January 11

Every time the period approaches during which I have to devote myself completely to work, part of my senses start getting awfully perceptive. Sometimes it tingles and itches as if there was some other tiny creature living inside me. At the same time, other parts become totally dull, or better perhaps, they seem to be shutting down for a while. Once these inlets are closed, they no longer let anything in, which is absolutely necessary for me to get through that ultra-busy time, and to ascertain my competence at the time.

January 15

I regularly stumble across an album or other musical work that I get totally wrapped up in whenever we enter the final stage of production for he next issue of "+81". It can be an artist I encounter for the first time, or a CD that I've had and listened to for a while. In the latter case, melodies and lyrics begin to sound different during such periods. When I listen to such CDs every night on end, at some point they slip out of the category of discreet background music, and sooner or later I know the lyrics in and out, to such an extent that I often end up singing along all the way through an album. My music for the current issue is Ohashi Trio’s "Pretaporter". That painfully warm and gentle voice has a highly soothing effect.

January 22

Huge snowflakes are falling from a grey morning sky. My head is so boiled down that even a couple of Alinamin drinks don't help clear it up. What I'm wishing for now is the ability to express things from my heart, complete with all notions of fact and emotionality, through appropriate language. I wish I could switch back and forth freely between the left and right sides of my brain.

January 31

After finally sending the newest issue off to the printer, I totter to Parco in Shibuya to attend the opening reception of the "PIECE of PEACE TOKYO" charity art exhibition. On show are a number of world heritage sites built with Lego, and even though they're miniature versions, they look just as impressive as the real things. I'm about as excited as when I visited Legoland in San Diego more than five years ago. There are many artists participating in this exhibition, including my old friend Matsuyama Tomokazu. He’s been a pal of mine since junior high school, when we went snowboarding together. Now he’s an artist and based in New York. I made a phone interview with him for the craft graphics in volume 37 of "+81", and I remember vividly how I first hesitated to ask him some serious questions, but was bolstered up by his straight and sincere answers.

February 8

I was down with fever yesterday. A cold is an advice from above to slow down and take a rest, and that shouldn't be ignored. So I take a long and deep sleep, and when I wake up I feel much better. In the afternoon, my aforementioned friend Tomokazu visits our office, so we have a cup of tea and chat about what each of us has been up to recently. The artist’s posture as he keeps going and continuing his dialogue with himself, the world and the invisible even though he might not find any answers encourages me a lot. He even surprises me with a gift: the newest skateboard model from FTC! Thank you!!
There are some interesting things on my schedule tonight. Or better, there WERE. I was going to attend Hermes' press preview of Sarah Sze’s exhibition, the opening of Edition’s Omotesando shop, and the FTC party, but when I double-check again I find out that all these events were yesterday. Yipes!

February 11

Today’s a national holiday, and I use the extended weekend to join a powder skiing tour an old friend of mine is organizing. While I'm looking back on quite a long career in snowboarding, this is the first time I'm climbing a mountain with snowshoes. Tramping through deep, fresh snow while breathing unsteadily turns out to be more exhausting than I thought, but I do feel kind of purified by the divine light of mother nature that hits me up here. The magnificent trip down from the top that follows feels like rocketing through a perfectly white universe.

February 12

"+81" vol.39 just went on sale. In the special feature this time, "Emotional Magazines", we introduce magazines that impress or stimulate the reader’s emotions in one way or another. I believe that the time will come when magazines that just look nice, carry articles that are just easy to read, or just provide convenient information, are going to be overrun by the progressing invasion of digital media. It’s of course essential to thoroughly give people what they want, but in my view, a magazine is only really convincing when it establishes its own identity with an undercurrent that connects its makers with its readership on an emotional level. When putting together a special about such publications, we inevitably ended up focusing primarily on independent magazines. Please, take a look if you spot it somewhere.