TaikoI was in Tokyo the other day, outside the National Museum in Ueno Park there was a different group of drummers - the sound was like shockwaves! They were brilliant. I love Taiko drumming.
フィぎゅっと!Interesting but not as slick as Figma or Revoltech - the joints are more like ball jointed dolls. This might make them more durable however. I notice they are prototyping Touhou figures, which will go down well with a certain demographic...
可動素体 S.F.B.T-1I've seen similar attempts at complete articulation like this in the past, but they have been "garage kit" type things and ugly. This is an interesting development. But still a bit ugly...
Rental Bikes in JapanI'm sure there's cheaper rental bikes in Tokyo. Not sure where but you could ask at the JTB. (A friend of mine rented a bike in Osaka but being inexperienced, fell off.). Maybe you could buy a folding bike in your own country and take it over to Japa...
Flea Markets in JapanIf they are anything like car boot sales here, I wouldn't bother, but the photo looks interesting. The only such market I ever saw in Japan was the one opposite Yoyogi Park - appalling rubbish spread out on the ground. You would think they'd have pro...
遅延証明書Yes, the London Underground was indeed the first underground railway (Metropolitan Railway, 1863). (A distinction must be made between TUBE and UNDERGROUND - the former runs in a bored tunnel, the latter runs in a covered over cutting just below grou...
Lumix GF1 レビューI would prefer this to the rather handbag-y Olympus EP-1. However these cameras are unsuitable for shooting moving objects or action because of the VF time lag, and become useless in bright sun. Don't chuck the Canon just yet!
Lumix GF1Very similar to the Olympus EP-1, also uses the same micro 4/3 format. The EP-1 is nicer looking. Trouble with these is you have no optical VF, so you have to do chimp impersonations with the camera, and the screen usually becomes invisible in direct...
Olympus PenLooks pretty, but I wonder if - like any other screen-only compact - you can see the screen at all in bright sunshine? I doubt it... I'd prefer the Lumix G1 if I was buying a higher end 4/3rds digital. It has a VF...
ワンフェス リポートBrings back memories of the one I went to - Winter 2005! As we approached Big Sight on the train we could see the queue stretching back as far as the station we'd just passed! When we finally got to the back of the queue it was probably about a quart...
D5000The D5000 is okay if you really want to shoot five minute movies and get live view and a tilting screen - which any upmarket compact has had for years - but if you just want to take photos with the great Nikon lenses the D60 gives you the same resolu...
海外オタクの脱オタ行動Reminds me of the bit in the Densha Otoko ("Train Man") TV series where he decides to stop being an otaku and sets all his figures adrift in a box on the river - then comes home to find the box on the table, as someone has found it and posted it back...
ぼくらの裁判員物語Jury service is theoretically compulsory in the UK, if you are ever called up - I only know one person who was. You normally get expenses from the court. It's only used in criminal cases.
ホイホイさんThe manga by Kunihiko Tanaka (a brilliant artist, you should check his work out) was a satire on the whole moe/merchandise thing... translated by Infinity Studios, it may still be available online. The short anime was packaged with the Playstation ga...
ドルフィー カスタムヘッドThese are absolutely brilliant. I was wondering when someone was going to make doll heads with an expression! You'd have to buy about six to get the full range of emotion though...
ドールズ・パーティーGreat. The only thing that puts me off BJD is the price - online order is the only option as well. They don't have to be Volks DD though, LUTS and Iplehouse have a range of BJD stuff (web search for those if interested!!)
東京マンションWell, 50,000 JPY a month is about 350 UKP - you wouldn't get a leaky garage for that in this country, let alone a fully fitted flat. It's just very, very small.
