Week 4 Research: Art, Design and Aesthetic in Kansai Region

Exploration Spots (Highlighted Research Spots) :

1. 大阪城 Osaka Castle
2. 日本環球影城 Universal Studio Japan
3. 海遊館 Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
4. 居酒屋 Izakaya
4. 扇町公園 Ogimachi Park





1. 大阪城 Osaka Castle

Street performers.

Remarkable painting with using negative space as the cloud.

In fact, I like Japanese shōheiga a lot. They use gold color as the background. They use negative space cleverly. Gold is a material that is difficult to control as the artworks will look cheesy if too much is used. However, most of the shōheiga does not have this problem and can show the nobleness with a special texture. It is detailed for the characters and trees but simple for the background at the same time.

Even the flag's designs were neat and easy to recognize.

The top of Osaka Castle was made with many guardian mascots in gold. 

I did life sketching outside Osaka Castle before sunset. I would like to capture the structure details of the castle.

Structure of Osaka Castle made me associate with several Japanese animations, especially Spirited Away. Design and green color ceilings of the castle in Spirited Away is very similar to Osaka Castle. It showed the Japanese heritages inspire creators to portray and form a unique story, which is the inspiration we could not get in Hong Kong.

Castle Design from Spirited Away.

Japanese castles look very similar. However, if we look into the design aspect, there were many interesting points we could find out.

Compared to Himeji Castle, Osaka Castle made me feel like this is a male but Himeji Castle is like a female.

First, for the color, they both are in black and white but Osaka Castle was mostly in black with green and gold for the ceilings, which looks more expensive and primary. The space inside Osaka Castle is larger and lighter. On the contrary, the space of Himeji Castle is smaller due to the more delicate structure. It is quite dark too as not much sunlight comes in and has low ceilings.

Osaka Castle.

Himeji Castle.

I like Himeji Castle better. Not only because the more delicate structure and feminine it is, but also it keeps the culture and tradition better, such as visitors still need to take off the shoes and only a few lamps are added for visitors. 

Though Osaka Castle has extraordinary architecture and colors, it has been over-transformed into a traveling hotspot. I could not see the culture and story of this castle and area like I did in Himeji Castle and Osaka Museum of Housing and Living. It becomes a formal exhibition for visitors to buy things and take photos.


2. 日本環球影城 Universal Studio Japan

The train was decorated with Harry Potter wallpaper but the station was not well designed. Visitors did not have the feeling of entering a whole new world, which is needed for guest experience in theme park design.

Lots of shopping stores with different characters, like Sesame Street and One Piece.

We rushed to the Harry Potter Park.

The walls were carved as raw rocks with terrific theme paint. Visitors could immerse into Harry Potter's world.











We went to the attraction Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™with 4D experience. No matter for the visual, sound or pace, it is the best ride I ever have.

Photo from USJ official website.

I was impressed by the ride so I had a high expectation on other aspects.

Props in Harry Potter land were nicely done, like the floating magic wand and books. They all played an important role in giving visitors illusions. 

 Good Product Design compared to the Disneyland's.

These decorations look odd to me as I did not expect to have such characters in the world of Harry Potter in the old time. The witch seemed like the character appearing during Halloween.

Heading to other spots.

There were many anime/ cartoon stall for play. The bell rang every minute which was quite noisy for me.

I like how this restaurant was designed as a Dinosaur Museum, though it was weird to add One Piece element into it.

We went to Universal Monsters Live Rock And Roll Show™ but I was disappointed.

For stage design, the backdrop was good but the lighting was too fancy and did not have a focal point. There was no story but only introducing different characters with bad jokes. Though the performers did a good show, the script was too boring that I nearly fell asleep. Sparks came out too sudden and often without any reasons. The effects were too light which made my eyes comfortable.

It took an hour to queue for Minion Mayhem. The concept arts and prop design before the ride were appealing.

Before the ride, there were a several story introduction sessions with some animations in two small rooms. It was too long and made the story boring. It would be better if it was simpler and faster.

I did not expect to see old western style street design in Osaka. I was like entering another country.

The neon light is pretty too.

Came out from USJ, the shops were full of neon lights but not messy.

This is the first time I go to Japan theme park. Some of the attractions are exciting and worth to take. The theme park design made me disappointed due to the bad environment, sound, and light design. Somehow it was difficult to immerse into the world. They tried to add Japanese anime elements, like One Piece and Sailor Moon into the world but failed. It seemed like a park for the businessman to earn money. The theme was not clearly established. Details did not suit the theme sometimes.

I hope the guest experience can be improved as a theme park.


3. 海遊館 Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Cute rubbish bin design with a penguin look.

Like a machine tunnel. It was romantic. I understood why couples like going to the aquarium in Japanese animes.

An adorable fish with the yellow mouth in black skin.

 Appreciate the refraction and the world under the water.

Movement with rhythm.

 

Even the walls were painted.

They looked weird but cute.

 

I did not know that jellyfish is so elegant.

 

Other weird fish with a special face.

Dead fish exhibited.

After this visit, I realized how wonderful nature is. All the creatures there were terrific. I was touched and wanted to express my obsession by making an animation about nature at that moment.

Even in Hong Kong, I may not able to see such a thing again. Osaka Aquarium has a good environment design for visitors and animals, which is difficult to find, especially in China.


4. 居酒屋 Izakaya

We went to Izakaya to celebrate after the presentation.

This Izakaya was a classical Japanese pub. The rooms were decorated with old Japanese posters.

The posters above reminded me of the fusion of old Chinese and Western fashions. The girls wearing western costume were all in white skin, which was the beauty guide of Chinese in the past.

Old Chinese Advertisement Poster with a white girl. Photo from the Internet.

Old Western Movie Poster "My Fair Lady". Photo from the Internet.

4. 扇町公園 Ogimachi Park

We bought a package of firework in a convenience store and played at Ogimachi Park.

To compete, there was a theme for each firework package, say this one is Anpanman. It included a filter which transforms all light pixels into Anpanman figure.

This design was much fun and new to me!

During my daily research, I also found some interesting designs that I only have seen in Japan.

For instances, there is an umbrella holder at the back of chairs in 餃子の王将. It was a nice user design that the guest will remember to take the umbrella when they leave. I did not see in other places.

Original photo from the Internet.

Some restaurants also provide hangers for hanging the clothes.

Photo from the Internet.

Others, such as music can be played in the restroom and has child urinal in the female toilet are some warm and convenient designs.

When I paid attention to the ground, there was a lot of fun too.

A Collection of ditch cover design.

Cute street art.

There were a lot of things to be discovered if we pay attention to daily life details.