Onsen (hot spring bathing) is a way of life in Japan and a must-do when visiting. During my trip to Tokyo last fall I took a little excursion to the Izu Peninsula for some much needed R&R amongst the beautiful Japanese countryside. The setting was the amazing Arcana Resort, which sits in the deep in the woods on the banks of a beautiful river. The resort is quite expensive, but it would be hard to find better service or a more amazing setting — a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

The restaurant.

Private onsen.

River

Even the shower had views and great light.

Early morning soak.

It’s so funny to me what is happening with Timex. The stodgy Middlebury, Conn. watchmaker is pretty popular in the heritage-obsessed circle-jerk-menswear-blog-world right now (which, for better or worse, I am undeniably a part of). The funny thing is, Timex releases all of these special watches to sell at fashion stores (at an increased price) but it is still selling basically the same stuff at Wal-Mart and everywhere else. Case-in-point the Timex Camper XL. Not that $50 is too much for a watch, it’s not. I even paid $150 to buy the J.Crew Timex “military” watch, a damn fine looking item. When I was in Japan two years ago I bought a Camper (for about $80) thinking it was a special Japan-only watch, only to see it at Target in Jersey City a month after I got home. Beep, boop. Internet-based-menswear-FAIL on my part.

Funny that while the cool kids (again myself included) are hyping the more expensive special Timex editions, you can get a regular old Timex Camper or the Camper Expedition (as pictured below) for $22 and $26 respectively. You know someone in marketing at Timex is taking credit for the high-margin special-menswear-blog-edition idea, but everyone in the menswear circle-jerk knows that J.Crew went to them with the idea and not vice versa. So ease back there Timex marketing guy, let the J.Crew marketing guy talk.

I’ve been wearing the Camper Expedition (which I bought on Amazon for even less, $18 I think) for about the last six weeks and nearly everyday someone asks me what it is. It’s amazing to me how many people comment about it. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar it is probably the most remarked item I have ever owned. This all made me think that I need to do a better job of seeing what’s in front of me (or seeking out things from unexpected places) and not just focusing on what is being regurgitated on Twitter and in the menswear internet hand-job-fest that closes in more and more everyday. Ironic that I am writing this on a menswear internet site, yes. But at least I recognize the irony.

End rant. #movingonnow

Was anyone more emotional on stage than Joe? This is one of my all time favorites.

I have been trying to get my office in order for a few months now. I bought a bunch of old lockers from an industrial surplus spot in Cleveland and brought them back to NYC to use as display for shoes and boots. Just recently I scored a deal on five old 1950s Adjustrite chairs from eBay. I had to drive up to Binghamton, NY to get them, but it was worth it. Another recent addition to our office is this maple butcher block table with metal industrial legs which was special made by Kyle at Sit and Read Furniture. I’m still on the hunt for another table and set of chairs, but it is good to be half way there. That table Kyle made weighs a ton, so I hope I don’t have to move anytime soon.

I have been spending a lot of time in the car as of late which is giving me a good chance to really dig into some new music. The album Machine Dreams (iTMS) from the Swedish group Little Dragon has been a distinct point of focus and enjoyment. Headed by the exquisite Yukimi Nagano (who was born and raised in Sweden by her Japanese father and American mother), the group blends musical influences to produce a fresh and beautiful sound. The track Feather stands out amongst a strong record and the band sounds great live. Little Dragon is currently on tour in the U.S., so check the schedule and go an see them. You won’t be disappointed.

Note Yuki’s dancing. Amazing.

Again, the dancing is almost as good as the music.

If you have ever been to the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park hotel in NYC you will know the space isn’t huge. So when I heard that The Black Keys were playing a private show during New York Fashion Week I pretty much flipped my lid. I have seen the Akron duo about 25 times and this was by far the best venue / arrangement I have ever seen. I was so close that I could have reached out and grabbed Patrick’s ride cymbal.  Not to mention the Tequila was on the house; needless to say I was fully out of commission the day following the show. My video from the night is below — sound quality suffered due to my proximity. Enjoy!

An amazingly packaged envelope arrived in the mail yesterday from the Levi Strauss & Co. archive. I opened it up and there is a photo with a blue bandanna tied with string. On the bandanna it said. “Who was Grayson Ozias IV and where is his fortune?” Huh? I’m confused, so I hit google with “Grayson Ozias” and it returns some cryptic results like a Twitter profile, a Craigslist posting and then some PR related stuff. It seems the folks at Levi’s buried $100,000 somewhere in America and you can have a chance at discovering it via their website. After some digging (pun intended), this Ozias guy and the whole buried treasure seems to be a big ole scavenger hunt. But who couldn’t use 100K right now? Sure will buy you a lot of LVC…

I’m pretty sure if I ever met Aaron Draplin in person we would be boys. At least, that is what I like to think. There are certain people that I looked-up-to when starting my site ACL and Aaron is one of them. Just the fact that he gets drunk and hits eBay is reason enough for me to like him.

This package showed up in my mailbox yesterday and I was like a kid in a candy store. The little screw-driver pen thing almost threw me over the edge. Those were always around my house growing up in Ohio. Many thanks and much respect to Draplin for being a patriot and a freedom fighter, not to mention a generous guy.

Saw some good stuff out-and-about this weekend. Hit the Meadowlands Flea Market in NJ with my buddy McNairy. While there I picked up a couple of U.S. Army bags for $30 and a old 1960s Bell Telephone lineman flashlight. Lots of crap at that flea but there are some hidden gems if you look and the prices are good. After that I headed back to the city and over to Williamsburg to look for a new bicycle (new used). I didn’t find a bike, but I did see lots of good old fashion Americana. Last stop was Moto Matchless for a few cold ones — looks like they have an Ohio party coming up, I might have to swing by for that.

Recruitment for Her Majesty’s Army is being packaged and sold as if being in the military is like playing a video game, interesting.