tokuon

Mercer Cafe | マーサーカフェ

My friends and I had a small nomikai here this past weekend, and we all went home with full stomachs and smiles on our faces. A five minute walk from Ebisu station this "dining cafe" seems to be the place to go for beautiful urbanites (such as ourselves…haha). Cool chefs and a waitress so cute the slightly tipsy girls among us all had to tell her how cute she was, Mercer Cafe also serves some amazing dishes. One of our favorites was the wagyu beef carpaccio. I’ll have to put this place on my list of cool restaurants for parties.

先週末、友達と一緒にこの店に飲み会を開いて、満足した腹と嬉しい顔で帰った。恵比寿駅から徒歩５分であるこのおしゃれな「ダイニングカフェ」はどうやら今どきの都会人（僕たち？（笑））が行くところだ。シェフもかっこよかったし、ウェイトレスもあまりにも可愛くてほろ酔いした女の子が「あなたが可愛い！！」と叫んでいた。マーサーカフェはすごく美味しい料理もあって、僕たちに特によかったのは特選和牛カルパッチョだった。いつかここにおしゃれなイブニング・パーティーを開きたいな。

ぐるナビ | GNavi | MAP
ホットペッパー | Hot Pepper

住所 | Address
〒150-0013 東京都渋谷区恵比寿1-26-16 柴田ビル1F
Shibata Bldg. 1F, 1-26-16 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013
03-3446-1551

営業時間 | Hours
18:00 - 4:00 (Last order: 3:00)

席 | Capacity
40席 （着席／立食）
40 seats (sitting/standing)

The Wall Street Journal’s Asia edition has an annual list outlining "Asia’s 200 Most-Admired Countries". The June 27, 2008 WSJ released a top 10 list of Japanese companies (below). I certainly agree with Nintendo. They have revolutionized the video game industry, leading the way in introducing new applications of technology to create new ways to enjoy video games. In the process they reversed their position from has-been to market leader, and now their competitors, despite probably more advanced technology, are playing catch up. (Full article requires a subscription, but here’s the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121450790874208063.html)

I can’t help but wonder, though, of all the other types of innovative companies and products there must be in this country. I’m going to have to keep my eye out for innovation. Here’s one place to start: The Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization, sponsor of the Good Design award. Innovation in industrial design. 2007’s Grand Prize winner were the beautiful eneloop universe of rechargeable batteries and rechargers from Sanyo.

Methodology: WSJ took each country’s top companies by market capitalization, and survey 2477 executives and professionals (subscribers as well as other businesspeople).

この写真を取ったあと、クリスピークリームに寄って代々木駅で帰った。満足だな。
After taking this Shinjuku Southern Terrace photo with my mobile phone’s camera, I stopped at Krispy Kreme then went home via Yoyogi Station. A good day.

Recently published on Tokyo Art Beat’s blog: "The Imagery of Troubled Sleep", a casual review of the Oscar Oiwa exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.

Article:
http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/tablog/entries.en/2008/06/the-imagery-of-troubled-sleep.html

Exhibition info:
http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2008/D70C.en
展示会情報：
http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2008/D70C.ja

小泉建築事務所

六本木ヒルズから麻布十番に向かい始めるところにある建物です。とても素敵でこんなダメな携帯カメラで撮るのが申し訳ないな。

Koizumi Architect Office
A great example of greening a building, I found this small architect’s office today. You can see it just after you leave the Roppongi Hills area on the way to Azabu Juban. I wish my mobile’s camera took better pictures.