Kenji Hall
Novel ideas
As the big media store chains disappear, Japan’s most successful book, music and magazine seller has opened a project that challenges everyone. We visit the floors of a refreshed retail landscape.
At your service
Monocle brings its taste for global cuisine, impeccable coffee and serene interiors to the Japanese capital with the first Monocle Café.
Inventory No. 48
On Monocle’s wish list this month are crockery where the clay is the star, eco detergents that really work and waste bins you’ll actually want to handle.
Quick on the draw
The CEO of Japan’s largest entertainment store chain has a peculiar management style. He never gives orders and encourages failure, yet Muneaki Masuda has built a hugely successful business.
Fashion
New clothing and accessory ranges, collaborations, designers and retailers, from Vigevano to Melbourne.
Monocle travel guide
This month Monocle visits a new luxury retail behemoth in Milan, a Yemeni coffee outlet in Tokyo and a Copenhagen restaurant serving New Nordic food at affordable prices.
Low riders, high ideals
With huge windows and a low cruising altitude, you can gape in wonder at the pristine Costa Rican landscape below. Why bother reading the inflight magazine?
Asia
Thailand's first female PM Yingluck Shinawatra gets the once over for our Style Leader, and we report on Hanoi's urban masterplan and Japan's pay rise for its football heroines.
Slow lanes
The beautifully preserved town of Obuse in Nagano prefecture is home to old sake breweries and silk farms. It’s also where we parade this season’s womenswear.
It’s a wrap
A leafy getaway spot in central Japan provides the backdrop to our autumn menswear shoot. Here’s our pick of warm coats, jackets and knitwear to keep you cosy as temperatures fall.
