In last month’s column, I mentioned the DJ party held on 27th April at Cafe Apres-midi. The event brought together the editor and artwork production team of this series, their friends, and even the staff of “Global Ride,” including designers and translators. The atmosphere was filled by good vibes with an array of fantastic music, and it was genuinely a delightful and lively gathering. During the event, our mutual friend and interior designer, Takashi Kobayashi, who runs the architectural firm ima, was spinning records. This month, I’d like to introduce a favourite song of mine that I remembered, “Ah, this one had a bicycle cover too!” They are acclaimed as the best l […]

In the final installment of the Hokusai bicycle stroll, I trace the peak of Hokusai’s life and career. From manga and art performances to the “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” and fascination with Mount Fuji, I’ll explore the areas from Honjo to Asakusa, searching for traces of his legacy. Table of Contents 　1. The Day “Manga” Was Born (50s)　2. The Eccentric Man (60s)　3. The Great Wave (70s)　4. The Man Who Traveled with picture (80s)　5. The buried Giant (90s) The manga artist Akira Toriyama, known for creating “Dragon Ball” and “Dr. Slump,” passed away in 2024, and his death was mourned worldwide. “Manga&#82 […]

Connecting people who enjoy rides.  This time, we introduce Miho Ishigaki, a model, through Akikazu Yamashita, a model and travel writer. While working as a model for sports magazines, she also participates in ride events and teaches at the gym as an instructor. During her time as a fashion model, she developed an interest in cycling as a gentle sport she could engage in, and a few years later, she won first place in the Fuji Azami Line Hill Climb. We talked to her about her experiences with riding. Table of Contents 　Profile　1. What’s your beloved bicycle?　2. What’s your favorite cycling route?　3. The most recent ride event you participated in and your thoughts about it? […]

Tracing the footsteps of Katsushika Hokusai by bicycle – Part 2 of the short series. This time, we will start with Hokusai in his twenties, when he entered the Katsukawa school and plunged into the world of ukiyo-e. Table of Contents 　1. In the Sumo Town (Ages 20~)　2. Man of the North Star (Ages 30~)　3. Becoming Hokusai, Katsushika Hokusai (Ages 40~) 1. In the Sumo Town (Ages 20~) Hokusai was allowed to use the name Katsukawa Shunro within just one year of entering the Katsukawa school, where he produced ukiyo-e prints (note that he changed his art name over 30 times in his lifetime, but this column will consistently use “Hokusai”).At that time, the motifs of ukiyo-e prints […]

In 1856, the young French printmaker Bracquemond was shown a collection of ceramics by an acquaintance. These ceramics, imported from Japan, a country then closed to foreign relations, would likely have been rare in Western Europe. However, what captured his attention was not the ceramics themselves but their wrapping paper. It was a page from Katsushika Hokusai’s “Hokusai Manga.(Hokusai Sketch)” Impressed by the artwork, Bracquemond went on to obtain a copy of “Hokusai Manga” through great effort and introduced it to his painter friends in Paris, eventually leading to Hokusai becoming widely known across Europe from France. …Unfortunately, the story is sa […]

If you talk about ‘what ifs,’ you’ll be disliked.That makes sense.It’s no fun to drink with someone who only talks about things like ‘If I had done that at that time’ or ‘If I had studied harder.’ However, ‘hypothetical stories’ stimulate the imagination. It’s the type of story that goes, ‘What if there was no such thing as XX in this world?’ What if there were no Edison in this world?What if there were no Osamu Tezuka in this world?What if there were no Steve Jobs in this world? What if? Without great figures, the world would turn upside down. Would someone else have invented the light bulb instead of Edison? Woul […]

If you can find something to immerse yourself in life, wouldn’t that life be a success? Of course, it would be even better if you could make a living out of that immersion (in other words, doing what you love). Furthermore, it would be fantastic to rise to the top in that world. However, the world is tough. Despite striving from childhood and becoming a professional, it’s rare to be able to thrive in that world. “Gachi-Boshi” (2017) is a story with the former professional baseball player Hamajima (Kenichi Abe) as the protagonist. While he was a baseball player, he wasn’t a professional in heart. He smoked, drank, and was disillusioned. One day, he received a not […]

Recent SF movies are challenging. Many people seem to have a basic understanding of “special relativity theory” (somehow), so despite advances in science and technology, the idea of “aliens coming to Earth” is theoretically very difficult. Hence, they appear before Earthlings by incorporating multidimensional narratives like in “Interstellar,” suggesting that time from past to future exists simultaneously like in “Arrival,” or overcoming the three-body problem (unsolvable by humans) like in “The Three-Body Problem.” It’s truly intricate. Depicting aliens in contemporary SF movies has become more complex than before. Filmmakers […]