If invisibility is a hallmark of good design, anonymity is a given for a good designer. Long revered in the design world but largely unknown to the general public, the product and furniture designer Toshiyuki Kita is a perfect example. A retrospective of Kita's over-50-year career, titled Toshiyuki Kita: Timeless Future (running through 5 December at the Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture), illustrates how a designer's insights can quietly seep into our lives and change them forever. more...

You won't find a single traffic light, gas station, or convenience store on Sakushima, a tiny island in Mikawa Bay cradled by the Chita and Atsumi Peninsulas of Aichi Prefecture. You will, though, find well-marked signs in English and Japanese that keep you oriented as you ramble around sleepy fishing hamlets seeking out the 30 permanent artworks on display. Sakushima also has a Kobo Daishi pilgrimage trail, established in 1916, that's been refurbished of late by architects and university students. If you're ready to turn on (or off), tune in, and drop out somewhere fresh now that travel bans are eased, the laid-back vibe here makes for just that kind of vacation -- with great seafood to boot. more...