There’s a unique sense of overload for the first-time visitor to Tokyo. Intricate layers-upon-layers of ever-shifting urban culture crush the hapless tourist, who’s invariably pressed up against the very bottom layer like a stuffed pheasant under glass.
If this is you, get on the web and check out “Cyberjapan”. Online since 1995, it’s designed and edited by the hyperactive and extremely personable Mitomi Tokoto. It’s basically a guide to all that glitters in Tokyo, from drag queens to Bond Girl dykes, to underground cinema, to lovesick teens.
Cyberjapan’s depth and levels of information are, apparently, bottomless. There’s little consistent navigation (although design is clean and sharp) and once you get browsing, you will get lost. But you’ll always discover new tidbits: hundreds of interviews, all conducted in Tokoto’s charming style; tons of streaming video; bulletin boards on all sorts of topics affecting Japan’s vast, obsessive population. It’s a little like Tokyo itself: endlessly fascinating, constantly reinventing itself, crowded, hip, hilarious… That’s Cyberjapan!
In Tokoto’s words: “Cyberjapan is an online magazine covering all the Hype, Street Fashion and Club Culture in Japan. It is wild, not for kids and fierce!”
Mitomi Tokoto was born in France to a famous French filmmaker–father and a well-known Japanese model–mother. He is himself a model…and DJ, doco maker, designer, TV host… Tokoto uses the gregariousness of all his professions to source some amazing content for his site.
Please enjoy this interview.
You are a model, you make films and documentaries and you edit and design Cyberjapan. How do you find the time to do it all?
It’s the same job – it’s all about visuals. I work about 3 days a week and spend the rest of the week in clubs or surrounded by models. That’s it! I am not at all a workaholic or a computer “otaku” [ geek ]. Let me say clearly that my job is like the director of a TV channel. Cyberjapan is the channel and I am in charge to make it attractive to the folks that look at us. I would make a good TV program director, for sure!
As a designer, what is the future of the internet and web magazines?
There is no future. You want to be independent, you have to pay the price with your own money. It’s not that it costs a lot of money to make a web zine, but you then need to put a lot of time into it – and time is money!
What does “good design” mean to you?
Impact! Impact! Make something that has immediate impact and let the viewer think it’s cool. But remember: simple is best. So: simple, but with IMPACT!
How did Cyberjapan come about?
In 1995 I discovered a site called “Nirvanet”, the first Japanese site dedicated to music and video creators. It was great but I wanted to do something funky rather than cultural, so I started Cyberjapan, which was quite successful from day one.
Why do you think Cyberjapan is such a success?
Well, Cyberjapan was online at the age of stone for the internet – the end of 1994. That was a real benefit because we had a strong brand name. This meant that even if you never accessed us, you heard about us for sure because we’ve been here for so long. But I don’t deserve any credits for this – because there were so few Japanese sites online then, it was easy to get success. Also, I was modeling at the time so there were two big advantages there. I had a lot of free time, which meant I could spend it on Cyberjapan. I could also use my modeling network to get some killer content for free to put on the site.
But most importantly, we’ve stayed small and cool. We don’t expect millions of dollars and we’ve kept our identity from day one. Yes, I did have very big companies trying to buy me out during the “internet bubble”, but I am not doing Cyberjapan for the money so I refused it. I knew that one day they would probably ask me to give the money back. So instead we are backed by “patrons”, not sponsors, who believe that we are cool and good for their images. So they give us some money!
Our “patrons” are Sony, which is not a bad company – I like their spirit – and Diesel, which is a cool major brand in the world. And when a patron stops, then we look for someone else but we have never really searched hard. Fila came on board from 1996 to 1999, then Body Shop, then Mac cosmetics, then Sony and then Diesel. So I guess cool attracts cool brands. But I must admit that we are damn lucky!
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What did the internet mean to you in the early days?
Along with Nirvanet, we all dreamt about the internet being used to exchange a universal culture of music, ideas and design, where the underground could be the overground. We were like the cyberpunks against the matrix, but we lost and now you have the internet that we fought so hard to exclude. Its all about big corporate sites now, and creativity is lost.
I am not living in the past like an old angry guy at all – it’s just a fact that cyberpunk is dead. Hackers are not the same thing, because they don’t represent anything more than a few people. But back in the day of Nirvanet, we were the majority; even Microsoft wasn’t online in 1994. And we got exterminated by big money. Hopefully, I escaped by creating Cyberjapan, and even if it is tied up with Sony, at least they tell me to continue to do what I like so its OK.
Sony is just my “patron”. To clarify the relationship, think of a Sony Music artist and the relation they have with their record company. I guess in Japan I am maybe the only survivor because all the other cyberpunks are now offline. But for me 8 years later, I am online, fine and enjoying my funky show on the internet. How long it will stay like this I don’t know, but right here, right now, we are still rocking the net so you better enjoy now!
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What are the most popular areas of your site?
Two words: funky babes! Cyberjapan has a “Covergirls” section, where every month a supermodel talks with me. Not about her shoe size, but about politics, the fashion business, and so on. There’s also the “Fashion Police” section, where I patrol at night into the Tokyo club scene and shoot the best-dressed folks. And “Cyberjapan TV”, a mix of supermodels, singers, DJs and drag queens!
In your work, what special insight does being half-French provide?
I see things like a foreigner and feel them like a Japanese (the opposite is also true). I have both cultures so I can sense what can be cool in Japan and what can be not so cool in the outside world! It’s an advantage, for sure.
How did you end up moving to Japan after living in France for most of your life?
In France, my French surname, “Grimblat”, is very famous. How famous? Well, I will give you a fact. The “Mipcom” – the international festival for all the TV stations in the world, including the USA – honours annually its “Man of the Year”. In 1994, it was CNN’s Ted Turner; the next year it was my father, Pierre Grimblat. Now you may understand that it is not so easy for the son of such a man to be recognised as something other than that man’s son. I needed to prove something, so I came to Japan where I knew that my family name would not mean anything.
Can you tell us more about Pierre’s career?
My father is a director and an extremely successful TV producer. He is the “Don” of TV fiction movies in France, including Navarro and many more. In 1969 he directed Slogan, which introduced the mythical couple Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin to the world. It has become a cult movie in Japan. Recently, he shot Lisa with the French diva Jeanne Moreau.
And your mother’s career?
She was one of the first Asian models in Paris, back in 1966. She worked with Dior, Chanel and all the others. She is a good friend of Pierre Cardin and was working with him until 1990.
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What do you enjoy about your own modeling career?
Well, when I came to Japan it was the only thing I could do to get some quick money. I look like a Japanese but I taste different so I quickly got a lot of jobs, and then invested in computers. What do I like about modeling? Nothing. It’s uncreative and you have to wait-wait-wait for the next shot. But you get some good money so I guess its better than working at McDonalds.
What sort of DJing did you do in Paris?
I played in most of the trendiest Paris clubs, including Le Palace, Les Bains, Le Studio A and Le Queen. When I started in 1987, it was all about ROCK! Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett, The Clash, The Doors, AC/DC. But in 1990 I had my first encounter with house music. I was working at the most famous record shop in Paris, Champs Disques, where all the DJs used to buy their house records. So I got the records first and started to play them in clubs.
Do you DJ in Japan?
In France, I would get crowds of 1,500 people, but when I came to Japan in 1994, I realised that all the clubs were very small. This was a problem for me because my music needed big space so I gave up and started Cyberjapan as my hobby. I still mix but only for my own parties.
What was the most surprising thing about settling in Japan?
The size of my apartment, which is the size of the entrance of my apartment in France! Besides that, there are only good things.
What do you like and dislike the most about Japan?
Japanese people are extremely curious – they learn quick. What I dislike is the lack of ambition, the no-risk approach.
What do you like and dislike the most about France?
The ambition and the “art of living”. But the French tend to judge you even before you say or do anything.
What do you miss the most about France?
Without a doubt the food. Because its the best place in the world for food!
Are there any similarities between the two cultures?
Yes, of course, especially in the underground creative worlds of music, fashion and design. Both cultures are very up-to-date with what’s going on in the world. Very open-minded.
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What are the biggest differences between the two cultures?
All the rest!
Are there many French people living in Japan?
About 5000. But according to France’s ambassador, 150,000 people speak French in Japan.
Are there many Japanese people living in France?
Quite a lot – all fashion wannabe designers go to Paris.
What, in your opinion, is “real Japanese culture”: computers and video games, or samurai and geisha girls?
Computers and video games. Don’t trust any guide book – they know just the surface of Japan. Really, they need to access Cyberjapan!
You say that Cyberjapan was originally a “Playboy-level” site. Can you explain what you mean by this?
When I started I was amazed by the fact that no one ever used a condom, so I got an idea: put some naked girls and on the same page write the benefits of wearing a condom. Worked well! You got the picture, but you also got some info, too.
Could you tell me a little about the Japanese electronic music scene? Currently, what are the most popular styles and DJs? What are the biggest influences in the scene right now?
The scene is OK. Not as big as the UK, France or the USA, but in the top 5 for sure. Trance and techno is huge here, while a small number of creators stay with house music. It’s a question of age, I think. People over 30 like house; under 30, it’s trance or techno. The most popular DJs are Ken Ishii for techno, Satoshi Tomiie for house, and for trance, well Yoji Biomehanika is the king right now. (He is not exactly trance, more like nu-nrg).
Where in Tokyo do you live?
I live in Shibuya, the best place if you like noise and overcrowded streets with funky people. Shibuya is my favourite part of Tokyo. Just by looking on the street, you can feel the coming trends.
What’s your least favourite area?
Kabuki-cho, in Shinjuku. It’s full of hostess bars and so on. It’s vulgar and nothing interesting can happen there!
What is the future of Japanese cinema, in your opinion?
Currently, there are two movements. There’s an extraordinary underground scene, which is hyperactive and works on a low budget. Then there’s the big scene, which is terribly bad – they have the money but no ideas, just marketing people behind them. But the underground scene is so active that really they deserve better treatment in Japan, as these filmmakers are making a big impact on all the movie festivals in the world. We really need a Minister of Arts in Japan, to help finance movies like they do in France. Good movies can greatly promote Japan, but the government just doesn’t get it…
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