An exquisite window into Japan‘s heritage, Kyoto‘s gardens, shrines and temples draw in millions of visitors each year. For our CH Japan travel experience (as well as our CH Omakase gift box), Kyoto played an important role for a different reason: its GO ON collective. Young makers, representing the next generation in their family’s traditional craft, bound together to form GO ON. This collective aims to …
In Takamatsu, artisan Kazushi Iwasa—a fifth-generation incense maker—steers IWASA, his family’s business that’s been in operation since 1872. Long-inspired by indigo, we commissioned Iwasa to craft a scent around the natural color and its traditional dyeing process for our 2019 Omakase box. Pulling from the brand’s reservoir of scents, Iwasa assembled 400 limited edition incense sets, bearing notes of wood and musk. When lit, its …
From our deep respect and adoration of Japanese culture, we drew the word “omakase” (meaning “expert’s choice”) in 2016 to name our annual collection of collaboratively produced, limited edition and early release products we offer readers. This year’s collection of gifts is crafted entirely in collaboration with Japanese artisans. Every design object we’ve developed has function, but to decipher its untold value requires history lessons. …
