Japanese beauty salonThis is a photo I took whilst out training for the Tokyo Marathon this morning, just north of Shinjuku. These lovely ladies, who all seem to have bad eyesight, work in an エステ - which translates as 'aesthetician' / 'beautician'. As well as facials...
Japan cute stationeryJapan has a lot of cute bunbogu (stationery) goods. These 3 cute pets
were hanging put at Maruzen bookstore. Tough choice on which one to
get and I don't actually need one at all ^_^.
Do you like Japanese bunbogu? What are your favorite items?
Wonder Festival 2010Having a great time today here at WonFes in Makuhari Messe today. Thanks to Danny and the folks at Good Smile Company I een got a pass to let me in early to take some photos. Will post them up soon.
Have broadcasted several times via UStream and Tw...
Japan by bicycleBeing an Apple fan boy, my initial reaction to the iPad was 'I want one!' then 'I'll get one!' Despite its limitations I really like the idea of using one for mobile computing, as I currently carry a 17" macBook Pro everywhere I go (and I have a wifi...
Japan Vending MachinesThe acure vending machines at the stations in Tokyo have gone pink
recently.
Either they are trying to pick peoples moods up for sakura season in
spring or maybe they are trying to attract more female customers?
What do you think of the pink vendin...
Webcam Mecha PrototypeI've been playing around a lot with livecasting and streaming video solutions and decided to fashion my own custom webcam to take around with me. Here's a prototype I just put together made with a camera tripod and a Logitech Orbit Webcam.
A cool t...
Japanese Mobile WorkersHaving wireless access on the platform means you can work while
waiting for the train. I liked the backdrop of this photo with the
worker tapping on his keyboard and the popular amine series behind him.
He has the best office in town.
Do you like t...
Tokyo Snow - The morning afterAfter a fun night of snow in Tokyo, all that's left in the morning is slush. Have to tread carefully today. The morning news reported 1cm of snow fell in Tokyo. Not alot, but still enough for all of us over here to have a bit of fun with the camera a...
Snow in TokyoI can't remember the last time we had this much snow in central Tokyo! Whilst we have had a few flakes this winter, tonight was the first time that we've actually had enough to make a proper snowman - seems to have been almost 10cm in places.
Wifey...
Snow in YokohamaJust back at home after a long day that started badly at 5AM with a terrible pain in the back... then hospital and other omoshirokunai (ininteresting) adventures...
At least I have something to comfort me tonight : snow! I love snow in the city. Se...
Japan Events Jan-Ken TaikaiI was at the UStram event held here in Roppongi and nearin the end we had the traditional Jan-Ken Taikai or Rock-Paper-Scissors Contest. The whole room will participate in order to win amazing prizes.
I had a great night winning a UStream t-shirt a...
Personalised RamenHad ramen for lunch today - the perfect way to fill up after a 31km run from Yokohama to Meguro-ku -only 4 weeks to go until the Tokyo Marathon 2010!
Pictured above are a few ramen restaurants near Naka-Meguro. I like the name of the one bottom-left...
PechaKucha night TokyoLast night I was at Super Deluxe, a fantastic event space in Roppongi that has something different on nearly every night.
Events I've attended include Danny's CGM nights, Tokyo 2.0, live painting-a-wall-in-time-to-live-jazz, a sitar concert, and a v...
Cake shop in Gakugei DaigakuI'm sitting in Matterhorn, a famous cake shop 3 minutes from the station in Gakugaidaigaku (about ten minutes from Shibuya). The reputation is well-deserved - I've just eaten the orange cake in the picture - it was delicious! Do ask where it is at th...
Studying in StarbucksForgot it's the exam period for university students in Japan right now. It dawned on me when I walked into starbucks and found it full of younglings with notebooks and textbooks opened on the table. Do you enjoy studying outside? I used to study at c...
Japan Vegetable PizzaTullys coffee shop in Japan have brought out a new fast food sandwich.
It's a mix between a vegetable pizza and focaccia bread.
This was my lunch today. I haven't tried the food before at Tullys and
can't even remember if they had hot food before....
Suntory Chocolate Sparkling SodaSaw this very pretty bottle in the convenience store today and decided "what the heck". I mean how often does one run across a sparkling chocolate flavored soda?
Japanese convenience stores are great places to hunt for new and interesting things. i...
Galaxy Express 999 x ConbiniI've always been a huge fan of Leiji Matsumoto's art. I belong to the same generation of the Daft Punk guys and like them I've been strongly "impacted" by the Captain Harlock series broadcasted in France in the 80's. For some reason it was called Alb...
WIFI in JapanTokyo is known for it's wifi ...in particular, the lack of it. I've
had numerous friends cone to Japan and ask me where they can get free
wifi access to check their emails etc,, but my response has
unfortunately had to be a bit negative, as there are...
Rotten train in Chihaya Flower Park in TokyoThis is a prototype of an train of the Oedo line. After the testing, they put it in there as a museum, so people could go and see it inside. After many years not so many people visited it, so the train started to get rotten.
Fortunately in Japan, th...
Online Games in JapanIn Yodobashi Camera in Akiba now and saw this wall of prepaid cards for Japanese online games.
Credit cards are pretty rare for kids in Japan so it much easier to gather customers using prepaid cards. These cards can be used to pay monthly fees, add...
KabukichoHello from Kabukicho - a small area of eastern Shinjuku known for its bars, strip joints and love hotels. It's been a few years since I came here last, but I'd better not talk about that here :)
Tonight I'm part of a team of five doing a photoshoot...
SetsubunDisplay corner in the supermarket has goods out for the upcoming
setsubun day when you throw the beans into the street shouting "out
with the devils, in with the good luck".
With the economy taking a while to turn around properly there will be
a lo...
TaiyakiIn Ochanomizu grabbing some Taiyaki after dindins. Taiyaki is
typically a fish shaped cake filled with red beans - nice n hot to
keep one warm on a cold winters night.
お茶の水でたいやきを買うところです。ここら辺にはスポーツのお店いっぱいある。
Samurai ArmourI'm here at the Marunouchi Building near Tokyo Station with fellow live blogger Steve Nagata, checking out the samurai armour sale going on all this week.
There's an impressive range, but if you're thinking of buying one for that special someone, y...
Tokyo Sightseeing: NihonbashiI love bridges. They symbolize the perfect product to me. A tool that is very practical and designed to make people lives easier, but also a bridge can be a work of art that is beautiful and unique.
Tokyo is a great place for me. With several rivers...
Japanese Chocolate with WhiskyWhile browsing at the local conbini, I was shocked to see these chocolates in the candy section.
Lotte is selling these chocolates containing small amounts of actual whisky! (12 year old single malt whisky to be precise). Actually the alcohol conten...
Black Rock Shooter / BRSアニメバージョン新作フィギュアBRS Anime Version snapped now at the GSC x COSPA x Bushiroad new year
bash.
Will post more pics when I get back.
BRS アニメバージョン!!!
のちほど写真をもっとアップします。
JAL Free LunchCame to Haneda Airport for lunch to use up some JAL air miles before
the expected announcement that Japan Airlines is bankrupt.
Since lunch is on JAL I am dining at Kihachi, very nice restaurant
with great food.
Over the years I have amassed quite...
Yokohama DinnerLast night for the family visit in Yokohama. Having dinner with a
great view of the Ferris Wheel at Minato Mirai. Italian food on the
menu.
Might take a walk out afterwards and see the lights.
Right now can't decide between the chicken marsala sauc...
Japan Bento TrucksFor the downtown office worker lunchtime can often be a battle. Most companies have a strict hour lunch and workers are required to take lunch at 12-1 on the dot. This creates lines just to get onto the elevator to het out of the building. Then yet m...
KitKat in JapanToday I have to work during the night for some servers maintenance. To spend the night easier I went to the combini to buy some snacks. As you might know KitKat here is much more creative than in other countries : they often release new tastes and if...
Anpanman MuseumThe Anpanman museum is in Yokohama near Minato Mirai. Great for kids
to run around and play with all the characters.
There are so many different characters in the anpanman series, I was
really surprised to see them all.
How many characters can you...
CD Rental in JapanWent to Tsutaya last night and rented these CDs. Rather than letting you scan the barcode of the CD to listen to it, this store had proper CD players and the actual CD was in the case. So I picked up a few CDs off the shelf and had a listen.
The tru...
Tokyo Stormtrooper LiveI'm here in Shibuya with the Tokyo Stormtrooper, a few more Tokyo Live Bloggers ...and a lot of girls and boys dressed up in traditional clothes for today's 成人の日 (Seijin no hi) - coming of age day. It's held every year on the second Monday of Jan...
Japanese ShrinesCurrently having a day out in Jiyugaoka. We've been here many times
but stumbled onto this shrine for the first time. Tis a loveley
peacefull place - almost as if it's surrounded by spmesort of
mysterious barrier blocking out the noise.
Tokyo metrop...