tokyololas » japan

Chocolate Sparkling

tokyololas — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:24:17 +0000

Another in my growing list of unusual Japanese soft drinks: Chocolate Sparkling. I keep seeing this at my local supermarket and, despite the intrigue, I’ve resisted buying it (which means I’ll just have to continue imagining the sickly sweetness).

PS: posted with the VERY handy Wordpress for iPhone app

February was a blur

tokyololas — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:13:41 +0000

I’ve always immensely disliked February, so I am happy it’s done with yet again!

I have a few blog posts lined up, but I will start with something silly:

I spotted this the a couple of weeks ago as I was passing through Ōsaki station. I am not sure in the least how or why this duck in a chairlift is meant to entice me to buy a JR ski travel package.

Please don’t leave a comment telling me that “Japanese people like cute things, so they use cute things to advertise”. I have lived here long enough to know about all things kawaii. It’s more a question of “why a duck?” or “is this what the enormously popular AFLAC duck does in its down time?”

In previous years, JR has used other animals on skis – a few years ago it was an ostrich, which was even more bizarre than this little duck. Here’s one of the commercials (it’s a blend of live action and CG, but looks pretty seamless):

Polar Bear in Ginza

tokyololas — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:32:21 +0000

What I love about Tokyo is that on any day of the week, at any given time, you can happen across oddities such as this:

Yes, of course there’s a polar bear plushie outside of the Sony Building. Why wouldn’t there be?

Anyway, as funny as it looked, there is a reason (and it did make me laugh to watch the bear and its sidekick, who looks like he is trying to pretend that he is not on the same gig as the bear): they were out there to promote the Sony Building’s Opus High Vision Theatre and it’s showing of 「3D ハイビジョン旭山動物園」or “3D High Vision Asahiyama Zoo” (a 3D film of some animals at Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido).

In general, the Sony Building is always a good place to cruise by with your camera because you never know what you’ll find out front. They have a display area in front of the building called ソニースクエア (Sony Square) and they change the display quite often. For example, in the summer, I happened to be walking by and I snagged this photo:

You can visit the Sony Building website here (but, if you’re inclined to click on the “English here” link, don’t bother: they have not updated it for well over a year).

A better shot of Mt. Fuji

tokyololas — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:56:38 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo of the amazing Mt. Nantai as caught in a rare sighting from my balcony, and I used a sunset shot of Mt. Fuji (富士山) for comparison. However, while going through my archives today, I found a shot that gives you a much better idea of what Mt. Fuji looks like from central Tokyo if and when it is visible.

This particular shot was taken in November 2008 and it reminds me that I should venture to the other side of my building on the next clear day:

The boat heading out into the bay is one of the boats that goes back and forth between Hinode Pier and Odaiba every 30 minutes. Here’s a shot taken from Hinode, while waiting for the boat to arrive:

Your Japanese Imperial Family Smile-of-the-Day

tokyololas — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:45:40 +0000

Saw this in the news today and it made me chuckle:

[photo from: REUTERS/Shuji Kajiyama]

If you are wondering (like I was at first glance) why the whole Imperial Family is crammed into a tiny, red, train, it happens to be a solar-powered train at a children’s park called Kodomo no Kuni (こどもの国).

The park was actually founded in 1959 to commemorate the marriage of Akihito and Michiko, who would become Emperor and Empress 30 years later (in 1989); and they have crammed themselves into the little red choo choo because it is the 50th anniversary of their marriage (and, by extension, the 50th anniversary of Kodomo no Kuni).

Just for fun, here’s a groovy photo of the Emperor as a 17 year old (in 1950):

[photo from Wikipedia]

And here’s a bit of Emperor trivia from Wikipedia: he’s an ichthyologist!

In extension of his father’s interest in marine biology, the Emperor is a published ichthyological researcher, and has specialized studies within the taxonomy of the family Gobiidae. He has written papers for publication in Japanese and English scholarly journals, namely Gene and the Japanese Journal of Ichthyology.

He has also written papers about Scientific History in Japan during the Edo and Meiji Eras, which were published in Science and Nature. In 2005 a newly described goby was named Exyrias akihito in his honour.