I’ve always been obsessed with the story of Toyohiro Akiyama, the first Japanese person to travel to space. He was a chain-smoking TV correspondent with no background in science or engineering; his company executives sent him into orbit to boost ratings. This week, he died at age 84 — learn more about his remarkable life here.
Other highlights from the web this week:
☆ Yayoi Kusama is so much more than her viral Infinity Mirror Rooms. Here, a list of all her most essential artworks: obsessively intricate paintings, phallic sculptures, daring anti-war performance art, wry commentary on the art world’s narcissism, and more.
☆ Everything new opening in Tokyo this month, from restaurants by Michelin-starred chefs to moody record bars to Zen-inspired lodgings.
☆ The Japan Meteorological Corporation has released its official fall foliage forecast — start planning your momijigari now.
— Callie Beusman, Editorial Director
A TV correspondent for TBS, Akiyama was chosen to board a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1990 as part of a company project. He was a chain smoker with no background in science or engineering — hardly the profile of an obvious candidate to become Japan’s first person in space.
That didn’t bother TBS, though. The Japanese TV station was looking to boost ratings by broadcasting something unconventional.
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Other highlights:
ART & CULTURE
Kusama is an artist who did so much more than create viral spaces or whimsical pumpkin sculptures
THINGS TO DO IN TOKYO
September brings a packed slate of openings and reopenings across Tokyo
JAPAN LIFE
The Japan Meteorological Corporation, has released its first autumn foliage forecast for the year
Travel in Japan:
Beautiful, mysterious and once an official place of exile, Sado rewards those who take the time to reach it
Over the course of several centuries, an extensive network of pilgrimage routes developed across the islands of Japan; some can still be walked today
Some of Japan’s torii gates stand in seas and lakes, appearing to float as tides rise and fall