Scion Magazine 7: The Japan Issue

From Japan with Love.

No matter how often I go to Japan, I look forward to it each and every time with the same giddy anticipation I had the first time I went. Maybe it’s the vibrant automotive culture, maybe it’s the delicious dining options, or maybe it’s the eclectic fashion community; Japan has always been a source of inspiration and excitement for me. I have always wanted to do a Japan-themed issue for a number of years, but the topic was so rife with possibility that it was overwhelming. How could I share everything that I love about Japan in just one issue?

The short answer is: it wasn’t easy. Our team of writers, illustrators, photographers and designers collaborated with teams at home and abroad, met new faces and made new friends, worked around the clock and went around the world – all to share in our passion for, and fascination with, Japan. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

Every story will take you on a journey, whether it’s exploring the streets of Tokyo looking for the perfect cheap and delicious meal, slipping into a pair of selvedge denim made on a hundred-year-old loom, or watching the flicker of lights on the dekotora as they brighten up the night. Our aim is not to tell fantasy travel stories, but real stories of our favourite aspects of Japanese culture and the people who comprise it. We hope reading about their dedication and warmth inspires you to take a trip of your own, to seek out the place where your own passions reside.

That’s what I love most about traveling – the fleeting magic of meeting new people, seeing new things, realizing long standing dreams, and experiencing the transcendent. What’s more, I love to collect souvenirs – to me, they’re pure memories, retaining a sliver of that magic to savour as the years go by. So consider this little (big) print book our souvenir to you, a series of stories from our time in Japan, and a snapshot of Japan as it is right now. We also understand that with some stories, seeing is believing. That is why our magazine is packed with digital extras, like videos and slideshows, all unlocked with the Layar app, to bring you that much closer.

Some say that the best way to know where you’re going is to know where you’ve come from. Here at Scion, we’re proud to call Toyota our family. We take delight in our heritage, and our connection to Japan endures. After all, each and every Scion model is manufactured there, and we’re fortunate to be able to tap into the rich history our parent company, Toyota, has of building ever better cars.

What lies ahead is as exciting as what came before. I’d like to thank you, our readers, for allowing us to create an issue dedicated to Japan. We love doing what we do, but you all make it what it is.

Domo arigato,

Lisa Marie Chen, Editor-in-Chief

To download a copy of Issue 7, click here: THE JAPAN ISSUE, or watch a video of Shingo and I exploring the streets of Japan looking for “B Kyu Gurume” below.

Throwback to Tokyo…

That’s me and my team getting settled before starting our interview with gyaru group Black Diamond inside a tiny “gal cafe” in Shibuya. Looking back, I still can’t believe that we actually did that and sooner than later you’ll be able to read all about it in the next issue of Scion Magazine. 

In the words of my favourite writer, Pico Iyer: 

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again — to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” 

Perhaps that’s why I enjoy traveling so much. The sheer joy of understanding things beyond my regular environment, the fun in learning something new, and the discomfort of sometimes never knowing what you’ll find. That last note is interesting… 

Above, a photo taken mere moments before I was almost carried away by a wave on Bansai Beach on the North Shore in Hawaii earlier this summer. Truth be told, I was never crazy about being in the water. But there’s something about losing my footing and the discomfort that comes with not having any control. Part terrifying, part exhilarating. And more often than not, something I seem to find when I’m out of town. 

Which reminds me that I’m overdue a trip. I think I hear Broadway calling… 

 

I shall call it Mini Me…

Thanks to Korey and the folks at HPI Racing for making a mini xB complete with my Five Axis Design body kit.