Category : Japan

Live from Tokyo is an upcoming documentary on Tokyo’s independent music scene, directed by Lewis Rapkin.

Japanese artist Yanobe Kenji created an animatronic fire-breathing dragon boat for the ongoing Aqua Metropolis festival in Osaka.

Let me be the first to welcome our iPhone robot overlords.

Tokyo designer Shunsuke Umiyama has created AC Adapter Midori, a mobile phone charger that looks like a vine.

The Uniqlo Calendar is mesmerizing.

My Walk to Wieden + Kennedy from James Okubo.

You’d be surprised how beautiful Japanese manhole covers can be.

As a part of last weekend’s Roppongi Art Night in Tokyo, sculptor Kenji Yanobe unleashed a 24-foot tall Giant Torayan robot that sings, dances and spits fire. See more pictures of the giant fire-spitting baby robot.

Here are some cool photos of an abandoned Japanese amusement park. Looks like the photographer’s name is Tadashi Taro Shibakoen (at least that’s what a Google translation says), and it looks he was even able to climb around on the coaster tracks– perhaps the liability laws are a little different over there. And here are more photos from abandoned spaces in Japan. I especially like this restaurant/banquet room place.

When you drive on The Melody Road, ridges in the pavement make your car play a simple tune. There are three of these roads in (where else) the Japanese areas of Hokkaido, Wakayama and Gunma.

Here’s an animation from PikaPika, the Japanese light doodlers. Read PikaPika’s blog for more.

For an exhaustive study of noodles, the Rameniac has made a useful guide to the 22 popular ramen styles of Japan. And there’s also reviews of a handful of Bay Area ramen shops.

Here’s a nice video explaining how to apologize in Japan. Let’s all put our hearts into expressing remorse!

Japanese artist Minchi’s work is pretty cool. Using oil paint and then photoshop, the works look like manga, but fantastically painterly. One piece, tooth, is a vivid representation of what I remember of my 13th year.

Got a lot of time to kill? Then take a look at the more than 900 photos I took in Japan. Just not all at one time. Seriously, take it one city at a time or something or you’ll ruin your eyes.