Published 27 June 2016 by Cherise Fong

We ventured into Yamamoto Lab at Nagasaki University, pioneer of the biomimetic fish robots. Professor Ikuo Yamamoto’s marine-inspired mechatronics have won awards. And set records.

Published 21 June 2016 by Cherise Fong

Gunkanjima, concrete island made famous by UNESCO and James Bond, can be explored virtually. We went inside to see how digital technology is reviving the ghosts of coal mining’s past.

Published 14 June 2016 by Cherise Fong

In Nagasaki, robots are much more than stand-ins for the future. At the Henn na Hotel, even the concierge and bellhop are robots.

Published 6 June 2016 by Cherise Fong

Two French artists in residence at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto frame their encounter with Japan through paper windows that come to life on the small screen.

Published 4 April 2016 by Cherise Fong

Will makers do their shopping in dedicated shops instead of paying their dues to a fablab? As Techshop Tokyo officially opens its doors this month, Makery went to browse the new maker megastore.

Published 16 February 2016 by Cherise Fong

Every Monday morning, one hour's train ride south of Tokyo, Fablab Kamakura opens its doors to the public. Report.

Published 5 February 2016

Mangaka artist Megumi Igarashi who distributed 3D scans of her own genitals is on trial in Tokyo under charges of obscenity.

Published 19 January 2016 by Cherise Fong

Open source and soon to be sold for less than a hundred euros, OCPC heralds the revolution of the computer numerical control machine for all.

Published 5 January 2016 by Cherise Fong

Made in Japan, Mesh is the latest prototyping kit for all, allowing anyone to playfully appropriate the Internet of Things—following in the footsteps of U.S. start-up Littlebits and European initiative SAM.

Published 15 December 2015 by Cherise Fong

The very first FabLearn Asia took place on December 12-13 in Yokohama. It was inspired by the original FabLearn conference organized since 2011 by Stanford University. Makery was there

Published 15 December 2015 by Cherise Fong

Created in the birthplace of Hello Kitty, the young Japanese collective Neurowear prototypes playful prostheses that immediately make us smile... by exploiting our brainwaves!

Published 1 December 2015 by Cherise Fong

Professor Hiroya Tanaka, a kind of Japanese Neil Gershenfeld, opened several fablabs and trained battalions of makers. Portrait.

Published 5 October 2015 by Cherise Fong

Inspired by Instructables, Fabble is a budding Japanese website for sharing geeky but poetic DIY projects.

Published 3 September 2015 by Ewen Chardronnet

The Ars Electronica festival, awarded a prize to the artistic satellite ARTSAT, conceived at the hackerspace in Japan’s Tama Art University. Makery met Akihiro Kubota, its instigator.

Published 11 August 2015 by Cherise Fong

Amidst the rice paddies of Chiba in Japan, three co-founders of Tokyo HackerSpace created Hacker Farm, a rural hackerspace to build stuff and live green.

Published 20 July 2015 by Cherise Fong

Why is there only one hackerspace in Tokyo? It has moved around a lot over the past 6 years, all the way to this quiet garage northwest of the city, where Makery paid a visit.

Published 10 April 2015 by Cherise Fong

Folded cranes dancing in sync—paper animation, puppet gadgetry, or Japanese traditional art revisited? Discover the Ugoita collective.

Published 10 March 2015 by Annick Rivoire

Kouka-roid is the latest anthropomorphic robot prototype created by Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro. She is currently showing at “Le Bord des mondes” in Paris.

Published 3 February 2015 by Cherise Fong

YCAM in Yamaguchi opens its media arts production to prototyping and open source, beginning with its in-house fablab, Edu Lab.

Published 20 January 2015 by Cherise Fong

A visit to Kyushu, better known for its natural hot springs (from volcanic sand to melting mud to boiling waters), which also has its own reserve of digital hot spots.