9AM outside the Ginza Apple Store doors - from this angle, all looks almost normal

I had to go to Tokyo station earlier this morning and, because I live nearby, I thought I’d stroll back through Ginza on my way home and see what was happening outside the Apple store at the iPhone 4S launch.

I approached from the back of the line, which started way back – a few blocks from the store:

a tired-looking Apple Store staff-member resting on boxes of water

the line from the front end - looking down towards Ginza 1-chōme

After taking the shot above, I continued walking and literally a few doors down I passed the window of a small book store which really explains quite a bit about the level of Apple obsession in Japan:

magazines in the window a few doors down from the Apple Store in Ginza

Just before 9AM, the line stretched a few blocks, basically from Ginza 1-chōme station to the Apple store. The time says 9:20 because I mapped it out after I’d left the area, and I basically decided to map it out because I’m endlessly intrigued by the fact that people will actually line up overnight for consumer goods in 2011.

approximate length of the line as I strolled by

Obviously, as you can see from the map image, I’m an iPhone user, but NOTHING would motivate me to line up for an electronic device. In fact, it reminds me of the pictures from Russia that fascinated me as a kid: people lining up for scarce goods at GUM, except, as noted, people in the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras were lining up for things that were scarce. Today, in wealthy so-called developed nations, we have people lining up for items that are essentially commoditized. It’s truly bizarre.

]]> http://blog.tokyololas.com/apple-iphone-4s-launch-tokyo-ginza/feed/ 1 http://blog.tokyololas.com/the-not-so-cheerful-gallery/ http://blog.tokyololas.com/the-not-so-cheerful-gallery/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:18:59 +0000 Laura http://blog.tokyololas.com/?p=1381 When commuting, I often pass through part of the underground walkway that runs under Harumi dori and stretches from Ginza station towards Higashi Ginza. There’s a kind of gallery along the way that displays art from various groups who apply to display their work there. (Technically, it’s called the “Promenade Gallery”, but I wouldn’t want to get anyone excited about rushing to visit it.)

I don’t usually pay a tremendous amount of attention to what’s there, as I am usually just passing through and it never really looks that intriguing. However, a few weeks ago, I noticed this one piece of work that jumped out at me because it just seemed a bit out of place and, by extension, quite bizarre and funny.

The other day, I finally decided I had to take a photo with my keitai as I passed through, but, before I insert the photo, you should read the text in the image below – the mandate, if you will, of the gallery (which I’ve underlined in red). After reading that, I laughed even harder as I walked by the piece in question:

the apparent mandate of "the gallery"

Walk about 20 metres and you’ll see this “bright” and “pleasant” work:

Cracks me up every time…

It was a really funny moment: we were waiting for the lights to change at the Ginza 4-chome intersection (the main intersection in the middle of Ginza) and we could hear the sound of a group of motorcycles approaching (really loud, as in bosozoku style) and this guy on a bicycle rolls up to the intersection and sort of positions himself in front of the pack.

I just happened to have my iPhone video rolling because I thought the idea of the motorcycles roaring past all the boutiques and the big koban at the intersection was funny; but, when the guy on the bike took off first, it was priceless (and then you can see him circle back around at the 18 second mark, after his manoeuvre):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmiY1lfS3Ww

Every summer, an aquarium is set up outside the Sony Building in Ginza and there is some kind of “theme” (this is the 43rd Sony Aquarium) . The 2010 theme is “Kuroshio” (黒潮), which is the strong Pacific current that sustains the coral reefs around Okinawa, so here’s what you can see curbside every day until August 31 (obviously, despite the title of this entry, it’s not just sharks):

White-tip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) (ネムリブカ)

Malabar Grouper (Epinephelus malabaricus) (ヤイトハタ)

Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) (トラフザメ)

Moray eel (Muraenidae) (ウツボ)

Young tourist looking at the sharks (tempted to follow the pattern and put Homo sapiens here)

another angle of the same White tip reef shark

If you feel so inclined, you can also venture up to the 8th floor and catch the 3-D Sony Aquarium movie in which you can (as the Sony Aquarium website says):

Experience the dynamic Kuroshio (Japan Current), the Pacific equivalent of the Gulf Stream, on a giant 200-inch screen. See whale sharks and manta rays roam freely alongside myriad varieties of fish. Itfs so real, youfll feel like youfre swimming alongside a whale shark through the powerful currents of the Okinawan sea.

The link to the English site is here (and I’m happy to report they’ve updated it because it was horribly outdated when I did my earlier post) and the Japanese site is here. It’s worth clicking on the Japanese link for the very pleasing intro (which has some English subtitles as well).

For the technically curious, all of the above photos were taken with the silky smooth Canon 135 f/2.o L USM – a lens you will NEVER regret buying (but you will regret not having bought it sooner)!

There is definitely something quite fabulous about walking through Ginza late at night (or anytime, really), coming across a giant aquarium and then seeing the delight and wonder on people’s faces as they take a few moments out of their day to to marvel at what’s inside.

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).

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