{"id":76487,"date":"2009-01-01T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2009-01-01T00:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fukuoka-now.com?post_type=feature&p=9411"},"modified":"2017-06-13T12:59:46","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T03:59:46","slug":"hip-surgery-the-daimyo-way-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/hip-surgery-the-daimyo-way-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip surgery, the Daimyo way"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard isn\u2019t it? You\u2019re a giant gangly freak that won\u2019t fit into any clothes. On the street you see guys with perfect hair, their slim-line frames tucked inside perfectly pressed shirts. If you\u2019re a woman it\u2019s even worse. Girls with legs made of dynamite and heels about two storeys high are everywhere. You can\u2019t get away from it, the Japanese are a hip gang and you\u2019re not invited to their party because you won\u2019t fit through the door. Fortunately, help is at hand. We\u2019ve been to Daimyo, the font of Fukuoka\u2019s fashion sense and transformed two gaijin to show you what\u2019s possible with a little effort. From two average (ok, admittedly good looking) gaijin we\u2019ve crafted a pair of retro hipsters, a jaw-dropping gyaru and the ultimate chic geek.<\/p>\n

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Crammed behind the massive department stores and busy roads of Tenjin, Daimyo has much more of a village feel. Bicycles swerve through the streets between wandering pedestrians and past tiny boutiques and cafes. The area is undeniably hip and the pace of life feels a bit slower than in the rest of Fukuoka\u2019s dense center. Young people dress in distinctive Japanese fashions. Unlike London\u2019s Shoreditch or Brooklyn these aren\u2019t elegantly wasted stoners: they\u2019re savvy Japanese consumers. The key to the look is sharp, fitted clothes. These kids aren\u2019t afraid to spend time and money getting their look just right and looking like you\u2019ve just wandered out of a jumble sale and bought a load of clothes off someone\u2019s granny isn\u2019t what it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n

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What you might not realize is that regular sararimen buy into street fashion culture. The people you can see dolled up in the evening are the same people whose pinstripe suits you\u2019re stuck to on the train in the morning. Dressing well is simply inescapable in Fukuoka. The heart of Japanese fashion is, of course, Tokyo and Japan\u2019s other cities follow the capital\u2019s lead. Imitating looks taken from magazines and following the style of celebrities is also incredibly important. Being cool in Japan isn\u2019t just about dressing well, it\u2019s about sending clear signals to anyone who clocks you in the street or at a bar. You dress to be seen.<\/p>\n

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While Tokyo has a powerful gravity, it\u2019s clear that Fukuoka has it\u2019s own distinctive style. Yu Mineno, a stylist who lives and works in Fukuoka, helped us transform our gaijin and he compares Daimyo to Tokyo\u2019s subculture hub of Harajuku. \u201cClean\u201d is the word Yu uses to describe the feel of fashion in the city. Button down shirts, pressed trousers \u2013 even bow ties. The influence of American and European fashion is also important. The second-hand (furugi) shops of Daimyo import most of their wares. But what they bring over is clearly filtered through Japanese tastes. Bright colors, bold patterns and extreme cuts are favored over looser, shabbier items. Yu studied at London\u2019s prestigious College of Fashion but he says he was shocked when he came back to Fukuoka. \u201cI thought: Wow! Japanese people are so fashionable. They spend more money on clothes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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In his professional work Yu draws his inspiration from many sources. \u201cI like to watch people and see what kind of clothes they like,\u201d he says. The main difficulty, he explains, is staying one step ahead. The downside of the distinct fashion genres, he says, is that \u201cmany people are stereotypes.\u201d He is always trying to be original and recently quit working for a magazine company to pursue more creative freelance work. \u201cI want to be able to make new things in Fukuoka. I want to get people thinking and being creative,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s clear that he has great pride in the city but he\u2019d like to see a bigger and bolder artistic community emerge. When studying in London, this was something he particularly admired about the city. In the five years since he\u2019s been back Yu doesn\u2019t think much progress has been made but he does see potential. Fukuoka draws people from around Kyushu and the city has produced many famous musicians, TV presenters and fashion designers. He sees Daimyo as key to this process because it\u2019s a space where these people can gather, watch, be watched and draw inspiration.<\/p>\n

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But where does this leave the gaijin? Yu says that branching out is vital. Yu\u2019s main piece of advice is to have a good time. \u201cThere are many different interesting shops in Daimyo. It\u2019s easy to shop here. Walking around is easy so enjoy shopping and chatting,\u201d he says, don\u2019t only go to big department stores but to small shops as well. Each has originality and different brands.\u201d Because dressing to be seen and make a statement is so important style is fragmented into genres and this makes it easy to imitate what you see on the street. Because Daimyo is so compact we were able to create the three looks on the following pages in only a matter of hours. (OK so we cheated and had a bit of help, but you get the idea.)<\/p>\n

Retro
\n<\/strong>The global symbol of hipsterdom, the lumberjack shirt, has taken on a life of its own in Japan, everyone and his aunt wears them. If you’re a girl, retro is a lot more playful than Japanese other styles. Dress like this as a couple and people will sink into depression because you’re cooler than they’ll ever be.<\/p>\n

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\nSherry’s and Mix
\n1-14-23 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
\nTel: 092-716-5591 (Sherry’s) Tel: 092-732-8555 (Mix)<\/p>\n

Kogyaru
\n<\/strong>The high heels and mini-skirts rocked by gyaru suggest naughtiness: the fluff and crazy bouffant, unhinged cuteness. Originally imitating Valley Girls, the Japanese took the idea and ran with it. The style is pretty extreme and can probably only be matched by the daughters of Eastern European oligarchs.<\/p>\n

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\nOne Spo
\n2F Tenjin Core Bldg., 1-11-11 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
\nTel: 092-713-4682<\/p>\n

Geek Chic
\n<\/strong>Otaku might suggest unhealthy obsession with idoru and 2D girls but Japan has actually embraced geekiness. Fly sneakers, cardigan, clean pressed shirt, bowler hat and a bow tie? It’s enough to even have Andre 3000 shaking with jealous rage. It’s not cheap but you’ll stand out through the force of your awesomeness.<\/p>\n

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\nCannabis
\n1-9-14 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
\nTel: 092-713-3555<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve focused on four stores but Daimyo is crawling with places to try out. The area is so small that even in a couple of hours it\u2019s possible to cover most of the streets. The massive Union 3 is a good place to start. It has a huge range of clothes, shoes and accessories for both men and women. Spinns is good as well. Pretty big and not too expensive and they even have original Nintendo games. If mod is your thing then Alley Cat has a great choice of imported British shirts and jackets as well as a fine array of vintage motorbike helmets. The slightly unfortunately named Fuctard is also worth a mention for it\u2019s great selection of imported sneakers and baseball caps designed by the store\u2019s owner. Currently they\u2019re stocking a Festive Feud collection. Santa Claus battles the Thanksgiving Turkey and New Year’s takes on Valentine\u2019s Day. \u201cWe try to make well designed hats that people haven\u2019t seen before,\u201d says \u2018Steelo\u2019 Irisato, who works at the store.<\/p>\n

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But one of the most enjoyable things to do if you have time to spare is just wander around until you find something you like the look of. Shops are hidden away in tiny second floor spaces and packed in one behind the other. With a little spirit of adventure and determination you can be rewarded with a great bargain or a unique item. If shopping or dressing up isn\u2019t really your thing then it\u2019s still worth taking the time to visit Daimyo. The atmosphere is relaxed and an afternoon can be happily spent just watching the hip-kids go by and drinking a (hand-poured, of course) coffee in one of the trendy cafes. Swindle Factory gets our vote because it looks like it escaped from an English village and they make their own t-shirts on site.<\/p>\n

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Cycling is very popular and although small tricked-out bikes dominate, the messenger bike scene is starting to penetrate as well. These bikes don\u2019t have some of the things usually associated with bikes like gears and brakes (you can’t even freewheel) but they are very light and fast. An important part of the culture is customization and day-glo wheel rims and garish paint jobs are very fashionable. There\u2019s usually a happy collection of both kinds of bikes outside Kura Kura Cycles. Either way, Fukuoka\u2019s tightly packed core is easily navigable by bike as long as you\u2019re brave enough. A little bit more bizarre is High. Deep in the back of the second floor of a building it bills itself a toyshop. But they\u2019re not exactly the kind of toys you give to your kids. A choking-on-a-hairball Stimpy from Ren and Stimpy? You got it. Kiss-opoly, the game inspired by the band that lets you rock all night? Yep. An entire collection of Smurfs? Check. Even if you\u2019re not buying, it\u2019s definitely worth a look.<\/p>\n

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The music of Daimyo is hip-hop, rock and house. For clubbing, Yu recommends O\/D and for live music Billboard. For more offbeat nights and smaller Japanese bands Kieth Flack is the place to go. It\u2019s hidden down an alleyway (aren\u2019t all the best things?) but it\u2019s a manically designed building with a fa\u00e7ade that looks like it\u2019s melted in the sun. If you prefer your music in a portable, take out format, there are a lot of independent record shops with good prices on second hand CDs. Borderline Records has a large collection of jazz, rock and pop. It also has a section hawking offerings by local Fukuoka bands.<\/p>\n

by Ian Duncan<\/p>\n

Originally published in Fukuoka Now magazine (fn121, January, 2009<\/a>) <\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Take two gaijin. Add achingly cool Japanese fashion. Stir. Cook on low heat. Serve cool\u2026<\/p>\n

by Ian Duncan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"9411","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","location-fukuoka-city","en-US"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/6503763089_bbb2eb6ffd_z.jpg?fit=426%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99516,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76487\/revisions\/99516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}