HONG KONG. WIth a population of 7 million people, HK is easily one of the most densely populated regions of the world. It takes a bit to get used to, but after a while, you kinda get accustomed to having thousands of people swarming around you at all times of the day. At a certain point, it even gets comforting.
by bobbyhundreds
Taipei, Taiwan is noted for many things… The night markets, psychopath taxi drivers, the scooters, foot massages, unusually tall Asian people.. but my favorite landmark is the National Palace Museum, Taiwan’s comprehensive art museum that houses 650,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts and art. People come from all over to witness one of the largest collections of its kind in the world. There are rocks that look like slabs of pork, rocks that look like cabbage, and there’s also a huge collection of China’s most famous calligraphy work. Gives me some insight on where my mom’s whole style came from. Anyways, they ixnay’d the photography, so all I got are shots from the outside. Still, just as awe-inspiring.
by bobbyhundreds
“You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.” I shot this clip at a busy intersection in Tokyo before I left Japan yesterday afternoon.
by bobbyhundreds
I’m in Taiwan. And right off the plane, had to head over to DTF aka Din Tai Fung, the o.g. dumpling spot in Taipei.
True, there’s a DTF outside of L.A., but it’s just not the same as actually eating it in Taiwan. There were a lot of white people at this particular location tonight, mmhmm kiiinda touristy, but everything still had the same great taste. Steamed dumplings stuffed with meat, shrimp, vegetables, or any combination of the 3.
I call these guys saggy bottoms because they pack that junk in the trunk. See how the hips sway in the nether regions? Each sack is filled with a light soupy broth, so you get to eat and drink with the same bite.
For the aforementioned white people, they give you an instruction manual on how to consume and enjoy DTF’s signature dumplings. The best part is the recommended ratio of soy sauce to vinegar.
Look like miniature nuclear power plants.
Some of the best dishes at Din Tai Fung aren’t even dumplings. I generally don’t like fried rice.. at most chinese restaurants in the States, fried rice is made of the stale leftover rice from the day before. But THIS fried rice was on another level. The hot-and-sour soup is also bonkers. Next time you’re just driving by Taipei, Taiwan, make sure you get down with the DTFeezy.
by bobbyhundreds
After being out of the limelight for a few years, American streetwear has been making a gradual comeback out here in Japan. Much of it thanks to good retailers, like the new ALMOST FAMOUS boutique in Shibuya.
It’s round the corner from the landmark Tower Records after the famous Shibuya crossing, you can’t miss it. You WILL, however, have to go through this to get there.
ALMOST FAMOUS just opened its doors a couple months back, and stocks the finest U.S. streetwear brands: Alife, Huf, Hellz, and Diamond to name a few. There’s also a good selection of Oakleys, Incase product, and Gonz and Dennis Calvero original paintings lining the wall. Nice, clean space, tasteful combo of fanned-out UV lighting fixtures, variety of wood, and usage of mirrors. A must-see stop on the Tokyo streetwear circuit:
by bobbyhundreds
I know I usually just banter about the street style daily news from Japan, but it might be worthwhile to take you on a cultural trip through this historically rich nation. Just across the street from where Harajuku’s fashion alleys sprawl is the Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine that’s almost 90 years old. Embedded deep within a forest, visitors from around the world come here to worship, pray, sightsee, get married, relax, or collect information for blog write-ups.
The trail winds tortuously through the woods, and the thousands of daily visitors kick up a dust storm that blurs the afternoon’s hazy sunshine.
Today they were having an ice sculpture show along the path. I guess ice artists from all over contributed some of these intricate pieces.
It was interesting to watch the sculptures throughout the day as sunrays pierced the treetops and sliced through some of the figures..
And eventually got the better of some of ‘em.
Nothing lasts forever.
The main gate.
Visitors leave prayers for loved ones.
Today was a national holiday here in Japan.. the Coming-of-Age day, which celebrates all youth who turn 20 this year. All the girls who’ll be hitting the double-decades in 2009 wore traditional kimonos and zori slippers out in public and in ceremonies,.. you could spot them from a mile away. I know much of our crew back home would appreciate a day like this.
Just Married.
Unexpected social groups that I witnessed making the pilgrimage to the Shrine: Korean golfer dads, Australian white girls, teenage hesh skaterats, lowrider chicks, and Japanese rockabillies.
Here’s some footage from the Shrine. As you’ll see, there are a lot of practices being observed that I’m not educated enough to speak on.. so I won’t even bother trying to explain what is happening here.. Maybe this will help.
by bobbyhundreds
Tokyo, Japan.
I try to come out here at least once a year.. it usually helps me to think differently, a bit sideways. The Japanese fashion and retail experience have traditionally been unrivaled. The attention to detail, precision in construction and superb quality, the emphasis on packaging, presentation, and delivery.. providing the consumer with an experience…
A decade ago, it was an incredible place to get lost in, and absorb, or be absorbed. Streetwear was so pervasive and progressive in Tokyo, street culture in general was a living, breathing phenomenon. But over the past few years, much of the culture’s disintegrated to a mere shell of what it once was.. And streetwear generally now falls amongst the uber high-end NBHD and Visvim tail of the spectrum, or the dookie ropes/Cazals/Fresh Prince cap combos that were over in the States 3 years ago. It’s rather disappointing.
In any case, TH is still alive and well in the streets of Harajuku.
There are way too many people. Darwinism is doing a C+ job out here.
Bon appetit.
If you eat this and live to tell about it, that means you’re a robot and your owner’s gonna be pissed when he finds your robot diarrhea all over the cardboard box.
The Comme Des Garcons store in Aoyama is one of my favorite stops in Tokyo. One of the last bastions of unbridled fashion creativity and artistic ingenue.
Tokyo Z-Boy out in front of BEAMS.
Yohji Yamamoto. Brilliance.
The Prada store across the street is still an architectural masterpiece.
A view inside one of the windows. Art and Commerce collide.
Huge & Massive.
Somewhere, Superman lives inside.
Back in Harajuku, the streets that criss-crossed through this neighborhood used to crawl with the most elaborate, dramatic street fashion.. Mostly girls dressed up as weirded-out maids, or Christian Death-era Goths. But those days have finally come to an end, long gone are the Lolita girls, Ganguros, Cosplay participants, Gyarus, and other Visual Kei costumed attention-seekers.
Last of the horrificly-dressed Mohicans.
Sayonara.
by bobbyhundreds
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