1) Liquid lamp and liquid bookmark
I'm a huge fan of the designs of Kyouei -- or rather, designer Kouichi Okamoto -- and his Liquid Lamp and Liquid Bookmark continue to provide fun little twists on ordinary products.

2) Tronco Chair and Bench
I'll admit, I have serious doubts as to just how comfortable you can be while sitting on the Tronco Chair or Bench, but the level of minimalism in Toshiyuki Kita's design -- get log, add parts -- is just so attractive to me.

3) Ki no Ie
I still dream one day of having a Muji pre-fab house, and then maybe having it built somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo. This year saw the release of an updated three-story edition of the brand's "Ki no Ie." Smart, adaptable, and affordable.

4) A Leaf x 10
Nosigner has been creating some very interesting products over the past couple of years, and his "A Leaf x 10" placemat is the latest to impress me. They are currently produced by the designer himself, but I think they deserve to be manufactured.

5) Tagei Coffee Table
I'm a big proponent of maximizing use of space -- very likely one of the results of living in a modest Tokyo apartment -- and so I love furniture and home accessories that double in functionality. Akemi Tanaka's Tagei coffee table does just that; coffee table when it needs it to be, temporary bench on the fly.