Creative Inspiration in Japan

A photo of green and pink trees, bushes, and foliage, set around a beautiful shallow pond of water. The sky is blue and it looks warm. Taken in the grounds of Osaka Castle in Japan.

Konnichiwa

“I went to Japan once, it was rubbish” …said no one, ever!

As a kid, I loved cartoons, comic books and Pokémon. So, it’s no surprise that I’ve been keen to visit Japan – the home of Manga – for years, and it did not disappoint.

Traditional Japanese culture & design

Of course, I was excited to visit places like the Nintento store in Tokyo and the Mango Museum in Kyoto, absorbing gaming and geek inspiration, but I was also interested in the traditional aspects of Japanese architecture & design. A particular highlight was the beautiful town of Kurashiki, with its preserved Bikan District from approximately the 1700s. Think Venice meets feudal Japan!

We learnt more about Japanese cultural and religious influences at the ‘Fushimi Inari Shrine and mountain trail’ and the ‘Sagano Bamboo Forest’, both in Kyoto.

A trip across the water to the beautiful island of Miyajima meant we not only met their domesticated wild deer (!) we also got to see the beautiful ‘floating’ Tori Gate as part of the ‘Itsukushima Shrine’, and other impressive traditional architecture.

Feeding wild deer on the island of Miyajima, Japan!

The floating Tori Gate of the Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima Island, Japan.

Traditional pagoda design on the island of Miyajima, Japan.

The Manga Museum

You know your wife loves you when she travels across town to spend an afternoon with you at The Kyoto International Manga Museum!

Since childhood I’ve loved comic books and graphic novels, and as I’ve developed into an artist, I’ve enjoyed seeing varied illustrative styles and seeking inspiration from others’ artwork. The walls of the Museum café were adorned with illustrations from manga artists, while the Museum itself had an incredible 50,000 manga, live drawing, hand sculptures taken from manga artists, and an exhibition on the history of manga going back to the early 1900s.

One Punch Man illustration at The Manga Museum Kyoto

Live Manga illustration at the Manga Museum Kyoto.

Comic illustration of Link from Zelda and artists' hand cast

Full of inspiration from all of the incredible Manga art, I of course had to add a touch of Oldmangrey to their wall of visitor art, making Pip part of the trip too!

A video which starts close up to my pencil sketch of Pip the dog - the cartoon version of our Cairn Terrier. The camera pans backwards to reveal this illustration pinned onto a wall of other people's drawings in a mix of colours and styles! This is a visitor illustration wall at the Manga Musuem in Kyoto, Japan.

Immersive Experiences

During our time in Japan, we attended two very different but equally engaging immersive experiences.

At teamLab Planets we became part of vast artwork spaces; wading through (warm and clean!) water, walking through installations of light beams or flowers hanging down from the ceiling to waist height, interacting with giant inflated balls, and wandering through calming garden installations. These extensive artwork spaces respond to visitors, changing and uniquely developing with every interaction. It was an awesome experience in every sense of the word!

Standing in an immersive room at teamLab Planets Tokyo!

Despite much of the marketing for The Cup Noodle Museum focusing on inspiring creativity in children, the six of us had loads of fun at this interactive museum and factory!

After learning about the creative thinking of entrepreneurial Momofuku Ando, the founder of instant ramen and Cup Noodles (think Pot Noodles in the UK!) and seeing the development of the 100s of instant cup noodle brands across the world, we were able to design our own pot, choose our fillings, and package up our edible creation. Nic and I just recently enjoyed ours for lunch and they were fantastic! The whole museum focussed on creativity, invention, and fun, and was a great experience.

Graeme Clark illustrator art director at the wall of cup noodles at the Cup Noodle Museum, Yokohama!

Personalised cup noodle design with Pip the Dog by Oldmangrey Illustration

Quirky creativity everywhere

One of the many incredible things about Japan, is that the whole country is a bit like an immersive creative experience!

Whether it’s random face-in-hole props (who knew they were called that??), mini toy installations built into shop walls, or a random interactive art installation to stick your head through (seriously!), walk for more than five minutes in this amazing country and you’ll come across something quirky, fun, and creative.

Zebra face-in-hole prop advertising bakery called Pan!

Cute random mini chick band stage set up in Koyoto!

Even the drain covers, road work signs, and underground adverts in Japan are original and unusual!

Advert poster design in the subway in Japan.

Conclusion

I hope the above very small insight into some of the incredible sights of Japan is enough to convince you that there’s something for everyone in this amazing country. If you’ve not been yet, add it to your list…and if you’ve been before, let’s start planning to go back 😊

A photo taken of the Duomo, the church, at the top of the hill in beautiful Barga, Italy. The sky is blue, and leading up the hill toward the stone building with cuboid spire, are red roofed houses in tones of orange, yellow, pink, and white. — **Want to hear more about what I see as the benefits of a holiday and taking a break?**

Click here to read my previous blog post, ‘Rest, Recharge, Create: The Benefits of a Well-Deserved Holiday.’