Shoichiro Aiba, a user Tools that accelerate the comfort of life.
In Chapter 2, we visit the home of Shoichiro Higashiwa, owner of the Italian restaurant "LIFE. While his base of work and living is in Tokyo, he occasionally visits his vacation home in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. How do the products of "Twinbird" appear to Mr. Higashiwa, who goes back and forth between the city and the countryside, between the ordinary and the extraordinary?
Photo from left to right: Mr. Shoichiro Higashiwa, his daughter, Howa, and his wife, Chie.
Twinbird" is a company that manufactures products while knowing the richness of both city life and country life. Mr. Aiba also has a villa in Nasu, where he is able to turn his life on and off as he sees fit.
Shoichiro:Perhaps because I am from Tochigi Prefecture, I have to admit that I sometimes feel cramped in Tokyo life.
With the recent boom in outdoor activities, escaping from urban life has become a kind of movement, hasn't it?
Shoichiro:Pitching a tent amidst the greenery and being free from the stresses of society. I think that kind of situation makes people moan. Whether you are from the countryside or not, I feel the same way.
What was the direct impetus behind your decision to live in two locations?
Shoichiro:I think the first thing I did was to move to Kamakura after the birth of my child.
Chie:We had always talked about wanting to live near the ocean because I love surfing.
Shoichiro:But when I went to see them, I felt that they were a little different. After that, I rented an apartment in Chiba, but in the end, I settled in the mountains. I was invited as a guest chef to an event held by an interior design company in Hokkaido, and I started going there frequently. I was healed by the environment and the atmosphere of the house. Even though I was doing the same thing, it was completely different. I feel depressed when I work on the computer in my house, but I feel good when I work in my house in the mountains.
Did you insist on having two locations?
Shoichiro:In my case, I've decided to do business here. As long as I'm making a living at it, I can't move it. But I think it's good that I'm not stuck here all the time. I work in Tokyo, do my best to take holidays when I want to, and spend weekends and long vacations over there. If I played all the time, I would get bored. Fishing, surfing, and occasional work would be more fulfilling. The same goes for living at home. I feel comfortable in my mountain home because I usually spend my time here.
Have you changed your life and work in Tokyo as a result of living in the countryside?
Shoichiro:I have always tried to incorporate the essence of this kind of thing into the store's design. We want to create a relaxing atmosphere as a place for relaxation, so that even those who don't know the countryside can feel a little bit of it.
This room is really cozy, isn't it? There are all these wonderful things here and there that remind me of your hobbies, but they all blend in with your daily life and don't make you feel out of place. Among the things that stand out are analog items such as film cameras, vinyl records, and guitars.
Shoichiro:The more records I keep quiet about it, the more it grows, so I have made it a rule to limit the amount of records I keep to the amount that fits in my drawers. My oldest son has recently started taking up the camera, and we go out to take pictures together.
Do you create a comfortable lifestyle by placing analog objects and other tactile things in your room?
Shoichiro:Daring to do so may not be the case these days. I don't really care whether it is analog or not. Even the house in the mountains has a fire pit and a wireless projector to make the terrace ultimately comfortable. In this way, we are eliminating the uncomfortable.
It is wonderful that analog and digital things coexist in a comfortable time without any barriers. When I think of a mountain house, I tend to want to exclude digital things.
Shoichiro:That's how I did it at first; I didn't even turn on the Wi-Fi, but I wasn't very comfortable with that.
Chie:It is especially unpopular with children (laughs). (Laughs.) They stop coming.
Shoichiro:Well, these days I'm going alone more often than not. When my children are older and can drive a car, everyone in the family will be able to come and go as they please, and it won't matter who is at either house. That would be ideal.
Have you known about "Twinbird" for a long time?
Shoichiro:When I used to visit Niigata for the anniversary event of James ("JAMES & CO. Masayoshi Shiotani, the president of JAMES & CO., is an old friend of Mr. Ichiba and also the owner of "LIFE NIIGATA"), I met the product developer of "Twinbird" when I visited Niigata for the anniversary event. I heard that Mr. Shioya also uses "Twinbird," and I was curious about it. We are in the process of remodeling our house in Nasu, and we have everything we need, but we are still looking for home appliances. I was particularly interested in the Twinbird refrigerator.
Chie:I went to the store to look at it, and I liked the "no-taller fridge" because it had a nice matte texture and coloring like wallpaper, and the logo was understated.
Shoichiro:Choosing appliances is always hard. It's hard to find the right fit.
Chie:When I was younger, a reasonably inexpensive brand would have sufficed, but as I got older, I began to demand a certain level of functionality. I also became concerned about energy efficiency.
In that sense, the insulation know-how cultivated through the development of the cooling system for Corona vaccine transportation has been put to good use in the development of this refrigerator. I hear that it has the industry's leading energy-saving performance for this liter capacity.
Shoichiro:We are planning to put it in our vacation home, so I am happy about that. Even if I turn off other appliances, I will leave the refrigerator on even when I am not home.
Thursday, March 23, 2023 at the dinner table
Photo by Shoichiro Aiba
A family of four at the table with curry. The heat-retention function allows two children who are in the middle of eating to have another bowl of warm curry right away.
We asked the client in advance which Twinbird products they were interested in, and asked them to try them out in their homes.
Shoichiro:I think "nice little appliances" are here to stay, aren't they? We always bring one-pot meals to the table and heat them up as we eat them, so I thought the "Hot Trivet" looked like a good idea.
Chie:On weekends, when I want to make cooking a little easier, I tend to cook one-pot meals. Cooking in a pot can cause spills, so this one has few bumps and no control panel, so it's easy to clean.
Shoichiro:It's unusual to have a separate panel without a control panel, isn't it? I think it should be more appealing, don't you? (Laughter)
SELECT ITEM1.
Hot trivet black and stainless steel ¥66,000
This 40-mm-thin induction cooker fits like a potholder and has five heat output settings, with a maximum output of 1200 W, making it possible to cook on the grill. A wireless controller is included for smart operation from any seat. The polished stainless steel gives the cooker a stately appearance.
The remote controller is a rarity in tabletop induction cooktops. When you are in the middle of a lively conversation, adjusting the temperature on the control panel of the main unit would break up the conversation, wouldn't it? With this controller, you can operate it smartly without interrupting the conversation. The main unit is 40 mm thin, which is said to be one of the thinnest compared to similar products from other companies. When a pot is placed on top, even a small child, for example, will not have difficulty seeing the faces of family members sitting across from them. The lower center of gravity also increases safety.
Shoichiro:Is there a white one? That one is cute, too. The Twinbird Steam Oven Range has been selected as a Good Design Award winner, hasn't it? I feel relieved when I see something like that. People who have seen a lot of modern designs judge them, and I think the design naturally fits in with the current era. The longer you use it, the more you will appreciate its design, and I am sure that it will fit in well with your living space. I also thought the "Hot Trivet" would make a great gift. Especially for seniors who have finished raising their children. I thought it would be just right for a couple to use at the dinner table.
SELECT ITEM2.
Cordless stick cleaner ¥28,800
This slim, paper-pack cordless cleaner weighs only 1.4 kg and has a suction work rate of 70 W. It is equipped with a newly designed self-propelled head and a dust sensor that sucks up dust even in hard-to-clean areas.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in the living room of his home.
Photo by Chie Aiba
Daughter, Yawa-chan, cleaning the living room with the cordless cleaner. The head moves freely, making it easy to clean under chairs and on carpets. It is so light that even Hayawa can lift it with one hand.
You also used the "cordless stick cleaner.
Shoichiro:This makes heads dance, doesn't it?
That's an odd thing to say. The rollers on the head seem to do a good job. The goal was to create a vacuum cleaner that can be used easily by men and women of all ages, just like a quick wiper, but that also does a good job of cleaning.
Shoichiro:Cord-type vacuum cleaners are more dependable, but in this day and age, it's more like "yo-yo-sho". This one is so easy to use that even the base of a table leg, which is always difficult to clean, can be cleaned as if you were crawling on it.
Chie:I also liked the fact that it was a paper bag type. I had been using a cyclone vacuum cleaner, but I was worried about dust flying around when I threw away the trash, and hair and other debris left behind even when I thought I had thrown it away cleanly.
Shoichiro:I am a person who cleans frequently, so I am happy to have a tool that is quick to use, lightweight, and easy to maneuver. If we had tools like these in our homes in the mountains and in Tokyo, our lives would be much more comfortable.
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