(article reprint) Long known for cutting-edge design, Japan’s capital continues to service all of the senses. Written by Eric C. Shiner Photography by KENJI AOKI

The high style and avantgarde design that pulses through contemporary Japan is more than familiar to those of us in the West. For decades, countless innovative Japanese exports have found their way over the ocean and into our collective consciousness. How did the Pacific get so small? Thanks to an explosion of top-notch graphic design and animation in the 1950s and 1960s by the likes of manga innovator Osamu Tezuka and de-sign guru Tadanori Yokoo, along with early 20th century interests in high design from Europe and the United States, innovative design has long been promoted in Japan and, in turn, appreciated abroad. The good news is that the hip and the desirable continue to be churned out there, with the latest trends somehow improving upon and updating what came before. On a recent trip to Tokyo, I was thrilled to find in such shopping districts as Aoyama, Daikanyama, and Shinjuku a bevy of products that wowed the senses and made me reach for my wallet. From fashion accessories to pieces of art, simple soda bottles to high-end furniture, the new works from Japanese designers and artists are constantly redefining what it means to be cool. Some of these items have found their way to the States; others require a much recommended trip East to soothe one’s material desires. In these pages, renowned Tokyo photographer Kenji Aoki captures — from an elevated perspective — the little jewels I acquired on my trip, reminding us that his native land continues to lead the way in the global quest for high design.