Today on 12 June, we celebrate the 8th anniversary of Tabiyo at home quietly, and peacefully. There are so many "surprises" for the first half of 2020, and we now have to slowly adapt to the “new normal”. During this period of time, by spending most of the time at home, I got the chance to start journaling again to write down all the bits & pieces for the setting up of our first physical shop back in 2016, which I always wanted to do.
I admit I got too much of distraction during the normal day (especially after the new addition to our family, I need a lot of ME time) - to go to the gym, shopping, facial, cafe time, etc. Hence, I find myself much more focus on what I want to do when I can't go out. I usually get very creative when I’m travelling, I received so many sources and inspirations when on a trip, so I thought I may not be able to fill up my Traveler’s Notebook for the longest period. I’m glad that I managed to start it all over again, and the theme is so meaningful - to remember how and where we started. When I slowly recap all those special moments, I got the chance to reflect on myself over the past 8 years with Tabiyo. For the first 2 years I was still having my full time job and since we didn't get many orders back then, I can still travel around freely. Then, the journalling community started to bloom and the number of shops which are selling Traveler’s Notebook are increasing. I once heard from a radio announcer that it's good to have competitors, so we can have more manpower to educate people around, especially when you are in a niche market. I absolutely agree with that and I’m happy that we can all grow together, like how we are today.
With the growth of Tabiyo, I quit my full time job and then, I spent my 3 months home-stay holiday in Japan, conquered almost half of the Japan prefectures, experienced the weather changes from the end of winter, spring then to the start of summer. After the trip, I continue my Japanese language studies, which also mark a special moment in my life (when I'm typing this, I slowly recall my memories with all the teenagers who were my classmates, I was the 2nd oldest in my class). After graduation, I decided to go back to my hometown - Seremban, to "live" with Tabiyo which has become my full time job. In fact, I have never imagined I could own a physical shop back then - as stocks pilling up the room and we were lucky we found a premise for rent (coincidentally, it was our childhood stationery shop), the rest... I am sure you know the story.
Our shop was in a downturn early last year, which may be due to my lack of focus (I was so busy with our newborn #babyelf), or if it was the actual market situation. I started to get worried since I spent so much on the renovation cost for the newly set up #tabiyo294 , but I’m glad that we all went through. Despite the tough situation and over-rated choices in the stationery market, I choose to believe, that I should keep my original wish, which is a simple one - only sell products that I trust, I value and I myself would use for the longest time. I’m so glad to meet all of you who trusted my taste, and who went through this life journey with me. Looking back, I have so many decisions to make in the past 10 years, and now I'm looking forward to spent my next 8 years, 10 years with my family, Tabiyo, and you, who spend time reading this.
"If not now, when?" This is the quote that's always in my mind.
Thank you for everything!
xoxo, YF
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Here to give a creative twist to yarn is Avril, a specialty yarn maker from Kyoto, Japan.
Established in 1992, Avril has been producing a wide variety of yarn products with natural and unconventional materials alike. Thanks to expert craftsmen who spin and dye the threads by hand, yarn can come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours, with uses beyond knitting or crocheting.
We hope you’ll be inspired by the designs, from the zany to the elegant, and introduce them to your next craft project.
Here are some of the original purpose of Avril products, from knitting to creative project, we hope you'll get inspired!
To shop for Avril products, click HERE.
]]>Another New Chapter - with our little angel.
2018 indeed is a great year for us to move into a new space to continue sharing our passion for stationery and analogue love. In another hands, we are also very anticipating to welcome our new family member who is going to join us in less than 3 weeks time!
As I will be away for maternity leave, there will be slight changes of operating hours/ shipment schedule for both physical and online store from 17th December, until February 2019.
Thanks for the help from my husband - Ping, our part time assistance - Jun, and the team from 2ndspace, physical shop and cafe will be open as usual on specific weekends from 11am - 5pm (Please refer to calendar below for opening hours in light green box).
| BLUE BOX | Shipment date for online orders
As for online orders, starting 17th Dec until 01 Feb, all orders will be dispatched on MONDAY only. The cut-off time for online orders is on Sunday, 11am to ensure Jun can prepare & get them ready to ship out on Monday.
Thank you for always being a lovely customers & friends of us. We hope we can always share our stories together!
Finally, we would like to take this opportunities to wish you a good year end and can’t wait for another new adventurous 2019!
Best wishes,
Yen Fong
]]>2018 certainly has been a memorable year of new beginnings for us all so far. This invigorating air of change is all the more prominent here at Tabiyo, as we get ready to start our next chapter on a fresh page - a new home. Yes, Tabiyo Shop is moving! Come October, we'll be saying goodbye to our beloved storefront in Seremban Old Town and setting up shop just 10 minutes away in a charming, 30-year old double-storey house.
The space is almost ready as we speak, but we'll go ahead and share what to expect anyway! (Can you tell we're excited?) On the ground floor, you'll find our stationery store with the sampling station all set up as usual, and the coffee brewing over at 2nd Space. Upstairs, we have our activity venue to cater to workshops and creative events. Plans for the rooms are in the works too, so stay tuned.
As the home is being converted into a multifunctional space, it is vital for us to preserve the original architecture. We simply love how the spiral staircase, classic tiles and rustic air wells remind us of the good old days. Our penchant for nostalgia is evident in the design of our current brick-and-mortar shop too. It has served us well so far, and the goodbye will be a bittersweet one.
To close this chapter on a celebratory note, we'd like to invite you to our first ever Paper Buffet! Join us at our favourite sunny corner of the current shop and sample our many stationery offerings over a 2-hour creative session of scrapbooking, crafting, journaling, letter-writing - anything you can think of, really.
For more information about Paper Buffet, click HERE to find our more and for registration.
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Sneak peak of the interior (before renovation):
We look forward to seeing you!
* Physical shop will be temporary closed from 24 September till 13 October 2018. Official opening of the new shop will be announced soon!
* RELOCATION SALE is happening now! Check out the best ever deal HERE. (While stock last)
]]>Here is our recommended itinerary for your good reference!
Day 1 (16 Sep) Saturday:
- Lunch at Restoran Yi Poh for their famous Lou Xu Fen,
- Join Copperplate Calligraphy workshop conducted by Joy & Sharon.
- Dinner at Seremban Seafood Village for baked crab. Not a crab person or looking for halal food? Try this - R&K Satay house!
- Not tired yet? Hang out at Uptown Seremban 2 for cafe hopping!
Accommodation recommendation:
- Hotel: Hotel Royale Chulan
- Guesthouse: Sun Lun Yik
Day 2 (17 Sep) Sunday:
- Morning walk at Seremban Lake Garden, for fresh breeze and enjoy the historical architecture (library and istana) in that area. Breakfast at Pasar Besar Seremban, look for famous Mee Hoon Sotong, Beef Noodle and etc. (before 10am!).
- Browse Sunday flea market, or visit Negeri Sembilan State Museum which also features philately and stamp gallery.
- Lunch at Restoran Kwong Sang for fishball noodle, or Kedai Makanan Teo Hing for Teo Chew Porridge. Or rojak/ cendol at Haji Sharriff Cendol.
- Attend gift wrapping workshop by YF.
- Queue for famous Siew Pao souvenir at Kedai Siew Pau Asia.
- Dinner at Restoran Bo Kee & You, famous for fish head meehoon.
ENJOY!
]]>Most of the stationery shop in Japan are very compact (less than 500 sqft?), we are very impressed with the way of their product display, and spotted many vintage wooden furniture (drawers.. and paper slots!) in almost every shop.
Notes: All the shops are within walking distance (about 8-15 mins) from train station. Most of the directions are available in their official website.
大家好!小店放了個長假回來了!以半工作性質前往最愛的日本,繼續探索未完成的東京。在尋找比較有個性的小文具店的過程中,發掘到了不一樣的東京。去的地方在基本的地鐵路線是找不到的,例如:吉祥寺,高円寺,三鷹,つつじヶ丘,下北沢,等。希望這篇文章對你們下一次的東京游會有幫助 :)
注:只要在對的地鐵站和對的出口,每一家文具店都可以以步行的方式前往,大概8-15分鐘。幾乎都能在每一個官網找到步行圖。
Let's start now!
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One of my favorite shop which is selling vintage papers, old paper bags, envelopes, postcards, stamps and all sort of ephemera. Most of the items are locally sourced from Japan as well as from overseas. What I love from this shop is that they are selling Japanese printing paper which commonly use in Mizushima.
HACHIMAKURA
Lunch tips:
Since the shop opens at 1pm, you can have your lunch at Koenji area. I visited Cafe Bumbuku カフェ分福 - a small and cosy cafe that serve good lunch and drinks with beautiful cafe settings. Alternatively, for a more authentic Japanese food, you can try Tensuke 天すけ for a good tempura lunch.
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36 Sublo is a cosy stationery shop located at the first floor. You can find many merchandise such as wooden stamps and some other paper products were actually produced by themselves. Other than that, most of their products are from Mizushima, Life, Classiky and etc. Also, they do have some household items such as handkerchief and tote bag.
36 Sublo
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Giovanni feels like a museum with a wide range of sealing wax, traditional European stationery such as feather pens, glass fountain pens, ink, letter set and etc. If you are a wax seal fans, you will definitely want to mark this place on your coming Japan stationery hunting trip.
You will walk pass a street filled with beautiful shops and cafe when you are heading to Giovanni.
Giovanni
Dessert tips:
If you are craving for good dessert, the soft and fluffy ("fuwa-fuwa") pancake at Gram, Kichijoji is highly recommended.
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Kakimori’s range of pens, inks and letter sets are chosen on the basis of how comfortable they are to use, and customers are welcome to try out the fountain pens in store. Another highlight is about the made-to-order notebooks, with an infinitely customizable selection of covers, paper and bindings available.
Next to the shop is Ink Stand by Kakimori. It looks like a laboratory where you can customize the color of ink. Remember to make an appointment in advanced to ensure your visit.
Kakimori
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From here, you can find lots of "nostalgic stationery with stories" and bring you back to your childhood time. Various selection of stationery from school to office supplies. This is also one of the much "spacious" stationery shop from the list.
Yamada Stationery
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Compact yet stylish shop filled with stationery and office supplies. What impressed me is the way the owner making use of cardboard/ foam board to create different layers and dividers to suit every products in different sizes.
Day's
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Apart from a stationery shop or a cafe, Tegamisha also act a role as organizer for most of the major event such as the recent 紙博 "Paper Expo" and 東京蚤の市 Tokyo Flea Market. Currently, they have 3 shops, one is the main shop located at Tsutsujigaoka, which is in a housing area. The main shop is serving light food and drinks and minimum stationery. As for the other 2 shops which is in another area (about 15 mins walk from main shop), has a wide varieties of stationery, household products, fashions, books and magazine. Tegamisha is one of the highly recommended stationery shop to visit.
(LEFT) Tegamisha main shop; (RIGHT) Ground floor - 本とコーヒー (Books & Coffee), First floor - Tegamisha 2nd Storey
Tegamisha Books & Coffee - Browsing books/ magazine while having a sip of coffee in this cosy shop.. What to ask more..?
Tegamisha つつじヶ丘本店 (Main shop at Tsutsujigaoka)
Tegamisha 2nd Storey / Tegamisha Book & Coffee(Branch at Shibasaki)
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The latest addition of Traveler's Factory, located at the underground of Tokyo Station, has its grand opening on 27 April 2017. There are a lot of effort put into the interior of this shop, by using the actual rail road and also a modified container. You can get the special TRAIN edition and accessories from here.
Traveler's Factory STATION
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The flagship store of Traveler's Factory, also one of my favorite shop to visit. There is a open area upstair where you can have a cup of coffee while journalling or writing a postcard. They do sell stamps and postal service to save your time from searching for post office. Apart from the special edition in STATION or AIRPORT, you can find full range of Traveler's Factory items from this store.
Traveler's Factory NAKAMEGURO (Flagship Shop)
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If your flight is depart from Narita instead of Haneda, you are so fortunate to be able to visit this in Narita airport (before departure gate). Do used up all your remaining YEN for last minute shopping from here. Special AIRPORT edition and accessories are available here.
Traveler's Factory AIRPORT
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Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoy our recommendations! If you are planning a visit to our shop, feel free to flip through YF's travel journal!
YF's Journal Essential (For Travel)
1. Traveler's Notebook (Regular Size) + 1 refill + 020 Kraft File + 024 Pen Holder Sticker
2. Brass Date Stamp (pre-stamp the date before departure, 3-4 pages for each day)
3. Brass Fountain Pen (Fine nib) and Kaweco Fountain Pen (Extra Fine nib) + one roller ballpoint pen
4. Midori CL Compact Scissor
5. Loose paper from Classiky and Tosawashi
6. Geometric seals from Classiky and Shapes stamp from Mizushima to enhance the layout
7. Washi tapes which can also use as double-sided tape
8. Adhesive tapes
9. Instax SP-2 printer
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]]>Hello to paper lover out there!
Here is the second post for the art of sending love. This is a set of packaging that I've prepared to showcase in #tabiyo92. Finally, I managed to did my first cylinder wrap which gave me so much satisfaction! Hope you like it too!
Self-initiate project - "The Art of Giving" (22 February 2017)
A. Cylinder Wrap (Washi Tape Set of 3) - I follow the wrapping instruction from a Japanese Gift Wrapping book, you can also refer to this link for video which I find it very useful.
Materials:
1. Base: Wrapping Paper from Tosawashi Products - Letterpress Washi Letter Paper (The successful rate is higher when using thin/ soft paper, especially when you need to fold the pleats)
2. "Obi"/ "Belt": Tosawashi Calendar
3. Paper Twine by Paperphine
4. Dot Seals from Drop Around x Classiky to seal the top and bottom
B. Petite gift (TTLB Paper Clips)
Materials:
1. Mizushima Letter Writting Set - Dots as wrapping paper
2. Any paper to make a paper "ribbon"(width - about 1cm), secure it with eyelet
3. Mizushima Rotary Stamp - Greetings - Leave a message in 168 ways with 13 messages and 13 icons. Back in stock around mid of March.
C. Japanese Traditional Fan Wrapping - Instruction link here.
Materials:
1. A square box
2. Wrapping Paper
3. Mizushima Gofuku Tags, stamp it with Mizushima Rotary Stamps
Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy and have fun trying it out! :)
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]]>Hello to paper lover out there!
I have decided to share and keep a memory for each mail and gift that I've packed and share it in this blog. I will also share the products that I've used for the mail/ gift, hope you will find this useful!
Petite gift for someone special (30 August 2016)
Things to prepare:
A petite box, scissors, washi tape, double-sided tape, dried flower, and 3 other items as per listed below.
1. Wrapping paper from Tosawashi Products - Letterpress Washi Letter Paper
2. Paper twine from Paperphine
3. Wax seal in Botanical Illustrations - Dahlia
Add a heart-felt note by using Letterpress Label Book from Classiky!
Thank you and I hope you enjoy the quiet moment by doing this :)
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]]>1. Magazine Paper Memo Pad - Red and Green
3. Craft Log Collage Stamp Seal
5. Craft Log Collage Tag Paper
11. Porcelain Stamp - Little Match Girl & Catnap
14. Post Package
15. Kraft Paper Tape (SOLD OUT)
16. Outotsusha series: Letterpress Diary Book, Flip Book Memo Pad, Letterpress Envelope, Letterpress Letter Set
17. Wooden Postal Stamp - Handle With Care (SOLD OUT)
18. Classiky Washi Tape/ Grid series: Single roll (18mm), Set of 3 (18mm) , Single roll (12mm), Set of 3 (12mm) (SOLD OUT)
19. Silk Paper Memo Pad (SS) - Mouse Gray
20. Glassine Paper Pad (SOLD OUT)
21. Craft Log Stamp (SOLD OUT)
22. Envelope Tag (S) Natural (SOLD OUT)
23. Wax Paper Wrapping Pad (SOLD OUT)
24. Numbering Memo Pad - 5mm Graph Paper (SOLD OUT)
25. Tracing Paper Envelope in Grid - S (SOLD OUT)
We are really sorry to see them go, but I do believe everything happens for a reason.
]]>
We hope you are spending good time with your Traveler's Notebook! For those who hasn't own one, you may want to take note of the announcement from Japan HQ:
"Due to the rise of leather cost, labour cost and transportation cost, there will be price increase for items that made of leather, as per listed below:
The above new price will be effective from March 1st, 2016 onwards. Thank you for your understanding and continuous support!
For new updates and new product info, click on this link.
]]>There are some places in the world, for example, at the deepest mountain in Eastern Europe or a cafe of a small alley. We drink coffee, and open the pages of our Traveler's Notebook, to heal the fatigue of travel. We will meet a traveler who came from a foreign country, just like us. We started our conversation without any concern. We share and talk about our Traveler's Notebook, the usage and the way we customize it. Then, we share the journey and places that we have been to. From the sticker that we pasted on our notebook, to our favorite songs and movies - just like old friends with many topics.
It is almost 10 years since the launching of Traveler's Notebook at year 2006. At the beginning of Traveler's Notebook, those scenes are just a dream.
Thank you to all partners who has a strong passion on introducing Traveler's Notebook to every corner of the world. Traveler's Factory, a base of Traveler's Notebook, it gathers all travelers around the world and share their story of their notebook.
Traveler's Notebook has a mysterious power that connects and creates a new way of communication. Since the number of users are increasing, we believe this power will become even stronger and a larger communication will born at the same time too.
There will be a time at our journey, we drop by a cafe and meet with another traveler who is using Traveler's Notebook. By just imagining those co-incidence, travel can become much more joyful.
Hello… much like you, I treasure a place called “home”. Home, as special as it is, isn’t our destination. Home is a place to travel from, a reference point from which to explore this curious planet… and beyond. We are travelers through our life. You’ve heard it said, “Life is a voyage!” We as travelers never really reach our destination (just like the concept of “TRAVELER’S notebook refills”). Eternity is in our hearts. Home is about relationships and life is the landscape of those relationships. Our purpose/ destination is to live truly! Hmmm, it sounds like the theme of TRAVELER’S notebook & company - “For all travelers who have a free spirit.”
The TRAVELER’S notebook goes beyond utilitarianism to “companionship”. The TRAVELER’S notebook’s remarkable design and thoughtful usage inspires my soul to seek for space, margins, and transcendence. Like a true friend who shares with me in every scratch, dent and spot. The TRAVELER’S notebook is a blank canvas that awaits your story. In the winter of 2012, I stumbled across TRAVELER’S notebook while surfing the web. My attention captured by its beautiful simplicity immediately. My computer direct me to a collection of 20,000+ TRAVELER’S notebook images. And from there, I became the proud owner of a TRAVELER’S notebook. Within a short period of time, I became a "collector" of TRAVELER’S notebooks. If you have a black one, you will want a brown one too.
If you have a brown one, the blue one is a must! How about a passport size version? Yes! Oh, and then I heard about 5th Anniversary Camel edition. It is a discontinued item and I have began my journey to search for this mysterious like Camel Edition.
At the age of 7 (I'm living on the rim of Underwood mountain, overlooking the majestic Columbia River Valley in the USA), my mother sewed me a buckskin trapper bag. It was a simple survival tool for “a wandering man”. Mother always tried to motivate me to write on a journal but I have never got into it… until now. In my profession as a youth life coacher - serving young people, TRAVELER’S notebook serves me as non-intrusive, yet appropriate instrument while I scribbling notes and listen to their journeys.
"Traveler's Notebook & Company" changed the brand name from "Midori" to "Traveler's Company" since August 2015. At the same time, there will be renewal of official site soon.
From official site, you will find information of products, story and information from travelers. You can also check out user's post, blog update from staff and downloadable information. So, please feel free to visit our new site!
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TRAVELER'S POSTCARD CAMPAIGN 2015
Traveler's Notebook postcard campaign for 2015, thank you so much for your participation. We will soon post the artwork of winners on our official website.
The theme of our postcard campaign is "Recommended Travel Spot". We gather all artwork from travelers from all around the world, and use it as a travel guide at the same time. We categorize the area/ country for each artwork too, feel free to check it before you go for a trip.
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YOUR TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK
Post from users on how they customize it, their trip, photos, scenery, related information with Traveler's Notebook, stories and illustration.
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DOWNLOADS
From our official site, you can download calendar, subway route, world map and timetable according to the size of Traveler's Notebook. Trim out your favorite information, paste them on your notebook and customize them!
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HELLO WORLD!
When I was young, I thought I can travel the whole world by bicycle. Through books and TV programme, I taught about there is a different world outside. During that time, I imagined about the skyscraper at New York City, and desert at Africa is a village with magic. Imagination will not change without reality.
When I grow up, my world become wider by traveling - stand on the land, smell the air and feel the heat.
In order to visit such beautiful scene, in order to drink a cup of coffee, in order to listen to favorite songs, in order to meet up with favorite person, we repeat the trip. The feeling is the same as visiting a friend's house for the first time, we knock the door and discover a brand new world.
Instead of planning, lets follow our instinct.
Instead of data, lets listen to other's voice.
The world is not only appear on a screen, it can be a friend's place, a friend's friend's place, there is no limitation. The world seems narrow, but it is very deep.
There are still things that unknown, lets multiply our trip and discover the unknown.
Hello, world.
Good afternoon, world.
Let's knock on the door of new world.
Have a good trip!
- As we are not a professional nor certified translator, we are here to share our little bit of Japanese language knowledge and we hope we could help non-Japanese to understand more about Traveler's Notebook and Traveler's Times.
- Please forgive our not so well trained English/ grammar error.
- Despite heavy work load, we have put in many effort into this. We hope you can credit back to us whenever you share this post. Thank you :)"
Yen Fong & Lee Ming, Tabiyo Shop from Malaysia
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I like the little shop that can meet the owner in person, the shop that reflects the unique ambience of the local neighborhood, personality, and interest, and with products and space that full of love. That kind of shops, has usually taken rooted, and warmly welcome travelers. Both daily life of the local people and non-daily life of travelers mixed together pleasantly, that creates unique atmosphere. I would like to introduce some little shops in the world where you can find Traveler’s Notebook. If you have a chance to visit those places, please visit them.
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Tools To Liveby (Taipei, Taiwan)
In Taiwan, you cannot miss those cheap and delicious street food such as braised pork rice, dumpling (xiao long bao), mango ice and bubble tea. It is enjoyable to eat while walking around the streets, to explore some nice and small shops that have been growing in recent years.
As you walked into Anhe Road from the main street of the central part of Taipei city, it turns into a completely different atmosphere. Away from the lively and bustling street, walking through the quiet and calm residential area, you would find the garage of the little shop is under renovation.
When peeking into the inner part of the opened entrance where there is an antique letterpress printing machine, you could see stationery are lining up on the beautiful bookshelf and vintage table with rugged texture. The owner of the shop, Karen, also a designer, has been a stationery lover for a long time and finally launched the business with her friends.
The products line-up in the shops are based on the idea that fine and high quality tools would enrich our live such as the beautiful Germany made bottle that filled with glue; Czech Republic made pencil which gives rustic writing feel; simple and elegant Taiwan made scissor. All of them are bought from around the world by Karen.
Karen travels to many places due to her job. She came across to Traveler’s Notebook 5 years ago, now it becomes the must-have-thing for traveling. Traveler’s Notebook is just like a partner during the trip, the best place to record our memories of the trip. You can feel the love of the owner towards the Traveler’s Notebook that lined up in the shop.
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Oblation Papers and Press (Portland, Oregon, USA)
In 1988, Rich and his wife opened a paper-boutique-like shop in Portland. The original cards and notes in the shop are made by traditional manufacturing method, which you could feel the warmth of the paper.
You could find cards that letter-pressed with words quoted from lyric of rock song, notes with handmade cotton paper, almost all original products are made in Portland. Together with the original Portland made products, the paper products that collected from around the world by Rich and his wife are sold in the shop as well.
They first came across with Traveler’s Notebook in a selected shop, Merci. The appearance and texture of the cow-skin cover and paper, soon captured their attention. Then, they started looking for the way to purchase the products and tried to write comments via online to see if anyone can give a clue. However, surprisingly they got to know the way easily. This is because they met the staff from Designphil at an exhibition in New York few days later. It seems that Traveler’s Notebook became the starting point of their encounter in that trip.
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LUIBAN (Berlin, Germany)
This is about BAN and LUI, who launched their web shop in 2009. During that time, BAN was still working in a stationery shop and LUI was working as a web producer in an IT company.
Their business started getting on track as dealing in Japan made stationery such as Traveler’s Notebook. At first, they stuffed all the stock to the shelves at home. When their bedroom became fully packed with stock goods, they decided to resign their jobs and rented a warehouse as office, and started to concentrate to run the business. They have been moving for few times due to the growing of the business. Now, they are preparing to open a physical shop in Berlin.
The Traveler’s Notebook that they are using, recorded all of their business talk and ideas, how their shop is opened, what happened until now, and etc. They always bring the notebooks with them when they are traveling. Customers who come to the shop could read and feel their Traveler’s Notebook that depicts the story of them. It seems like they want people to imagine how a notebook could change a person through a notebook.
What the most appealing is Traveler’s Notebook comes in handy for any purpose or for anyone. When the customer comes here, they show us their Traveler’s Notebook and tell us about how and how long they have been using it, we could feel the notebook could tell about the personality of the owner.
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Miscellaneous (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Brigitta, the owner of the online shop started to sell Traveler’s Notebook in 2010. In 2013, a physical shop opened in Armsterdam. She selected some tools and furniture with her own unique taste in her shop that could deliver a more free and happier work life. Brigitta said that she enjoys talking to people who is using Traveler’s Notebook, meanwhile she feels even more excited to see someone that she does not know walks into the shop and explore more about Traveler’s Notebook. When the customer is trying to hold the notebook in their hands, she feels a bit jealous and happy at the same time. If you happen to go to Armsterdam, hope you will pay a visit to her shop.
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Prevention is better than cure, so with my passport TN I've correctly used the right products for it. Amongst 2 products that I have found to be good on the TN are the Timberland boot sauce and balm proofer. Since timberland boots are suede (the most sensitive type of leather), these products can be used without discoloring the TN.
Use the boot sauce first and allow to dry. This will nourish the leather for many many months to come. Then apply the balm proofer after to give it a water repellent protection, which will not change the feel of the leather. Both are really good products. The best part is that it will allow you to still scratch your leather, giving it the rustic and used look.
Other leather conditioners are not specifically used for untreated leather, so be careful. Some will discolor your TN, while others will give your TN a glossy finish (since its made for waxed leather). The picture shows my regular Tn and passport TN, where the regular is very dark brown. Even though I use it more, but it does not sustain any visible scratches, unlike my passport TN.
Christmas and new year are just around the corner. It’s time to renew your new resolutions and plan.
There’s still have time to send your friends and families a lovely gift to celebrate the start of a brand new year.
In this time, we would like to say thank you for using Tabiyo Shop and appreciate your confidence in us.
As the year almost comes to an end, we have made a ranking for the most popular items at Tabiyo Shop.
Here is our TOP 10 list:
1. Traveler's Notebook (Regular)
2. Traveler's Notebook (Passport)
TN is ranked top on the list. There's some reason for it. It's handy, simple and yet functional, you can always change the refills as you like, there are many choices, such as lined, blank, grid, diary, drawing paper, etc or you can customize it with pocket sticker or zipper pocket that helps to hold some small items like receipt, coins, ticket, street map depending on what you're going to do on that day. The size is fit on your palm when holding it, just grab and go!
4. Honey Bee Spiral Ring Notebook
It's one of the notebook from a series Kraft notebook by Midori. There are 12 envelopes with clear window, where you can keep and display the things your put in let it a stamp, a ticket, a card or note. It just like place to collect your ideas and inspirations on the way you travel.
Master set of 8 is just perfect for adding some colour to the notebook. This set comes with 8 types of washi tape.It has set with different patterns and set that with plain colour. Usually I would use the washi tape to decorate and to stick the reminder and postcard on the wall. And, it looks great on the wall too!
6. Brass Clips
The BRASS item really can bring you back those day memories. Love the numbers on the clips, it seems like giving every clip a name.
These clips do have their own name and story, designed by Tool to liveby, Taiwan. Their names are respectively called Owl clip, Weis clip, Niagara clip and Ideal clip, guess which is which.
Just a stamp, an easy way to record when and where you have been to. The little weather box is just nice!
Some of the "ticket" in Mark's Travel Sticker reminds me of the bus ticket I used to have back in the time when I was a primary-schooler. Love the vintage design.
A "twisted" type mechanical pencil, the lead pushed out by turning the shaft clockwise. It's so meaningful that each mechanical pencil comes with a positive message on the body, which could remind you every time you use it. The combination of the colour looks harmonious together.
Hope this list will give you some ideas for the Christmas or new year's presents for yourself or your friends and families.
Wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Leeming
]]>A planner or a notebook is a good tool to plan and manage your schedule and jot down ideas whenever something comes to your mind. It is not just that ! Actually, the power of a notebook or memo may go beyond your imagination. It is an important tool to enhance your personal growth, change your future and make your dream comes true!Since 2015 is approaching, many new release of diary, planner, notebook etc are already on the rack in many bookstore in Japan.
Frequently, we might have many little thoughts in our daily life, for example" I want to see the Aurora Borealis !" " I want to learn baking this year! ", " I want to get promoted this year!", " I want to be able speak Korean ", " I wanna do this, i wanna do that" this kind of thoughts could be forgotten easily. No matter how small it is, jotting down those thoughts with words would be a good way to help you to discover your dreams and goals in future. Once you know your goal, you will need to manage the time to execute your plan, collecting information and learning new knowledge to achieve it.
Frankly speaking, I'm a bit surprised to see so many magazine release with a theme of "手帳術”,which literally means techniques to write your notebook/ journal/ planner. It introduces many good examples of how people use their planner efficiently in order to achieve the goal in their work or study, to save money, to go on diet plan etc.
Also, there are example of how to customize our planner and notebook.
Keeping a journal is a good way to boost self-confidence too, to achieve your goal you might encounter some failures and frustration, when you read over the past memo, it reminds how you put in your efforts into something you wanna achieve, how you've come a long way in your life, the happy time you had in the past. I find that keeping a journal really help me to understand the "old-me" in the past, how I got stuck in the problem and how I got out from the problem. It is interesting to discover the "old-me" when I read my note and journal back.
By the way, this year "Ojisan" is celebrating his 20th anniversary. You may wonder who is "Ojisan". Ojisan means uncle in Japanese. "Ojisan" is fun character to illustrate a pocket diaries, it was debuted in Midori's 1995 pocket diary. "Ojisan" has released few original products to celebrate his birthday, which include 4 types of masking tape, book about "Ojisan", magnet toy, birthday book and canister can.
For those who have pre-ordered the 2015 planner and notebook, stay tuned. Chao!
Have a nice day!
Leeming
]]>You think Midori Traveler's Notebook is complicated to start off?
We can help you! What you need is a simple 5 steps to start a brand new notebook that belongs to you.
1. Purchase a starter kit (Regular Size or Passport Size):
- This set come with a leather cover (Brown/ Black) which could last you for at least 10 years or more... ;
- A Blank refill which is the same as 003 Refill Blank Notebook. You may doodle/ write/ scrapbooking on this blank notebook without any limitation;
- A spare rubber band in case your rubber band was torn. However it didn't happen to us after 3 years of great time.
- A white cotton bag if you want to protect your notebook. We will not recommend you to do this as we wish to age with leather of Traveler's Notebook (shhhh...)
- Stick this on the inside of leather cover, very hand accessories to keep name cards/ itinerary/ papers and etc.
- A Traveler's Notebook will not complete without this. Zipper Pocket come with 2 sides, one side with zip lock, another side with 2 slip-in pockets. It can hold passport, tickets, small clips, coins, cards, pen and many more.
Check out 004 Zipper Pocket for Passport Size
4. Pick a refill that suit you!
- For Travel: Additional Refill Blank/ Lined/ Grid/ Kraft paper notebook may suit you to record down the precious memories. Cut and paste the leaflets/ name cards/ maps.. that collected along the trip, paste it on your preferred refill.
- For Work: Diary such as 017 Monthly/ 018 Weekly/ 019 Weekly + Memo which help you to plan out your daily schedule. What's more, the diary is non-dated, thus you may begin or stop whenever you are ready.
- For School: Too much notes to take? Try out 013 Refill LIghtweight Paper Notebook, which has double pages (total 128 pages) as the normal refill.
- You do not need to turn your bag upside down to find a pen with this accessories attached with your notebook.
We hope our suggestions help!
Enjoy and have an inspiring journey with us and Midori Traveler's Notebook!
Email hellotabiyo@gmail.com for further inquiries.
]]>Forget about the mysterious side, from a distance, Mt.Fuji looks beautiful and amazing in different seasons and there many spots surrounding Mt.Fuji for tourist to enjoy the views of this sacred mountain from different angles.
(Photo taken from http://G.NEWS.JP/fujisan)
How about the closest view of Mt.Fuji? This only could be seen if you climb the mountain. That's why I decided to hit the trail two years ago though I don't really like hiking for a long day. The climbing season is around July and August. There are few hiking routes for climbing up Mt.Fuji. The one I went was from the 5th station, Yoshida-guchi.
(Photo taken from http://jnto.go.jp)
So this is the Yoshida-guchi 5th station. Bus from Shinjuku to Mt.Fuji 5th station took about 2.5 hours. Here, there are souvenir shops, restaturant, post office, coin lockers, toilet etc.and you'll see many people resting on the ground after climbing the mountain.I signed up a Mt.Fuji climbing tour package online,which included bus trip (to and fro) from Shinjuku to Mt.Fuji 5th station (Yoshida-guchi station), tour guide, one night accommodation, 3 meals and onsen. The package costs around 11000++yen. It is convenient for the first-time climber to follow a climbing tour like this.
Our guide was briefing about the schedule and tips for smooth climbing.
Setting out to hike
A thick carpet of white cloud blanketed the sky, feeling like we were floating on the cloud.
Around 1.15 pm we reached level 7, it took about 2.30 ~ 3 hours, including frequent breaks.
There are some food selling at some mountain hut, the price is like 3-4 times higher than the normal price. Also, if you happen to go to the toilet, you gotta pay 200-300 yen for that too.
A peak into one of the mountain hut.
As Japan's school summer vacation falls in August and the beginning of September, you may see many children climbing Mt.Fuji as well.
The layers of cloud surrouding the mountain is like the view we see from the airplane flying aboves the cloud.
It's about 4:20 pm, we hit the rest station at level 8. Started to feel a bit more breathless and it became colder. Most of the people began to put on their thick jacket.
We're taking more short break as we went up higher and higher to catch our breaths. Actually we're sweating a lot, but when we're taking a break, it just cooled down really fast at higher altitude.
Finally. we arrived at our hut around 5:15 pm, the hut is at level 8.5.
We're served with dinner not long after we put our backpack in our "room".
We're like lining up with other climbers on a long bed. After the dinner, all the climbers went to around 8:00pm and we had to wake up at 1:30 am and resume our journey to the peak.
Able to wake up before the alarm rang in the early of the night, it was so hard to get up at first because I felt the onset of muscle soreness and muscle fatigue.Our group departed at 2 am sharp. It was so dark,the wind blowing strongly and freezing. Our guide advised to wear raincoat before setting out to climb to the summit. The trail was steep incline, but we could see a line of head torches moving up. Though it's early night, the trail was so crowded and busy as every climber want to arrive at the summit for sunrise.
Sorry for not taking enough night shots. The altitude took its toll here. I was thinking nothing but to inhale as much as possible, it became more breathless. Around 3.30 am we arrived at the summit ! It was so crowded already and waiting for the sun to come out.
The magical moment began.
The view was incredible that made me temporarily forgot about the sore legs and muscle pain.
Every climber on the top cheered, clapped and shouted " banzai!" as the sun rose. People will never see such a breath-taking sunrise view without climbing to the top of Mt.Fuji. Worth all the effort and pain.
After the sunrise, we're walking around here and there and saw a huge crater. There's still snow remained.
Here at the top of Mt.Fuji, you can send your friends and families a postcard. How great it is to receive a postcard from the highest post office in Japan.
This is my second climbing experience, learning from the first one, I knew that the hardest part wasn't over yet. Descending is definitely harder than ascending, though it took shorter time. It needs more control plus muscle pain, sore thigh and leg tends to be the limiting factor to descend the mountain. There were several people slided down while descending, so did I, as you see the trail was so steep.
I didn't really prepare for the climb, I just did some running, stair climbing and squats exercise two weeks before the trip. Overall the climb is a wonderful experience, and gave me a sense of accomplishment.
Leeming
]]>In the class, we were taught to make hot coffee and ice coffee. That's usually what I make for myself everyday, sounds simple and easy.
Yes, what we learn in the class is simple and easy. Just need to follow the methods, everyone can make a good coffee at home too.
This is our handout, the materials and methods.
Equipment:
A coffee filter paper
A coffee dripper
A swan neck kettle
An electric scale
A coffee mug
We were given freshly ground coffee ( medium-coarse grind setting ), weighed 12 g coffee grounds into the filter. Making a cup of dripped-coffee, the basic ratio of coffee grounds and boiling water is 1:16. Started by pouring 20 ml boiling water into the coffee ground in circular motion, let it sit/steam for 20~30 seconds, the ground begins to froth. Then, continued pouring boiling water in controlled pace until 120 ml, waited another 30 seconds, added the remaining boiling water until 190 ml, to achieve the ratio we want. The whole process of making a cup of dripped-coffee, takes about 1.5 ~ 3 minutes.
Brewing a good cup of coffee really depends on how well you understand the science behind coffee, just like doing an experiment. The appearance, flavor and aroma formed depend on temperature, brewing circle time, appropriate equipment, the coffee bean quality and of course the person who performs the "experiment".
And, the final product was so satisfying with its companion. Have a nice weekend everyone! Chao.
Leeming
]]>There were more foreigners in my class section, including American, Korean, Taiwanese, Malaysian and Japanese. The sensei is a skilled artisan, he owned a Japanese confectionery shop in Iwakuni. Sensei said he's a bit nervous but with a smile on his face. He said he could only speak Japanese and this is the first time he taught foreigners to make wagashi.
We started rolling the white bean paste into ball shape and wrapped it up in the pink nerikiri (a mixture of white bean paste and steamed rice flour).
The whole bean paste ball is wrapped with the wet cloth and twisted to make a flower shape. Obviously, I failed to do that. The tip should be in the middle of yellow part. The wet cloth is used to prevent the bean paste from drying out too.
Then used a triangle wood to press lightly to the bean paste to make the flower petal, though what I made ( the one in the photo) does not look like flower and the lines are so messy! Making wagashi is really a very delicate work.
This is called Chrysanthemum wagashi, made by sensei, amazingly beautiful and it's like a piece of art work!
Sensei's work no.2, Peony wagashi.
Sensei emphasized that wagashi should be placed on a dish before taking a photo of them. And, these are my final work of my wagashi.
Leeming
]]>We spent the entire morning at the MT factory, we were desperately looking for lunch.
We found a restaurant which collaborated with MT factory, with an order of food and showing the MT pass to them, we could receive a free MT tape . The restaurant is famous for its curry.
These photos were taken last month, it was just good timing to capture the sakura view at Kurashiki. I visited Kurashiki before during summer, it's scotching hot but the view was still very nice.
For me, Kurashiki is like a little Kyoto, but a more tranquil place, not packed with tourist as in Kyoto.
This is the view in summer and the green takes over the place.
You can enjoy more greenery in the summer and it is coming soon.
Besides, Kurashiki is home to famous Bizen Pottery.
If you're into pottery, Japanese paper and Japanese craft, I would suggest you to visit Kurashiki. You will amazed by the modest beauty and charm of the town.
Lee Ming
]]>Hi everyone!
Last week, YF and I joined MT Factory tour Vol.3 which held in Kurashiki, It's glad that we were able to get the opportunity to visit the factory. It requires online application before joining the tour.There were so many people applied for the tour until we could not get a seat on to the same bus.
It was such a nice day! The departure location is close to the Kurashiki Station, just 3 minutes walking distance. And, even the bus is decorated by masking tape.
It took about 20 minutes from Kurashiki station to Kamoi Kakoshi Factory. Upon arrival, we're greeted and given a linen bag and inside the bag there are MT candy and special edition of masking tape. Very nice of them! Photographing is prohibited inside the factory, no photo is taken. However, you can refer to this website, http://www.masking-tape.jp/en/whats/factory.php to find out how MT tape is made.
And, we got to feel and touch the 'freshly' made MT tape coming out from the machine. Everybody was excited and thought that the freshly made MT roll would be warm/ hot in hand , but found out the roll was just as the same as the room temperature.
And then, we were brought to another newly renovated warehouse.
Every vehicle here is decorated by MT tape, how lovely !
The first floor is like a reference room, displaying the history of Kamoi kakoshi and their old and current products.
They actually first started their business with Fly Catch Paper in 1923, and followed by paper adhesive tape, kraft adhesive tape, cloth adhesive tape etc...
In 1980, they began the production of Rat Catcher, an adhesive tape to catch rat and mouse.
Developed into the masking tape that you and me are using now.
We moved on to see an art installation which is created by an Australian artist PIP&POP using colorful MT tape.
It is time to hunt for limited edition of MT tape which you only can get them in this tour. It's glad that Tabiyo shop is able to bring them back for you. Stay tuned!
MT decorated shopping carts.
Have a glimpse of these limited edition MT tapes!
There is a work space to make your own MT craft.
And, this is what we received from the tour.
That's it for our MT factory tour! Chao!
Leeming
]]>These are the two famous food in Hiroshima featured on the postcard above:
Oyster
Okonomiyaki
There are many more postcards in different shapes, different colour and different characteristic.
All of these postcards are all bought in different prefecture's post office, for instance, you won't find Okayama's postcard in Hiroshima's post office. Unfortunately, it cannot be sent outside of Japan.
You can find out all the designs of all the regional form card on this website:
http://www.postacollect.com/gotochi/
Besides the prefectural postcards, there are some cute die-cut postcard for each season too.
Lee Ming
]]>Dear all,
I will be going to Japan from March 3rd until May 26th, 2014. During my absence, Tabiyo Shop will still running as usual, I will still be the correspondence on all emails and inquiries. All packaging will be handle by our family members. Please bear with them if they take longer time to process your order (and also their packaging skill ;p ) since they have their own job to busy with.
Kindly take notes on the following notes during that period of time:
- No payment made by local bank transfer will be accepted until further notice. Please make your transaction through our online shop by credit card or PayPal.
- If you are based in KL / PJ, feel free to drop by Photocrafts The Cafe for instant purchase! They featured most of our collection for Midori Traveler's Notebook.
- If you have any orders from Traveler's Factory, please email me at hellotabiyo@gmail.com . I will be heading there around end of May for a super shopping for myself and for Tabiyo collection.
I will upload photos of me in Japan from time-to-time when wi-fi is available on our facebook page & my instagram: tabiyo_yf .
Till then, take care and thank you for your continuous support!
Best Regards,
Yen Fong
]]>
Speaking about new year in Japan, there are few things come into my mind, which are kouhaku, fukubukuro, hatsumode, omikuji, mochi tsuki, new year postcard etc.
Hatsumode refers to the first visit to shrine or temple of the year. People express their gratitude to god for protection and peace for the past year.
After praying, many people will draw an omikuji, a fortune-telling strip that tell your luck in different subjects of the year such as career, love life, travelling, childbirth etc.
Omikuji could be good or bad, if you got a bad fortune strip, you got to tie it on the branch of the tree or the metal wire wall in the temple so that the bad luck won't follow you home..Yet, people with good fortune strip, they tie it on the branch too. Usually, people will keep the good one in their purse or wallet.
Usually I try not to travel during new year in Japan since the plane and shinkansen are always packed with people. And, many restaurants, shops and attractions are closed during the new year holiday which usually start from 28 Dec until 3 Jan. However, visiting during new year, it could be a good opportunity to experience the most important holiday in Japan and also grabbing your fukubukuro (lucky bag), it contains items worth a lot more than you need to pay.
Fukubukuro range from clothes to cosmetic and even for food.
During Japanese new year, you can see many houses and shops entrance or doorway decorated with this, something made of straw rope.
And also this decoration thing made of bamboo and pine, called kadomatsu.
When I walked around the neighborhood, I saw some houses entrance decorated like this in new year, very simple. Much low profile than the decoration of Christmas or Chinese New Year we have in Malaysia.
Another new year tradition is mochitsuki, I enjoy watching how they pound the sticky rice become mochi (rice cake). It usually performed at the end of the year.
After finished pounding the mochi, it is filled with red bean paste or flavored by soy sauce or peanut powder.
It feels really different eating the homemade mochi compared to those machine-made, not just the taste but also I could feel the spirit of the local people. It would be great if you can find a host family and experience a typical Japanese new year, you might have the opportunity to try some traditional new year's food like osechi ryouri.
by, Lee Ming at Hiroshima, Japan
]]>A cute mobile coffee vendor
This vending machine seems like it's selling Japanese tea, but it's actually soup stock (called Dashi in Japanese) which could be used as the base for many food like udon, oden, steamboat etc
It's cool to see the bartender shaking the cocktail on the street in the noon time.
The name on the chimney represents the brand of each brewery. So, just follow the chimney, you will find sake.
People were queuing for sake tasting.
If you found that the sake is suitable for you, you can purchase them on the spot. And, usually each brewery release limited edition of sake during the sake matsuri, that means you can only get them here.
See! another chimney.
Apart from sake, you could find many street food too, which could be the best companion for your sake.
One of the must-eat food is Bishunabe (美酒鍋). They usually stir fry the chicken and vegetable, add in the sake simmering for a while and seasoning with pepper and salt. It's simple and very nice, i think it's suitable for children too because the sake is not strong and it will evaporate during the cooking process.
For those who love tomato, may be you can try this. It's mixture of tomato juice and sweet sake (甘酒).
The mascot
Aside from sake, you also can find some foreign alcohol like the German beer, sparkling wine etc
It's time to go to the sake square ( 酒広場)after filling our stomach a bit.
Only people above 20 year-old allowed to go into the sake square. The ticket costs 2000 yen and drink all you can, it's cheaper if you buy the ticket beforehand.
Everyone is given a " sake handbook" and a small cup.
The origin, sake name, alcohol concentration, description of each sake are all printed in the sake handbook.
To order your sake, you just need to go to the booth based on the origins of the sake you want and tell them the number of the sake.
If you don't see the number of your sake hanging there, that means the sake is 'sold-out' (unavailable)
You can stay in there until it ends but once you exit the sake square you cannot get in again anymore unless you buy another ticket.
At the end of the matsuri, I saw quite a number of drunk men sleeping on the street or bother people on the street, which was the unpleasant part of the day. But overall, it's enjoyable and fun to go sake matsuri with your friends or your family.
Lee Ming
]]>The meaning of "tabiyo" is "Let's Travel" in Japanese. Since Midori Traveler's Notebook is our main product and we love it so much, our goal is to encourage everyone (incl. ourselves) to travel around the world - no matter local or go abroad. We believe travel can widen up our knowledge, make one person wiser and it may even change a person's perspective.
On this new logo, we emphasized at "O" with a vintage luggage tag that represents a globe, a circle - We should explore the nature of earth whenever we can, there is no limit and there shouldn't have any boundary to prohibit those except ourselves.
So, shall we grab our luggage, Traveler's Notebook and let's travel? :)
This is the transformation from idea to the final stage.
Special thanks to best friend - CS who helps us to turn the idea to a physical logo.
Last but do not least, we will remember you - an envelope which helps us to accumulate experience, knowledge and the up-and-down at tabiyo for the last 1.5 years :)
***************************************
]]>
This island once prospered in old days as the beginning of the copper refining industry. As the cooper refinery plant shut down, the population has declined drastically and only 56 people inhabited on the island in 2008. In order to stimulate tourism to the island, an“Art House Project”was designed in 2008. The refinery plant was not demolished after its closure. Now, the refinery plant has been transformed to Inujima Seirensho Art Museum as a destination for art lovers.
Inujima is characterized by these tall smokestacks which rise up from the ruins of the copper refinery plant.
I found a very unique toilet in the Seirensho Art Museum, Photos were taken after I made sure there's no any other people inside the toilet.
After finished the tour at the Seirensho Art museum, I had a walk at a small village which is near to the museum.There are five galleries scattered across the small village. The architecture of the contemporary art work fits very well into the old neighbourhood combining a nice yet odd contrast of old and modernity in a rural village.
The famous Rabbit chair designed by Sanaa
Personally, I love the a-art house the most, which is a transparent pavilion, with vibrantly colored floral motif encompassing the exterior skin.
People can walk in and out through a single space.
Another art installation just finished recently. The Giant Dog Head. (Photos: Courtesy of Hana Lai)
The statue of the dog head is about five-meter-long, transported to the island by a boat.
(Photo by PA pics) Taken from http://www.motorboatsmonthly.co.uk/
It was a great experience to visit Setouchi Triennale, the art works from different artist are whimsical yet inspiring to me.
~The end of the artistic island trip~
Leeming
]]>
The very first art work we visited at Teshima Island, Distant Memory. At first, it did look like a abandoned old house at far distance, there's big tunnel is built by various wooden fixtures which are collected from various islands.
Then we walked around and came to a harbour We noticed there're two boats, one is old, another one is " invisible-like"? The entire boat is fitted with mirrors, the artwork named as Trace Blue but I would named it as Chameleon Boat since it looks like it reflects/changes its colour to blend into the surrounding. Very interesting.
There's a gigantic installation at the beach site too. Beyond the border - the ocean, It designed by a Taiwanese artist Lin Hsuen Long.
View from inside.
It seems there is something going on up there.
It's Big Bambu! But it's still under construction, this work was not fully done yet when I went there.
After Big bambu, we took a bus to Teshima Art Museum.
Place where we had our lunch.
Teshima Art museum, shaped like a waterdrop created by artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa. Also, photographing is prohibited, I couldn't share more photos on this. For more photos, you can refer to this website http://www.designboom.com/architecture/ryue-nishizawa-teshima-art-museum/
Another side, there is another " drop of water".
It's a cafe! Likewise, there is a opening on top. This is to create a space with a fusion of artwork,environment, art and architecture.
Again, we headed to another very modern cafe - Il Vento (means the wind), though outside it looks like a normal Japanese traditional house. It can also known as Was du liebst, bringt dich auch zum weinen (means what you love makes you cry), designed by German artist Tobias Rehberger.
Upstairs
Teshima is one of the most interesting place I've visited in Japan. There are so many things to see to satisfy our eyes.
Stay tuned for the last destination of my artistic tour, chao.
By Leeming
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