Japanese Culture

Godzilla will scare you in Shinjuku

December 11, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

Tokyo’s ever-changing urban landscape is about to get a new addition in Kabuki-cho, the glitziest part of Shinjuku’s entertainment district. Scheduled for completion next Aprilis the Toho Cinemas Shinjuku movie complex, replacing the older Shinjuku Toho Kaikan theater which closed down in 2008. At the top of the eight-story building is a terrace where visitors will be able to relax in the open air, marvel at the surrounding skyline, and tower in fear of the Godzilla Head bursting out the roof.

With the building’s roof being 40 meters high, Godzilla’s head will be standing at just over 50 meters above street level, matching his stature in his 1954 cinematic debut. The plan is for the head to be illuminated at night, and for the head’s eyes and mouth to glow, accompanied by periodic roars.

Godzilla won’t just be looking hard at moviegoers and pedestrians, though. In the above render, you may have noticed that being built adjacent to the new Toho theater is the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. The hotel’s managers aren’t worried about Godzilla spoiling the view from their guestrooms, though. In fact, they’re counting on him enhancing it, and are already taking reservations for special Godzilla View Rooms, which can be booked here at prices starting from 15,000 yen (US $125) a night for guests checking in from April 24.

KitKat and the Bullet train

November 20, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

celebrate the anniversary of the Tokaido Shinkansen, Nestle and participating retailers along the Tokaido line joined forces to take a break…with Kit Kats! Their special entry into the Kit Kat lineup comes in the form of a very cute N700 series bullet train, the newest train for the Tokaido Line which made its debut in 2007.

Ripping open the outer package reveals Dr. Yellow, the test train. In Japan, seeing this yellow train means you will have a day of good luck.

Open up Dr. Yellow and you will be greeted by the 0 series, the very first Shinkansen.

The candy inside has the flavor of frozen mikan.

What exactly is a mikan? It’s a fruit similar to a tangerine or a mandarin orange and is a very popular winter snack in Japan. Actually, along the Tokaido line, vendors will sell these frozen mikan because they travel so well! Kit Kat has paired their familiar chocolate with the unforgettable taste of the Japanese citrus to create Frozen Mikan Kit Kats.

German airlines artwork like where’s Waldo

August 26, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

German airline Lufthansa has put together a campaign that features images of 14 different destinations they fly to, drawn by artists of each respective country. The title of the campaign is ‘Passengers on tour’ and each image is a ‘hidden object cartoon’ featuring stylized representations of the country’s culture, famous landmarks, animals, and so on.

In the midst of all the business in each image, an airline passenger is hidden, holding a suitcase with the Lufthansa logo and the idea is for you to find them. It’s basically like looking for Wally in the Where’s Wally? series (or Waldo for all you Americans out there). Remember spending hours poring over a particularly packed picture then finally giving up in frustration, only to have his stripey jumper practically jump off the page at you when you come back to it later? Good times.

To start you off, here we have Japan represented in one bright and busy image exploding with movement and bold colors. The picture is crammed with things that represent Japanese culture, from anime characters to folk craft objects like daruma and maneki-neko. How many references do you recognise? And where is that pesky passenger?

Originally posted by Rocket news

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The Crow Castle in Nagano Japan

August 12, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

http://alternativemindz.tumblr.com/post/94522606723/matsumoto-castle-also-called-kurasu-jo-or

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Akira meets Batman in the Honda NM4 Vultus.

March 30, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

Ever since Akira graced the eyes of fandom the world wide, we all have wanted a motorcycle that would not only be stylish but fast to boot.

The Honda NM4 Vultus is a showroom ready bike that has us grabbing our pill designed leather jackets and screaming for Tetsuo.

Press release below: Honda Announces NM4 Vultus – New Model with a Futuristic Edge

21 March 2014

Honda announces the new NM4 Vultus, a ground-breaking machine inspired by futuristic machines seen in the anime and manga television and film styles, known collectively as “Japanimation”.

Created by a young design team who remained true to their original concept at every stage through to production, the NM4 Vultus brings radical style to the streets, with function from the future for a new breed of rider. The NM4 represents a machine capable of crossing traditional two-wheeled lines and reaching out to a wider audience.

Vultus is Latin for appearance, expression – or face. The NM4 Vultus, with its LED lights, future-shock style and stealth bomber silhouette presents a look that will not have been seen in any cityscape this side of an anime movie…

Underneath the brooding menace is a rock-solid chassis and engine package. Packed with low-friction technology, its 745cc twin-cylinder engine is canted forward, creating space and a low centre of gravity. Delivering strong low and mid-range power and torque for smooth acceleration coupled with excellent fuel economy, it’s also equipped as standard with Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), giving the rider options between automatic twist-and-go D and S mode – plus trigger-operated computer game-style manual MT mode. Intuitive and easy to use, it adds to the futuristic appeal of the NM4 Vultus and is the perfect complement to the engine’s gutsy, usable performance.

Media Information and images are available for download from:
Honda UK Newsroom: http://newsroom.honda.co.uk
Honda European Media Resource: www.hondanews.eu

“January in Japan”

March 1, 2014Rob Leave a Comment

Maid Cafe New York Grand Opening

August 22, 2013Rob Leave a Comment

Maid Cafe NY grand opening

On August 18th, Maid Cafe NY officially open to a packed crowd.
But have they given the fans the true Maid Cafe experience? Or at least made changes that we had so desperately asked for?

Lets first explain what an actual maid cafe should be: Maid cafes (メイド喫茶 / メイドカフェ Meido kissa / Meido kafe?) are a subcategory of cosplay style restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafes, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as cafe patrons.

Maid cafes come in all shapes and sizes. Most provided a vivid depiction of master and servant without crossing the ecchi line (creepy). Usually, the cafes aren’t about the level of food but more about the experience. It’s a little weird to Westerners because you’re basically waited on hand-and-foot.

Here’s a link to a bunch of sample maid cafes:http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2133810394961862001

So, our correspondents attended the grand opening only to find that nothing has changed at all.

Still no awning…

Still no TV screens…

and no actual “Maid” service.

They had J-Pop music and girls on stage but this was just for the event and held in a separate restaurant above. Plus, there was a 5 dollar cover charge, for a cafe grand opening?

They did nothing to bring the true experience of a Maid Cafe to life. Most of the girls looked as if they didn’t even want to be there. This is a grave mistake and we feel the owner, who is Japanese, is “phoning it in” just to make a quick buck and figured Americans wouldn’t even know the difference, but we do.

The Japanese Curry was sub par and the lack of decor was still uneventful and empty.

If they would have called this an Express Maid Cafe or something else, fine, but making a Maid Cafe without the interaction is like going to Disney and not meeting Mickey or Goofy or riding on any rides.

In the end, we were hoping to recapture the unique and wonderful experience we had in Tokyo, but all we got was a watered down sweet shop with some young women dressed in maid outfits. This is not the same thing as an actual Maid Cafe.

So to all the Otakus and Japanese fans looking for something you only read about in Manga or seen in Anime and J-Dorama, look somewhere else. The best thing to do is to buy a plane ticket and head to Akihabara or Ikebukuro.

Final thoughts: Hopefully, if Maid Cafe NY wants to keep their doors open for a long time, they simply need to add something truly authentic that could only be found in Japan. Unfortunately, many other Maid Cafes have tried but could not keep their doors open for very long: click here

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