The Tokyo Edit

I’m 35 now and have been living in Asia for more than 10 years, so it’s honestly kind of wild that it took me this long to finally visit Japan. Especially Tokyo. For years, friends and clients kept telling me the same thing, that I would fall in love with it and that it’s completely my vibe. They were right.

Since I want to slowly turn this newsletter into more of a diary and share a bit more of my life, I thought I’d take you along for my week there.

I went to Tokyo to meet my business partner SoSo. She specialises in online live sales and has been doing this for quite a while. We randomly met in Berlin last year, and later she came to Bali to visit my atelier. Somewhere in between we decided to collaborate. She invited me to Tokyo and really went all in, selling my designs during Golden Week, which is a major holiday period in both Japan and China.

One of my favourite things was going antique shopping. Especially around Shimokitazawa. It has this young, creative energy without feeling messy or overwhelming. Super curated, but still relaxed. On weekends, there are flea markets popping up around the city, which I loved. Some of the best antique shops were not easy to find. I actually spent quite a bit of time getting lost trying to track them down, but that was part of the fun. You have to wander a bit, look closer, go down the smaller streets.


(SoSo and I at GONPACHI restaurant where they filmed Kill Bill - go there if you are ok with many people and having a time limit on your table)

What you imagine Tokyo to be like is partly true. Yes, it’s busy, and because of the holiday it was very busy. But strangely, I didn’t mind at all. It actually did something to me. It felt like all my senses switched back on. I was reminded how much I love being in a city. I move more, I see more people, I feel more awake. In Bali, life is softer. In Tokyo, everything feels sharper in a good way.

It’s hard to fit one week into a short post, but I’ll try. I haven’t been this impressed by a place in a long time. Usually I barely take photos or videos, just here and there, but in Tokyo my phone was constantly about to die because I couldn’t stop documenting things.

Even though the city is packed, it somehow feels calm and incredibly clean. I kept wondering why. My theory is that the subway system works like veins that gather into hubs rather than spreading everything evenly. You move from one busy node to another, but in between you suddenly find these quiet, almost sleepy residential streets. No chaos, no noise, just space to breathe before diving back in.

On my last day, I went to the teamLab Borderless exhibition, which was completely immersive and almost disorienting in a beautiful way. After that, I visited the Mori Art Museum to see the work of Ron Mueck. His sculptures are intense, sometimes almost uncomfortable to look at, but in a way that really stays with you.

This definitely wasn’t my last time in Tokyo. I already know I’ll be back soon.But for now, I’ll let the pictures speak a bit. Enjoy.
-Mark