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Tag: tokyo

  • Concept store Uniqlo Move opens in Tokyo

    Concept store Uniqlo Move opens in Tokyo

    A lifestyle-focussed concept store, Uniqlo Move, has been launched in Tokyo by the Japanese fashion basics retailer.

    It features its LifeWear range of activewear in a space on the eighth floor of Shinjuku Takashimaya department store.

    Sections of the 75 sqm store will be arranged according to movement, ranging from everyday life to exercise. Not only will the store offer products and visuals different to Uniqlo stores, but it will also act as an information hub for tips on making everyday life “more active and comfortable”, says the retailer.

    Dubbed “The Science of Lifewear” in its entirety, the brand’s first global campaign launched last year, being described by creative director John Jay at Uniqlo parent company Fast Retailing as “the ongoing innovation of simplicity”.

    As the range was developed last year, mountaineer Marin Minayama has appointed the brand’s first female ambassador.

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  • Legoland Japan and its food inovation

    Legoland Japan and its food inovation

    When Legoland Japan opens in Nagoya next month, its restaurants and stalls will offer a range of themed food items.

    Its “potato bricks” have the same shape as the toy building blocks, iced treats are served in giant Lego blocks, and children can make their own multi-coloured Abominable Slush drinks in the Bricktopia zone.

    Hot-dogs from the Marina Snack Shack in the LEGO City zone

     

    There are seven distinct areas in the theme park, with five restaurants and eight food stands. The park opens on April 1, with the nearest train station being Kinjo Futo, about a 20-minute trip south from Nagoya station.

    Meanwhile in Tokyo, there is always the Lego Discovery Centre at Decks Tokyo Beach Island Mall, plus the Brick Burger restaurant in the Philippines.

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  • BT connects world’s five top forex markets

    BT connects world’s five top forex markets

    BT is linking up the world’s five main foreign exchange locations to help boost the competitiveness of its global financial industry customers.

    The company is now offering BT Radianz FX express, which provides dedicated high-speed links between financial hubs in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, the UK and the US. The five hubs are involved in almost 77% of the world’s forex trading, according to the 2016 BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey.

    The new Radianz FX express service claims to offer low-latency and cost-effective, fully managed connectivity that will give traders faster access to market data across the five locations, while making it easier for them to execute trades.

    Radianz FX express links directly into the five key third-party global data centers in the forex trading world. These data centers were selected because each of the locations hosts the IT infrastructure of significant clusters of the forex trading community.

    “Foreign exchange is the largest asset class by value traded globally.  An average of US $5.1 trillion is traded on FX markets every day,” BT VP of global industry practices Hubertus von Roenne said.

    “We’ve created managed BT Radianz FX express routes to boost the competitiveness of our financial services customers. With dedicated links within and between the world’s five biggest FX trading locations, BT can help FX firms lower costs while creating opportunities for international growth.”

  • Japan Airlines to launch NYC-Tokyo Haneda flights

    Japan Airlines to launch NYC-Tokyo Haneda flights

    Japan Airlines will add nonstop service between New York JFK and Tokyo’s close-to-downtown Haneda Airport, the carrier announced Thursday.

    The new route – which will be in addition to JAL’s existing service between JFK and Tokyo’s more-distant Narita airport – will launch April 1. The airline will fly one daily round-trip flight on the route using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

    Narita is Tokyo’s primary international gateway while Haneda’s route map is more heavily tilted toward regional flights. For many travelers, Haneda is the preferred Tokyo airport because of its proximity to the city.

    Japan Airlines returns to Dallas/Fort Worth after 14-year absence. In announcing the Haneda-JFK route, JAL said the service “is being offered to enhance customer convenience and to provide greater access to and from Japan-domestic connecting flights at Haneda Airport.”

    JAL was able to add the route at slot-controlled Haneda airport by freeing up slots from another route. To make that happen, JAL’s Honolulu-Haneda route will be shifted to Narita, according to the airline.

    Meanwhile, JAL also said it would expand capacity on its existing flights between New York JFK and Tokyo Narita. The airline will do that by switching to 244-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, providing an 83-seat boost from the 161-seat Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner” the carrier currently flies on the route.

    The switch to the 777-300ER also will allow JAL to offer a first-class product between JFK and Narita. The airline’s 777-300ERs seat eight in first class, 49 in business class, 40 in premium economy and 147 in standard coach. JAL’s 787-8s are configured with 38 business class seats, but they do not have a first-class cabin. The 787-8s also seat 35 in premium economy and 88 in standard coach.

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  • Mikimoto Ginza set to reopen in June

    Mikimoto Ginza set to reopen in June

    The Mikimoto Ginza flagship store in Tokyo will reopen in June, the pearl retailer has confirmed.

    The store has taken more than two years to rebuild, fuelling expectation of a unique and outstanding design concept when the building is unveiled. The photo above shows the store before reconstruction commenced.

    Once complete, the shop will be located within a 56-metre-tall building encased in some 40,000 pieces of glass. The sales space will almost double to about 1400 sqm, spanning six floors.

    Construction began in January 2015.

    Mikimoto says the store will open on June 1 and the company hopes to attract more Japanese customers after the investment – as well as its traditional tourist base.

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  • New look for Pierre Herme Japan flagship

    New look for Pierre Herme Japan flagship

    A decade after opening, French chocolatier Pierre Herme Japan has renovated its flagship store at Aoyama in Tokyo.

    Behind the new look is interior designer Masamichi Katayama, whose Wonderwall firm has worked on projects in Australia, Europe, the US and other parts of Asia. The renewed space reflects on the notion that every day is a whole new day presenting an opportunity to discover new tastes, sensations and pleasures.

    pierre-herme-renovated-flagship-store-tokyo-4

    Right from the store’s entrance, visitors are presented with a spread of products, from macarons to viennoiseries.

    pierre-herme-renovated-flagship-store-tokyo-2

    By the staircase is a new area, the “Crossover”, where original items are displayed including more than 40 recipe books written by Pierre Herme.

    pierre-herme-renovated-flagship-store-tokyo-1

    Called “Heaven”, the upper level features an aerial kitchen where the chefs can be seen at work.
    Throughout, the store features eclectic art such as a neon sign created by artist Makiko Tanaka, as well as a service counter that seamlessly doubles as a DJ booth for private events.

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  • Pop-up cafe inspired by PPAP

    Pop-up cafe inspired by PPAP

    With a bright exterior and unusual menu, the world’s first official PPAP cafe opens in Tokyo tomorrow.

    PPAP? That stands for Pen Pineapple Apple Pen, a music video by Japanese comedian Kosaka Daimaou’s stage character Piko Taro. It made its debut on YouTube on August 25, receiving more than 7.9 million views and 4000 comments within its first month.

    ppap

    There are even spin-off products including Pen Pineapple Apple Bread from a Japanese bakery in Kanagawa. Now the comedian’s management company has teamed up with the Tree Village store area at the foot of Tokyo Skytree for an official cafe.

    The pop-up cafe, open until November 20, features Piko Taro surrounded by the colours of a golden pineapple, while the store sign includes images of a pen pineapple and an apple pen. The menu features items branded with the PPAP logo, including parfaits, pancakes, soft drinks, a burger, and fresh pineapple juice served inside a whole fruit. Prices range from 420 yen (US$3.99) for the tea up to 878 yen for the pineapple juice.

    Most of the items include a chocolate “pen” and slices of fruit so diners can act out the song while eating. Customers can also take home a souvenir coaster with each order. There will also be branded merchandise to buy

    Daimaou has meanwhile been awarded a Guinness World Record for the shortest song to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts, where PPAP made its debut at number 77.

    Dragon Ball

    Also cashing in on Japan’s taste for the bizarre, three cafes are opening to pay tribute to anime hit Dragon Ball, which burst on to TV in Japan 30 years ago.

    In a collaboration with Tower Records, three Dragon Ball cafes will be opened in Japan, serving food and drinks inspired by creator Akira Toriyama.

    The cafe interiors will be decorated with art from the martial arts series, with the outlets in Tokyo’s Shibuya and Osaka’s Umeda neighbourhoods offering Vegeta Salad, Yamcha Spaghetti, and Bulma’s “I’ll Give You Romantic” Cake, all featuring character artwork. The drink menu includes beverages based on Goku’s Flying Nimbus cloud and the mystic Dragon Balls themselves, plus latte art coffee featuring Master Roshi’s insignia and the series logo.

    Tokyo’s second Dragon Ball Cafe, on the swanky Omotesando avenue in Harajuku, has a different food offering such as Goku’s Finishing Technique Kaio-ken Red Curry, Majin Buu’s Turn You Into Candy Sweets Plate, Flying Nimbus Pancake and Piccolo’s Ma Junior Soda.

    Customers will also receive special coasters while supplies last, plus there will be limited-edition merchandise.

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  • Apple will open another R&D center in Japan

    Apple will open another R&D center in Japan

    Apple is on a research & development spree! The company has announced a bunch of new R&D centers over the past few months, and R&D spendings have skyrocketed. This time, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company plans to open a new center in Japan during a visit in Tokyo.

    This isn’t the first time we’re hearing about a new R&D center in Japan. Previous reports have indicated that Apple was building a new R&D center for 2016 or 2017.

    Cook met with Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe to discuss all things Apple and Japan. Later at a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reported that Apple would complete its R&D center in December.

    So what is this R&D center anyway? Located in Yokohama, the building used to be a Panasonic factory. Apple has taken over the building and transformed it into an R&D center.

    This way, Apple can more easily hire talented Japanese engineers. It’s unclear what the Japanese team is going to work on.

    Overall, in addition to existing R&D centers, Apple will soon have R&D centers in Shenzhen, Israel, the U.K., France, Japan and Sweden. Maybe it’s time to rethink Apple’s tagline on all of its products — “designed by Apple in Cupertino and many other countries.”

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  • Starbucks Reserve Roastery Japan for Tokyo

    Starbucks Reserve Roastery Japan for Tokyo

    A Starbucks Reserve Roastery Japan will open in Tokyo’s Nakameguro district in 2018.

    Starbucks Coffee Company says the 1200 sqm space will be in an upscale neighborhood known for its boutiques and art galleries. It will offer customers an immersive coffee environment unlike any other in the market.

    Starbucks Roastery Lower Bar

    Customers will be able to watch green coffee beans arrive, connect with coffee specialists and master roasters and choose from a curated range of handcrafted beverages.

    Starbucks Roastery Scoop Bar

    Artisan food and breads baked on site by Italian food purveyor Princi will also feature at the roastery.

    Starbucks Roastery Copper R

    Architect and Tokyo Olympics 2020 designer Kengo Kuma is leading the design of the roastery, which will blend art and nature with a Japanese design sense to pay tribute to coffee artistry and craft. His design for the Starbucks store in Fukuoka has won awards.

    Starbucks Roastery Upper Bar1

    Starbucks Roastery Upper Bar

    Japan is one of the largest markets in Asia Pacific for Starbucks and is regarded as a key driver of the company’s global growth.

    Starbucks Roastery

     

    Starbucks Roastery had its debut in Seattle in 2014, the most successful store opening in the company’s history. The company has announced new Roastery locations for Shanghai next year and New York in 2018.

  • Equinix completes second phase of TY5 data center in Tokyo

    Equinix completes second phase of TY5 data center in Tokyo

    Equinix has completed the second phase expansion of its 10th International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Tokyo, the TY5.

    Phase two adds an additional 375 cabinets to the facility, bringing the total capacity of the data center to 725 cabinets. The second phase expansion follows the opening of TY5 in March of this year and brings the total investment in the facility to $43 million.

    This announcement highlights Equinix’s continued investment in Asia-Pacific, as well as demand from local and global companies wanting to benefit from leading interconnection services in Japan, particularly across the cloud and financial sectors.

    Equinix plays a critical role in supporting the interconnected era, underpinning digital economies and enabling businesses to accelerate their performance for continued success and growth. In 2016, it has opened four new IBX data centers in Dallas, São Paulo, Sydney and Tokyo, creating more capacity for global companies to connect with their partners, customers and employees.

    The expansion of TY5 follows Equinix’s acquisition of Bit-isle, a leading Japanese data center and managed service provider, which more than doubled the company’s footprint in Japan. The move means both domestic and international enterprise customers can now benefit from Equinix’s increased presence in the country, spanning 10 data centers in Tokyo and two in Osaka.

    The completion of the phase two expansion will support growing customer demand for carrier neutral data centers with direct connectivity to Equinix’s financial ecosystem in TY3. TY5 is in close proximity to the Japan Exchange and Tokyo Commodity Exchange, providing financial services companies with reliable, low-latency connectivity to key financial institutions and business partners.

    TY5 enables domestic and multinational companies to expand into the growing Japan market, providing them with access to over 1,400 domestic and international network providers within Platform Equinix.

    Platform Equinix now includes over 146 data centers in 40 markets around the world.

    TY5 was recently awarded the LEED Green Building Rating System Gold Certification for its high building standards.

    The award recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices across seven categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design and regional priority.

  • Fifth Tokyo outlet for Dolce & Gabbana Japan

    Fifth Tokyo outlet for Dolce & Gabbana Japan

    Special lighting helps create atmosphere in the new store opened in the upmarket Aoyama neighbourhood of Tokyo by Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana Japan.

    Dolce-Gabbana-new-store-Aoyama-Tokyo-4

    Gwenael Nicolas of Curiosity came up with the retail design concept with the brief being to transport the brand’s creative soul and its Sicilian roots. Both the architectural design and decor of the 550 sqm store express Sicily’s distinctive and vibrant luminosity through chiaroscuro effects, contrasts and perspectives.

    Dolce-Gabbana-new-store-Aoyama-Tokyo-1

    The boutique space resembles a compact black volume with the displayed collections illuminated in sequence. The 400 spotlights on the ceiling move around and switch on and off, making the products immersed in shadow burst with colour at regular intervals.

    Featured are women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, eyewear, accessories and fine jewellery.

    Dolce-Gabbana-new-store-Aoyama-Tokyo-2

    Dolce-Gabbana-new-store-Aoyama-Tokyo-3

    Outside, the store is coated in Arabescato marble, which also backgrounds the display windows and display cases. A majestic panel at the entrance with the Dolce & Gabbana sign is in black Carnico marble.

    dolce-gabbana-new-store-aoyama-tokyo-5

    It is the brand’s fifth outlet in Tokyo.

    Photos: CPP Luxury

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  • Softbank, Wireless City kick off 5G project

    Softbank, Wireless City kick off 5G project

    Softbank and its affiliate company, Wireless City Planning, have officially launched the ‘5G Project’.

    As the first phase of the project, which was announced in Tokyo last week, Softbank plans to roll out commercial services based on Massive MIMO technology from September 16, a move which Softbank says will make it the world’s first cellco to provide such services.

    Under the plan, SoftBank will be deploying the technology across 100 base stations in 43 cities across Japan, of which 30-40% will be deployed in downtown areas of the Tokyo capital.

    At the media conference for the launch last week, Shubun Kitahara, director of the network planning department of SoftBank’s mobile technology division, tested at four locations in downtown Tokyo, which showed that massive MIMO increased communications speed by 6.7 times on average.

    According to Softbank, corresponding terminals only need to support SoftBank 4G (compatible with TD-LTE). The service is also available on the SoftBank 4G terminals customized for Y!mobile.

    Aiming for 5G commercialization in 2020, Softbank last year signed separate research collaboration agreements with Huawei and ZTE covering the development of stopgap technologies on the road towards 5G.

    SoftBank has teamed with ZTE to help develop networking equipment based on ZTE’s Pre5G technology, such as the vendor’s Massive MIMO base stations.

    Massive MIMO base stations have the capacity to support more than 100 antenna elements, allowing up to eight users to transfer data simultaneously.

    SoftBank already has cooperation agreements covering Massive MIMO as well as ultra-dense networks and multi-user shared access technology.

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  • LeoSat pre-signs first customer for LEO network

    LeoSat pre-signs first customer for LEO network

    Low-earth-orbit satellite network operator startup LeoSat Enterprises has signed up its first customer – a globally operating financial trading company.

    LeoSat is building a constellation of up to 108 low-earth-orbit communications satellites that aim to provide fiber-like speeds with lower latency than traditional satellite and terrestrial networks.

    The financial trading company customer plans to take advantage of this low latency to improve its automated algorithmic trading efficiency.

    LeoSat can offer an average round trip latency of less than 93ms from London to Tokyo and under 119ms from Singapore to London, by using optical inter-satellite links to create fiber-like symmetry at Gigabit speeds.

    Data is also encrypted and secured from end-to-end across the network, with no terrestrial touch points to expose the data.

    “We are excited to be in a position to announce our first customer almost four years ahead of the commercial launch of our system and while doing so, also venture into a market sector where traditional satellite systems have never had any suitable product offering,” LeoSat chief commercial officer Ronald van der Breggen said.

    “In addition to it being proof of our claim to be a game changer in the satellite communication industry, we take this customer contract as a very strong endorsement of our plans to offer global, low-latency, high-throughput satellite capacity, using a Low Earth Orbit constellation.”

    He said the company has already seen a high level of interest from the finance, enterprise, government and energy sectors ahead of the planned launch.

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  • Self-driving bus unveiled in Tokyo

    Self-driving bus unveiled in Tokyo

    Japanese technology firm DeNA Co. showcased its first self-driving bus in Tokyo on Thursday, unveiling a vehicle that runs on electricity and can carry 12 passengers.

    The EZ10 Robot Shuttle, developed in conjunction with French company Easy Mile, will first be used at a shopping facility in Japan’s Chiba prefecture next month and has a maximum speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour).

    Last month bus company PostBus unveiled a self-driving electric shuttle in the Swiss city of Sion. Automated driving technology is currently in the spotlight with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigating a May 7 fatality of a Tesla Model S driver using autopilot technology.

    “We take safety very seriously,” Hiroshi Nakajima, general manager of DeNA’s automotive business, told a news conference. “Because we worry that there may be a serious accident, we take double or triple safety checks and begin from there.”

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  • TGI Friday’s Japan with Hollywood taste

    TGI Friday’s Japan with Hollywood taste

    TGI Friday’s Japan, the US franchise known for its kitschy decor and classic American fare, is opening its latest restaurant in Tokyo’s Gotanda area tomorrow – a Friday, of course.

    TGI-Friday
    Inside new TGI Friday Tokyo

    TGI is hoping to capitalise on the atmosphere at its new outlet, near Gotanda Station, with a Hollywood theme the chain says is different from the established locations in Japan. It is sited in a former cinema, and will be replete with replica Hollywood movie memorabilia and posters.

    It will feature the flair bartending shows that are a feature of the Japanese outlets.

    TGI Friday’s has more than 900 outlets in 60 countries, with the first Japanese restaurant opening in Shibuya, Tokyo, in 1999. There are more than a dozen outlets now in Japan, including the Kanto and Kansai areas.

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