“When I consider what Japanese culture is like, the answer is that it all is subculture. Therefore, art is unnecessary.” – Takashi Murakami

It’s easy to discount Takashi Murakami’s work as pure design – the explosion in his popularity has led him to work with rapper Kanye West and the Luis Vuitton label, both pinnacles of pop-consumer culture in their right. However, even five minutes within the (c)Murakami exhibit at MOCA will put an end any such assumption.

Seeing this art full-scale in all its Technicolor glory, hundreds of manga eyes, dripping fangs and rainbow vomit exploding from fields of flat color made me actually wish I were under the influence of psychedelics, yet grateful I was not. Video projections, massive acrylic sculptures and canvases with deranged cartoon bears ballooning into grotesque monsters, surrounded by grinning daises that look almost exactly like digital prints because of precision with which they’re painted. This is undoubtedly the work of an artist, despite the fact that Takashi Murakami rarely paints these works himself. While he remains in charge of all his art and products, the actual work is done by other artists in his Warhol-style factory.

KariwanZ is the name of a rubberwear designer couple from Japan. They create intensely elaborate outfits for themselves with themes ranging from Rococo to the space age to marine life, employing layers of ruffles that look like cake decorations, detailed appliqués and inflatable portions that transform their limbs into claws or unheard-of appendages.

The outfits are not for sale, and seem to be made purely for the couple’s roleplaying and creative pleasure. No matter what style the outfits, they all have one theme in common: the lady, named Karin, is always the mistress dog-keeper, and the man, named Wanco (“doggie” in Japanese), always appears as her pet.

There’s a lot of exuberance here; the smiling eyes peeking out of the masks, the comic book format in which they tell the story of why they began to make clothing, their willingness to share the steps of their creative process (they even publish the formula for their latex glue, a jealously-guarded trade secret of every latex designer in the West), all these things point to a genuine love for latex and their desire to share their creative fetish bond with the world. They also sell cute latex teddy bears, all of which are currently sold out.

On their “about us” page, they write “We can create costumes we want to wear, and can create anything that we want to have!” Good for them!

Tokyo’s theme restaurants have been attracting tourists and locals for quite some time. There’s a selection suitable for every mood, kink and outfit – just take a look at this partial list!

• The Vampire Cafe
• Alice in Wonderland
• Christon Cafe – yes, it’s Jesus-themed
• Princess Heart – Snow White + Cinderella theme
• Opera – Phantom of the Opera
• The LockUp

Naturally, on our Japan-o-dventure our curiosity and appetites were piqued so we paid some of these fantasy eateries a visit.

The Vampire Cafe is a maze of red velvet and layers of candle wax. Waitresses in tarted up maid uniforms solemnly lead patrons trough crimson corridors across a blood red floor, literally. This floor, likely my favorite part of the decor, is composed of glowing backlit tiles depicting enlarged photographs of blood cells. Customers can choose a banquet table or private curtained booths, maid bells provided. I tried to wish myself back there yesterday – it would be stupendous for a Halloween dinner; appetizers arranged into the shape of crucifixes, rose petals sprinkled across plates, the main course served in, yes, a tiny black casket. And all this triumphantly crowned with a chocolate skull inside my parfait, no less.

Hideaki Anno is still best known for Evangelion, but of no less significance is his gorgeous live action film “Ritual”. Unknown to me at the time of viewing, Ritual is based on a novel written by the female lead Ayako Fujitani – Japanese daugher of Steven Segal, and the Director is played by an actual indie director Shunji Iwai. The cinematography is absolutely jaw-dropping, and the plot is wonderful as well. While some of the film’s trailers seem to have marketed it as a horror film, this is not the case at all. Instead, Ritual explores human nuance.

After a chance meeting a jaded filmmaker finds inspiration as he documents a strange girl who dresses up in costumes, paints her face, calls every tomorrow her birthday and lives alone in a huge abandoned warehouse she’s made her world. He communicates with her through his video camera, drawn slowly into her psyche and her fantasy life. Without giving away too much, I propose you stay away from too much research and reviews, and see this film with fresh eyes, as I did.

• Official website [Japanese]
• Hideaki Anno on Wikipedia
• Ritual on Wikipedia

A few more stills and the only decent video-clip I could find, after the jump.

Meguro Parasitological Museum, originally uploaded by Coilhouse.

? Try to think about parasites without a feeling of fear, and take the time to learn about their wonderful world of the Parasites.? so states the official website of the world’s only parasite museum in Meguro – a relatively quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan. Most of the Coil-staff was on a Tokyo adventure in September and paid individual visits to this wonderful place between fits of devouring strange candy and exhausting their funds in fancy boutiques.

Boasting 45,000 parasite specimens immersed in formaline, the museum is a privately-founded and now government-aided establishment. With its parasite-positive atmosphere the museum lives up to its slogan and is a popular date spot. It’s easy to see why! Milky white samples float peacefully on night sky-blue backdrops in neat, glass jar rows. Friendly interactive displays show diagrams of various relationships between animals and parasites which inhabit them. A long ribbon hangs near a case displaying an impressive tapeworm, nearby sign encouraging the visitor to play with the ribbon to understand the tapeworm’s length. Don’t fear – this is an educational adventure, friends!

The museum isn’t particularly large, and won’t take more than an hour to conquer. Admission is free and photography is allowed. I highly recommend you pay our little friends a visit, even if you’re only in Tokyo for a few days. You’ll be glad you tore yourself away from the hostess bars, gluttony and experimental toilets in favor of learning!