauties and you don’t live in Japan or haven’t got a local dealer, drop me a line and we will work something out.

edit: address of Camera Cabaret in Shibuya, Tokyo

edit2: check out Cameron’s “The Plastic Lens” blog for a Blackbird, fly 135 tutorial