Media artist, Alexander Gelman, in collaboration with traditional Japanese artisans has designed an exquisite limited edition series of master chess sets.

The sleek and stunning sets are made of lacquer, silver plating and gold leaf — there are only 5 in the world, each is unique and priced up to $55,000.

Gelman and the artisans took up to 10 months to produce each piece by hand, using century old techniques.

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka has a new installation set up within Maison Hermes in Japan.

Based off a window display he presented in 2004, this new set up features a restructured design with an appearance by a famed Japanese actress.

The window is designed with an image of woman projected on to a monitor. The scarf softly sways in the air in response to the woman’s blow.

Japanese cafe chain operator Saza Coffee Co plans to sell Panama’s Esmeralda Especial coffee beans for 1,200 yen per cup ($18) starting Dec 2.

Saza is the first company in Japan to buy the high-quality beans through an auction by paying $117.50 per pound for the coffee.

And that is almost 100 times more than the cost of average coffee beans.

Japan’s craze for Beaujolais nouveau has beaten the recession, with tourists taking a dip in a hot mountain spring coloured red with the fruity wine.

The Hakone Kowakien Yunessun spa resort celebrated the annual uncorking of the seasonal drop by having a sommelier pour a few bottles into an open-air hot spring bath as holiday-makers enjoyed soaking themselves.

It was the fourth annual bath using the produce of the French winery Laboure Roi at the spa, which also offers baths with green tea, coffee and sake.

Tokyo has overtaken Paris as the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants, cementing its status as the “world capital of gastronomy”.

The latest edition of the Michelin guide to the Japanese capital awarded 11 eateries the coveted three stars, against 10 in Paris.

Tokyo also kept its title as the world’s most-decorated city with 261 stars in total — 34 more than last year — awarded to 197 restaurants.

Japanese clothing designer Yohji Yamamoto’s fashion house has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Tokyo court.

The company said Friday its sales had been battered by sluggish demand amid the global economic slowdown with debts totaling six billion yen ($67 million).

Integral Corp., a Japanese investment company also announced today that it will be sponsoring the fashion company’s restructuring plan.