Latest news with #Showa-era
Time Out
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Best live music venues and DJ bars in Tokyo
What is it? Near Koiwa Station in Tokyo's easternmost Edogawa ward, Bushbash has been keeping the area's music scene alive since 2009. It's since built a name for itself as a go-to venue for hardcore, metal, punk, hip hop and experimental artists. Why we love it: Blast beats, pig squeals and spontaneous circle pits, Bushbash's live room couldn't contrast more with the tranquil Showa-era shopping street just outside its doors. The wood cabin-like space sits to the right of a lounge area, which also serves as a dancefloor, merch stand and place to rest your eardrums and grab a drink between bands. The live room fits around 100 and is serviced by speakers that can only be described as unconscionably large for a space of this size. In contrast, the lighting is decidedly modest, with four hanging bulbs and two tiny spots aimed at the stage. Just enough to make sure you can see the band – and any stray limbs that come your way when the pit suddenly opens up.
Yomiuri Shimbun
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Lampshades Made with Showa-Era Patterned Glass Create Nostalgic Feel
Patterned plate glass from the mid-Showa era is enjoying new popularity. This type of glass was widely produced from the 1950s to the 1970s. Diverse patterns adorn the surface of the glass, which stained glass artist Akiko Kobayashi uses to make lampshades that create a soft, nostalgic light. The glass comes in various patterns with different names, such as 'Ginga' (galaxy), which features large and small twinkling stars; 'Sakura' (cherry blossoms) with elements of spring; and 'Highway' with intersecting swirls and straight lines. 'Even pieces of the glass in the same shape can have completely different moods depending on their patterns. It's very interesting,' said Kobayashi, 46, explaining the charm of the glass. The Showa-era glass was a popular construction material from the post-World War II period through the high economic growth period. At the time, plate glass was formed by pouring molten glass between two rollers. For patterned plate glass, one of the rollers had a pattern engraved on it. The raised and recessed parts appropriately blocked or blurred the view while still transmitting light. This feature was ideal for windows and doors in homes. Glass manufacturers competed to develop their own unique patterns. However, in the latter half of the 1960s, this kind of glass production declined as new methods to efficiently produce uniform plate glass became widespread. Today, only a few manufacturers continue to produce this type of glass. Kobayashi was born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1979. After graduating from university, she began taking a stained glass class as a hobby while working. At the age of 40, she started her career as a stained glass artist. She owns the Stainedglass Moineau atelier in Tokyo. When Kobayashi was a child, she often saw houses and other buildings with Showa-era patterned glass for windowpanes. At the time, she thought it was old-fashioned, but when she saw it at an antique shop six years ago, she was filled with nostalgia.'I not only remembered its various beautiful patterns, but I also felt the warmth and nostalgic atmosphere of home once again,' Kobayashi said. Kobayashi began creating lampshades using the Showa-era glass to share its beauty with other people. She connects the pieces using techniques for making stained glass and soldering. Kobayashi buys the glass from antique shops. She also visits demolition sites of old houses to obtain it from their owners. Some people bring glass from their old houses to her atelier and ask her to create pieces that preserve their memories. To date, Kobayashi has collected over 50 kinds of such glass and created works from making lampshades, for example, she might use glass pieces with patterns related to the four seasons on all four sides, or cut out eight thin strips, each bearing a different pattern, and connect them. She carefully considers the balance of the patterns, cuts out the necessary amount of glass, and examines the order and arrangement of the glass pieces many times before finishing each work. 'Glass products are closely tied to daily life, and their owners have strong attachments to them. This is especially true for Showa-era plate glass with its unique patterns,' Kobayashi said. 'I want to continue creating products that their owners will enjoy for many years, cherishing the memories of the past.' Preserving memoriesIn addition to lampshades, Kobayashi creates various other products from Showa-era patterned plate glass, such as small boxes, vases, photo stands and clock faces. She usually makes these products based on her own ideas. Several times a year, she also creates custom designs at the request of customers. For example, for a barbershop's new building, she used Showa-era patterned plate glass that had been in the windows of the shop's old building to create a sign and eyeglass holders. Kobayashi said: 'Everyone has their own way of preserving memories. I always make an effort to find out what to do and how to ensure that my customers will cherish my works for many years.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kayokyoku Bar Spotlight Shimbashi; Bring the Spotlight Back to When We Were Young
As the voice of popular J-pop singer Momoe Yamaguchi plays in the bar, customers with glasses in their hands hum along and sway their shoulders to the music. At Kayokyoku Bar Spotlight Shimbashi in Tokyo's Shimbashi district, visitors can listen to Showa-era songs from the '70s and '80s on vinyl, and fans are enjoying a reunion with their favorite songs. The shelves are lined with 2,100 extended play and long-playing records, and if a customer hands in a record he or she wants to listen to or writes a request on a card, the DJ will drop the needle on each one in turn. A man in his early 60s who works at a nearby company requested 'Soleil,' an album by Takako Okamura. 'This is the song that soothed me after coming home exhausted as a rookie,' he monthly request rankings are posted on the wall up to No. 10, in the style of 'The Best Ten,' a famous Japanese music TV program of yesteryear. In May, C-C-B's 'Romantic ga Tomaranai' (Romantic never stops) was No. 1 and Kyoko Koizumi's 'Kogarashi ni Dakarete' (Embraced by wintry wind) was No. 2. The name of the bar is taken from the name of a segment on the TV program, and also means 'to bring the spotlight back to when we were young.' The interior is decorated like a set from a 1980s disco or singing show, complete with red chairs and a mirror ball. The entrance door has a round window and resembles the entrance to a TV station studio. Nostalgic cassette tapes are also on display.'We have a lot of fun talking about which company's cassette tapes we used to use, Maxell, TDK or Sony,' said Nobuaki Ando, a 57-year-old representative of the bar. After Ando's best friend died suddenly about 25 years ago, his friend's wife told Ando that 'listening to the tapes Ando-kun dubbed for him when he was in junior high and high school and talking about the old days was a source of emotional healing for him.' Ando opened the bar in 2011 with the hope of creating a place where he could play nostalgic songs to ease people's minds during difficult times, and where people could talk about their problems on a daily basis. 'I want to provide a space where people can talk about the old days without worrying about others,' said Ando. Kayokyoku Bar Spotlight ShimbashiAddress: Karasumori Building 6F, 3-16-3, Shimbashi, Minato Ward, Tokyo Access: 1 minute walk from JR Shimbashi Station Hours: Open 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. on weekdays. Open until 2 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, national holidays and days before holidays. Closed on Sundays.
SoraNews24
15-07-2025
- SoraNews24
The old-school awesomeness of the New Akao, a Showa-era hot spring hotel still standing tall
Timeless scenery and retro luxury are waiting for travelers in Atami. Usually, when you hear about a hotel in Japan with a classical style, it's a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) that people are talking about. On one of our recent trips, though, we stayed in a hotel that evokes not thoughts of Japan's samurai era, but the good old days of the Showa period and bubble economy. The Hotel New Akao, in the town of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, opened in 1970, almost exactly in the middle of the post-war part of the Showa era (which as a whole lasted from 1926 to 1989). It was a time when Japan's economic recovery had come far enough for people to start enjoying the finer things in life, like luxurious leisure travel to seaside resorts and hot spring towns, and with Atami being both of those, it became one of the era's most popular destinations, and the Hotel New Akao was the crown jewel of Atami's accommodation options. Atami has lost some of its trendy luster in the years since, but recently it's been getting attention again for its retro appeal. The New Akao is definitely full of that vintage atmosphere, but that's just part of what makes it a great place to stay, as we found out during our stay. To start with, the views are fantastic, and yes, that's views , since there are all sorts of vantage points from which to admire the breathtaking surroundings. This is thanks to both the hotel's location and its design. The complex is built on a cliff right next to the ocean, providing unbroken views stretching out over the sea all the way to the horizon. On clear days you can see as far as the Boso Peninsula in Chiba, three prefectures east of Shizuoka. Guestrooms are divided into two buildings, the Horizon Wing and Ocean Wing, but since they're built on the upper and lower sections of the cliff, every single room has an ocean view, and many of the common-use areas do too. Outside of our room, the best photo spots we found were the Royal Lounge, on the second floor of the Horizon Wing, the open-air garden above the main dining hall of the Ocean Wing… …and, our personal favorite, the balcony terrace that's just off the lobby of the Ocean Wing. The hotel's interior design is where the aesthetics get retro, with elegant chandeliers, plush carpeting, and spacious ballrooms. It's an entirely different look from the understated minimalism you'll find in many new hotels, a throwback to the idea that luxurious travel should feel like a special extra indulgence, as opposed to just stripping away the accumulated unpleasantries of daily life. If you really want to talk a stroll back through yesteryear, the Nigiwai Yokocho section of the hotel is a recreation of a Showa-era entertainment street, with an old-school bar, dagashi candy shop, and retro arcade video game corner (though some of the games might actually hail from the Heisei-period '90s). Ah, but we said above that Atami is a hot spring town, right? It sure is, and the New Akao has no fewer than three different hot spring bathing areas to soak in, each with indoor and outdoor sections. The closest to the sea, pictured above, is the Namine, meaning 'sound of the waves,' located on the first floor of the Ocean Wing. There's also the Ayami ('colors of the sea') bath section, up on the third floor of the Horizon Wing… …and finally, on the floor that serves as both the first basement level of the Horizon Wing and the 15th floor of the Ocean Wing, is the Nishiki bath area, with an infinity pool-style design for its outdoor tubs that makes it look like the waters of the hot spring and the sea blend into each other. Though each area is single-sex, they all switch over at mid-day, allowing both men and women to enjoy all of the baths and views during their stay. We mentioned the main dining hall earlier, and one look at it will tell you that dinner at the New Akao is an opulent event. The dinner buffet is a mix of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes, the holy triumvirate of hotel buffets in Japan. With Atami being bordered by the sea on one side and the mountains on the other, there was a fantastic selection of local seafood and produce, and we partook of sashimi, fried shrimp, oden (vegetables simmered in dashi broth), and freshly carved roast beef. We hit the buffet again for breakfast the next morning, starting our day off with fried aji (horse mackerel), soy sauce-marinated red snapper, and French toast. As you can see, you could easily spend your whole stay lounging, bathing, dining, and looking off contently at the ocean…or you could take advantage of all sorts of activities the New Akao offers. ▼ A board showing the day's activities, with those that still have room for more participants marked with 空きあり. Being right next to the ocean, there are marine activities like kayak and stand-up paddleboard tours, some which take you to nearby sea caves, and also snorkeling and fishing excursions. For indoor types there are lessons in accessory design, candle-making, and photography, and for those wanting to explore the town the hotel offers guided walking tours or bicycle rentals if you prefer to set your own course. Like at many hot spring hotels, there are also day-use plans for the baths so that non-guests can make use of them too. But for the full experience, to get a sense of why people have been coming to this town, and this hotel in particular, for so many years, there's nothing quite like spending the night at the New Akao. Hotel information Hotel New Akao / ホテルニューアカオ Address: Shizuoka-ken, Atami-shi, Atami 1993-250 静岡県熱海市熱海1993-250 Website In-bath photos provided by Hotel New Akao All other photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Tokyo Weekender
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Iconic Kissaten in Tokyo: A Local Expert's Picks
Like many of Japan's colorful subcultures, Showa retro has been a quiet but stable presence in Tokyo's fashion, food and entertainment scenes for decades. In the last five years, though, social media outlets such as Instagram and TikTok have sparked a renewed interest in retro aesthetics among younger generations, who are seeking out record bars, vintage apparel and even retro toys. This fascination, of course, includes kissaten — atmospheric, cozy coffee shops that first emerged in the early 20th century. Kissaten, which started out as quiet places for writers and businesspeople to read and sip, tend to feature a simple but delicious menu, including drip coffee, fruit parfaits and yoshoku (western-style Japanese food) dishes like Napolitan pasta, pizza toast and the like. While many modern cafes in and outside Japan have attempted to recreate the allure of these spaces to partake in the cultural moment, long-established kissaten haunts possess a tranquility and unpolished, timeworn charm that is difficult to manufacture. Wanting to find out more about Tokyo's rich kissaten culture, we reached out to local retro expert Seungjun Yang for his selection of cafes. He is behind one of our all-time favorite Instagram accounts, Retlog : a thoughtfully curated portal sharing the distinct histories and menus of the myriad kissaten dotted across Japan. List of Contents: Tricolore Honten Kissa Shinkai Toronto Coffee Tei Rouen Ethel no Nakaniwa More Information Related Posts courtesy of Mitsugu Uehara / deeptokyo Tricolore Honten Situated in the heart of Ginza, Tokyo's historic shopping district, Tricolore Honten is a long-established gem known for its timeless excellence. It has been around since 1936, and is most famous for its amazing cafe au laits. 'The cafe au laits are poured one by one at your seat,' Yang tells us. courtesy of Mitsugu Uehara / deeptokyo He also recommends trying the éclairs here, which have long been the cafe's specialty. The pastries are filled with cream upon order, ensuring a delicious outer-layer crunch and fresh sweetness. courtesy of kissa shinkai courtesy of kissa shinkai courtesy of kissa shinkai Kissa Shinkai For those looking for something quirkier, Yang recommends the coffee shop within a public bathhouse, Kissa Shinkai , in Kita city. The sento has been around for over 70 years. Shinkai , meaning 'deep sea,' comes from a mural in the women's bath, and is reflected in the cafe's cobalt walls and calm ambience. courtesy of kissa shinkai The kissaten was renovated through crowdfunding efforts in order to pass on the ambience of the bathhouse to younger generations. 'We recommend trying the iconic Shinkai Jelly, and the proprietress' secret recipe pudding,' Yang says. courtesy of toronto Toronto Not too far from Ueno Park is Taito city's Toronto , a family-run Showa-era kissaten known for its classic yoshoku dishes. 'The kissaten sees a wide range of regulars across all ages at all hours of the day,' Yang notes, 'and many of them have been around since the cafe first opened in 1965.' courtesy of toronto courtesy of toronto courtesy of toronto Toronto's Napolitan pasta, with generous amounts of Tabasco and powdered cheese, is a must-try for yoshoku and itameshi (Japanese-Italian fusion) lovers. The shop's pudding, piled high with swirls of whipped cream, regularly goes viral for its incredible texture and rich flavor. courtesy of santatsu Coffee Tei Rouen 'You have to try the Showa-style morning set at Coffee Tei Rouen ,' Yang gushes. Located in Ota city, near JR Omori Station, this cozy kissaten is one of Tokyo's best-preserved relics of Showa coffee culture. courtesy of santatsu courtesy of santatsu courtesy of YamaNe79 / Tabelog courtesy of santatsu Like many kissaten, Rouen is a family-run establishment, currently led by second-generation owner Takamasa Miyazawa. The breakfast set Yang mentions has remained largely unchanged over the past few decades. It is composed of a drink of your choice, plus toast with butter and jam. courtesy of mayuko kiyoshi / note Ethel no Nakaniwa If you find yourself in Koenji , the free-spirited Tokyo neighborhood known as 'the birthplace of the Japanese punk scene,' you must check out Ethel no Nakaniwa . Its name, meaning 'Ethel's courtyard,' goes perfectly with the magical interior and decor. With plants hanging from the ceiling, velveteen accents and stained-glass windows, the cozy space feels like it has come straight out of a whimsical fairytale. courtesy of itoitolog / tabelog 'The dishware at Ethel is stunning,' Yang points out. 'You'll see antique teapots, ornate cups and vintage silverware.' While enjoying delicious scones, cakes and tea, you can soak in the enchanting ambience of your surroundings. More Retro Recommendations You can follow Retlog on Instagram @retlog_official for the latest information on retro establishments across Tokyo, Osaka and beyond. If you love retro fashion and thrifting, make sure to also check out digdig ( @ ), an innovative online marketplace also created by Yang and his team. It is designed to encourage mindful shopping habits and sustainability. Related Posts How To Find the Perfect Kissaten The Timeless Nostalgia of Casio Digital Watches Unpacking the Gourmet World of Fruit Sando: Japan's Iconic Dessert Sandwich
