Shunichi Matsuba, a self-proclaimed diorama artist, creates extraordinarily detailed miniature scenes of Japanese life past and present — often using models smaller than a fingertip.
miniature (Page 2)
The miniature toy market is huge in Japan. From tiny Hello Kitty baked goods to pint-sized supermarket items and even scaled-down Japanese-style rooms filled with traditional furnishings, you don’t have to be a child with a doll-house to delve into the world of miniature here in Japan.
Adults have become so transfixed with all the adorable items on the market that there are a number of YouTube channels purely dedicated to the art of petite cooking, using everything from tiny utensils to working miniature ovens.
One of the latest videos to appear takes us through the sushi-making process, transporting us to a tiny world that viewers say is so calming it can cure all types of stress and anxiety. Watching this short clip will be the best few minutes of your day!
Typically, nail art in Japan is bold and colorful or just plain huge, but it turns out neither are requisites to being impressive! Sometimes small can be just as amazing as big (at least that’s what we tell ourselves), and one Twitter user has gone a long way to proving that with her diminutive and delicate nail art, created by literally carving the tips of her nails!
We all know that Japan does “small” well. Whether it’s microtechnology, tiny houses or bonsai, the Japanese are known for their dexterity and being attentive to the tiniest detail.
But a hobbyist and Niconico Douga user known simply as “A” takes attention to detail to a whole new level. In a homage to the three-dimensional worlds created by video game giants Nintendo, A has constructed an ultra-detailed diorama based on the first level of Nintendo 64 classic Super Mario 64 and even recreated the entire world map from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on a scale so small we could barely believe our eyes when we first saw it.
How small are we talking? Find out after the jump!
We all love a good gashapon capsule toy. But whether it’s One Piece characters or doggy bread, getting more than one of the same toy is usually a disappointment. No wonder some collectors skip the vending machine step altogether and buy completed sets second-hand. Duplicates are no fun.
There’s one Japanese toy company that flips that idea on its head, however. Unlike conventional capsule toys, Epoch’s scale models actually look better the more identical items you have! And these miniatures of seemingly mundane items such as school desks, shopping trolleys and folding chairs have proved a runaway hit.
So when our reporter Mr. Sato heard about the latest capsule item from Epoch, he immediately grabbed a bunch of hundred-yen coins and headed out to start collecting…miniature cinema chairs! Here’s what he found.
Just days after their launch, a handful of somewhat worrying images appeared online showing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones which had bent, apparently after having been kept in their owners’ pockets while sitting. Both Apple and independent reports have suggested that cases of bending are extremely rare, but even so, “bendgate” continues to play on consumers’ minds, no doubt in part due to Apple’s competitors playing it to their advantage and a few overly zealous Android fanboys sharing images of bent iPhones with such frequency that you’d swear they were on Samsung or HTC’s payroll.
Japanese designer and photographer Tatsuya Tanaka, however, is so confident that his iPhone 6 won’t bend that he enlisted the help of 100 tiny friends to put it to the test. As it happens, Apple’s newest smartphone can even take the weight of a zebra, giraffe, polar bear and elephant before it comes anywhere near to getting a case of the bends…
I have never thought I’d be gushing over sewing tools, but here I am, 30 minutes into staring at pictures of this new set of gashapon toys titled “The Shugei Miniature Mascot” (The Handicraft Miniature Mascot) because they are simply too adorable. Who would’ve thought you could turn things typically associated with grandmothers into such desirable collectibles by shrinking them to palm-size? Click to see more of these super cute toys!
In the US, some of the most common roadside attractions are the “World’s Largest Whatever”: World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle, World’s Largest Ball of Rubber Bands, World’s Largest Rocking Chair, World’s Largest Golf Ball, World’s Largest Ball of Twine, all real and all in the United States.
But why go big, when you can go small…like, really small. How about a 1.5cm (0.6 inch) tall Kamen Rider figure? What’s more, you’ll be able to get one of them in Japan really soon!
Have you ever been in a situation where you could have sworn you left an object in a certain place, yet couldn’t find it when you needed it, but it pops up at some unexpected place some time later? Have you ever thought that, perhaps there are tiny people hiding in your room, mischievously fiddling with your things?
That’s probably what fills the mind of Japanese designer and photographer, Tatsuya Tanaka, as he shows in his imaginative portfolio of miniature people having fun among everyday items around us!
Restaurant “Sushiya no Hachi” (すし屋の野八) in Asakusa, Tokyo is serving up some really tiny sushi. So tiny, in fact, that you might not even be able to find it on your plate!
Sushi chef Hironori Ikeno is the man behind these minuscule works of art. He has perfected his craft to the point that he can make each piece using only one grain of rice. Don’t believe your eyes? Don’t worry- you’re not the only one who needs a magnifying glass!
They say food has the power to bring people of all different backgrounds together, united by their common love of a good meal. We think the following miniature faux foods possess the same power, even though they aren’t edible. So now let’s all come together and collectively enjoy the following photo gallery of fake miniature food, united by our love of all things cute.
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