Approx 5 minute read:

👕 Hipster paradise

📽 19 years of Superbad

🗻 Tokyo’s Hamptons

🏬 Japanese pop-ups

Incoming obligatory I’m currently in Tokyo so here’s a Tokyo city pop playlist.

You’ve already heard the Stay with meeeeeeeee song so I didn’t think you needed to hear it again in this playlist but…

Who knew city pop inspired so much of today’s hip hop and RnB. I challenge you to listen and not think of the likes of Larry June and the Alchemist cooking up in the studio.

Also you’ll hear some of The Weeknd’s influences in this mix as well.

Everyone get in the Toyota Mark II, we’re going back to Japan in the 80’s.

Your favourite song of all time. 

Your favourite book of all time. 

Your favourite movie of all time.  

Do I like a good Scorsese movie more or the Juggalo guy who gives flying elbows to microwaves?

Having a favourite “media” has never been harder.  Just when you think you’ve seen/heard the thing that satisfies your senses, a new thing pops up, sometimes in the next swipe. 

Superbad took the comedy genre and defined how a funny movie should be.  

✅ Iconic (hilarious) characters 

✅ A simple, yet compelling story

✅ Quotable lines and scenes that will live on forever

It’s the 19th anniversary of Superbad hitting theatres.  I challenge you to find a film as clever and hilarious as this one.  

And even further, that was based on real events: 

Fact: Seth and Evan are Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg (the film’s writers) when they were in highschool - the film is basically about their highschool experience. 

Fact: The cocaine party actually happened - Seth Rogan started doing standup comedy at 12 and found himself at adult parties where they all did blow.

Fact: Seth and Evan actually had a friend named Fogell in high school that acted exactly like Fogell in the film - they saw the word “McLovin” on a grocery store receipt and wrote it into the film. 

Fact: They actually dumped beer into laundry detergent jugs when they couldn’t carry a keg in highschool.  

Fact: And Evan eventually did leave Seth, going away to university in Montreal, leaving their native Vancouver. 

The way millennials discovered Dazed and Confused and it became a cult classic, Superbad will also have its moment with a future generation.  And by then the sequel might just actually come out. 

Everyone’s got that staycation spot they go to or can go to that’s like 1-2 hours from where they live. 

In Toronto we have Muskoka, in New York you have the Hamptons, in LA you have places like Arrowhead Lake or Big Bear Lake (I’m sure there’s many others, don’t @ me) and in Tokyo you have the Fuji five lakes. 

There’s this unwritten 2 hour rule Tokyo residents have where the weekend destination needs to be within 2 hours or less of the city.  Lake Kawaguchi fits exactly that 2 hour window - kinda. 

Lake Kawaguchi, being one of the Fuji five, gives you spectacular views of Mt. Fuji from almost anywhere in the area.

It’s this small resort lined town surrounding a big lake in basically a valley of mountains. 

We took a bunch of trains to get here because we’re stupid tourists but you can get to this area in under 2 hours from Tokyo with just 1 train that runs west of the city through the mountains or a mad cheap Greyhound bus for like $10 USD from Shinjuku station.

People mainly come to this area to wind down and escape the city.  It’s not a bad thing that the region is filled with volcanic natural hot spring deposits so most hotels you stay at have a natural hot spring (or 2) in them.  

Dawg, if you haven’t done a natural hot spring you haven’t lived.  Picture a hot tub, but filled with clean, no chemical, water, that feels like it’s going to burn until all of the sudden it’s soothing you like only the Japanese can. 

There’s this majestic nature feeling of being in a town where Mt Fuji is essentially overlooking you the whole time. 

All I’ll say is I can’t believe I hadn’t gone to Mt Fuji in the past.  Screw all the Hypebeast stores in Harajuku, this can’t not be a destination option when you go to Japan.

Here I am bashing Harajuku twice now in this issue when next week you’re gonna hear all about it lol.

The other night we went into Shibuya for our obligatory visit to the Nintendo store in Parco.

While we were walking through Shibuya I noticed the neighbourhood has turned into pop-up central for Tokyo.

Just coming out of the station you’ve got a Star Wars Galaxy pop-up (which we didn’t go in as none of us are Star Wars fans in the family).

After dinner we walked past a massive line up for the Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2 x PARCO pop up store.

Inside PARCO on the same floor as the Nintendo store there’s also a SEGA universe pop-up going on with a ton of stuff from the history of SEGA.

The thing about Tokyo is I bump into so much cool sh*t that I’m just in awe and forget to take a pic or video so here’s something from IG user Superretroquest.

And then from August 23rd to September 13th a Disney pop-up is taking place for a new game called Sparklink Stars. It’s developed by Japanese studio coly, where the game reimagines Disney IP through an anime character / idol aethestic.

Given how busy this part of the city gets, especially around the famous scramble crossing, it makes sense you’re going to see these pop-ups in the vicinity of the area.

You’re still getting the typical spots like the 5 floor Muji store, the 2 story Onitsuka Tiger store, Nike’s 3 floor store, BAPE, and a flurry of others but now if you head to that part of the city you’re getting a ton on what the Japanese are highlighting in their pop-culture universe as well.