Japan is full of distinctive people, places, businesses and ideas that deserve wider attention.
Through O to the World, Takabama explores three qualities rooted in Japan:
Omoshiroi — creativity, originality and meaningful surprise
Omotenashi — hospitality, care and thoughtful experience
Oishii — taste, craft and sensory enjoyment
This page features stories that reflect one or more of these qualities.
Some are partners or companies we have worked with. Others are places, projects and people we admire, visit or believe deserve to be discovered.
Together, they offer a view of the Japan we hope to connect with the wider world.
These are independent editorial selections by Takabama and do not constitute a ranking or commercial endorsement.
MONPE: Cloth, Memory, and the Shape of Everyday Life
The road is narrow, and the houses sit close to the fields. In summer, the air in Kurume is thick … More
VS.: A Place Where a City Thinks
On a quiet afternoon in Osaka, not far from the vast redevelopment of Grand Green Osaka and the busy flow … More
Cocktail Himuro: Ice, Memory, and the Shape of Hospitality
On a quiet evening in a small bar in Osaka, a bartender places a block of frozen cocktail onto a … More
Total Media: The People Who Build Places for Ideas
On certain mornings in Tokyo, before the crowds fill the trains and before office towers fully wake up, there are … More
LOHE — A Café Designed Like a Quiet Idea
In the late afternoon, when the office towers around Osaka Station begin to reflect the setting sun, people slowly drift … More
Superfestival, or How to Design the Unexpected
By late afternoon, the light in Grand Front Osaka begins to soften. Office workers move toward the station in small, … More
Know a Japanese business, place or project that deserves to be discovered?