Each year during Tokyo Design Week, DesignTide Tokyo features top design innovations from a variety of fields. With today marking the end of the five-day event, we’ve highlighted three projects below that we find particularly inspirational.

Japanese pop act, the Helicopter Boyz highlighted the projection feature of the new Nikon COOLPIX in a recent performance.

PSFK asks Peter Rojas, one of our panel members at the upcoming Good Ideas Salon Tokyo, what pure living means to him.

Advancements in robotics are being made at a rapid pace. From machines that carry out tedious domestic tasks to highly specialized devices, we’ve gathered a selection of innovative robots from Japan.

Old cameras are becoming a stylish accessory, and in Japan the youth eagerly show off their retro cameras to the Tokyo Camera Style blog.

In the latest report to track China’s wealthiest people, we learn that Beijing has the most multimillionaires in China. The Hurun Report’s newest publication titled “China’s New Aristocrat Consumption Threshold Report” lays out the details on Beijing’s estimated 143,000 multimillionaires and 8,800 billionaires. In comparison, Shanghai has 116,000 multimillionaires and 7,000 billionaires.
The typical rich Beijing family profile is that of a couple in their 40s with a teenager. Annual spending for Beijing’s rich is roughly USD 850,000, including an estimated one-fifth of that going to charity. Tokyo and Osaka are top travel destinations, while BMW and Mercedes Benz are the [...]

This music video from Peter Bjorn and John earlier this year shows a set of rockers prancing around Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park. Taro over at 3Yen says that he’s been seeing this bunch of doing their over 25 years and it doesn’t look like a little age and receding hairlines is going to stop them from doing another 25 years.

Good Friday random fodder.

The “Emo” Recycle kit by Harac of Tokyo is comprised of three tools to help make the recycling process easier. It contains a “bottle cap ring remover” that cuts off plastic caps from glass bottles (i. e. vinegar and salad dressing or oil bottles which often have tight plastic caps) and carton scissors, to ease the flattening of milk or juice cartons. Aerosols can be punctured by the “Spray can gas remover” and afterwards discarded in the recycle bin. All of these functional and simple tools are made from stainless steel with resin handles.

This house in Tokyo was designed to more seamlessly integrate the natural environment with indoor space. The architects at Suppose Design Office call it “half-outdoor” space. It occurs by placing areas normally outdoors on the inside, creating a kind of liminal threshold. The transitional spaces are demarcated by the use of different materials.

[via ArchDaily]
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Located in Shibuya, Tokyo, PekiPeki is an indoor bouldering center for adults and children. Separated into three floors, each bouldering wall presents visitors with a stark white wall and vibrant, colorful climbing grips, allowing climbers to concentrate more acutely on their route. The display is also gorgeous on its own—one can imagine each wall being presented identically at a gallery.

[via CoolBoom]

Here’s a closer look at why Monocle magazine chose Zurich, Copenhagen and Zurich as their top 3 cities for 2009.

Monocle Magazine have announced their annual index of most liveable cities. Zurich comes in top place mainly for its vast investment in transport; Copenhagen is second for its mix of metropolitan life, great healthcare, low crime rates and a relaxed vibe; at 3, Monocle describes Tokyo as the world’s most livable megapolis and praises the city’s commitment to plant 1 million trees; 4th is Munich which blends history and innovation with ease and is generally a good place to do business; and Helsinki comes 5th partly because it has no Starbucks. Here’s the full list:

As part of Uniqlo’s Spring Parka Campaign launched last February, the Japanese retail giant has come up with an interactive website which acts as a ‘fashion map’ of Tokyo, allowing users to visit the various districts of the City and “meet” it’s inhabitants- even being able to buy what they are wearing.The campaign  features 1,000 men and women, all adding their own unique touches to the ubiquitous parka -  culminating in a video montage of the jacket being passed from one part of the city to the other. This campaign is part of a collaboration with Graffiti Magazine’s ‘Tokyo Graffiti’ [...]

After spending the past five years in Japan, artist and VJ Shantell Martin has decided to give NYC a go and is ready to see how her unique form of live storytelling translates in her new home. Despite having only arrived a few days ago, Shantell seemed quite at ease when she swung by the PSFK offices for a chat today. Sporting a recently purchased Peek Pronto and an open attitude, Martin spoke to us about making the transition and her upcoming plans – and even left us a one of kind illustration to keep.
Among other things, Shantell discussed how, [...]

If you’re in Tokyo between March 25th and April 5th, here are two events worth checking out. The first is “Light-light in Tokyo,” a magical installation of Lights floating in the air. (And if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to eat light, the exhibition also includes an edible “Light-food.” Yum…) The second is “Sakura Story,” an installation to present the beauty of sakura from when the annual cherry blossoms appear to when they fall. In this, a row of Sakura (cherry) trees will be illuminated at night using fiber optics. Both events are the work of Curiosity, a Tokyo-based [...]