I guess it’s true what they say: “You can’t escape the Banana Republic.”
Ok, so they don’t say it. But I just did. Considering all the restaurants, stores, and other things that could do well in Tokyo, but aren’t here…
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against The Banana Republic. I don’t shop there. Just that it is interesting what makes it over to Japan and what doesn’t. Oh well. At least I didn’t put up another Chinese Mountain Temple pic, right? 
on Oct 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I had an interesting conversation with a student today about chains and the globalization of bureaucratic entities like Banana Republic… his feeling was the more they multiple the more they extract meaning from travel… people running around shopping at BR in Tokyo versus Seattle or Houston it all leads to a general feeling of meaninglessness/sameness and existential crisis.
Not that I am criticizing Banana Republic… criticizing big corporations is unpatriotic
on Oct 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
To some extent, that is true. Of course, other times you really want something from home, and that is nice.
But overall, cities all over the world seem more and more like variations on a theme.
You can criticize all you want. Just keep that money flowing to them, and they will all be happy!