The mecha version of the Nissan DUALIS SUV designed by anime creator/mecha designer Shoji Kawamori (Macross) has been spotted in Tokyo. The 3.5 meter tall machine will be on display at the Nissan Gallery (Ginza) from May 23 to June 13 and at the Sony Building (Ginza) from June 25 to July 1. Here are a few videos of the DUALIS Powered Suit in action around town.
At a parking garage:
At a service station:
[Via: IT Media]
Shibuya Center Town
Ameyoko
Kabukicho
Ginza Chuo Dori
Ginza 4-chome Intersection
Hisaharu Motoda's "Neo-Ruins" series of lithographs depict the cityscape of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where familiar streets lie deserted, the buildings are crumbling and weeds grow from the broken pavement. The antique look of the lithographic medium effectively amps up the eeriness of the futuristic setting. "In Neo-Ruins I wanted to capture both a sense of the world's past and of the world's future," says Motoda on his website.
[Link: Hisaharu Motoda]
The Tokyo gubernatorial election results are in, and it is no big surprise that incumbent Ishihara was re-elected in a landslide. But the online buzz surrounding "fringe" candidate Kouichi Toyama's unsuccessful campaign has yet to dissipate.
The street musician, who recently served two years in prison for sedition, made a controversial campaign speech that was televised nationwide on NHK prior to the election. Copies were then posted to video sharing sites like YouTube, where they became popular.
The Tokyo election management committee contacted YouTube several days before the election, demanding the videos be removed to "ensure fairness in the election process." But the committee's demands apparently went unheeded, as countless versions of the video remain on the site.
Here's the video (with English subtitles by Anime World):
(Check here for other Toyama videos on YouTube, including parodies, cutups, and remixes w/ soundtracks.)
While Toyama only tallied about 15,000 votes out of the roughly 5.5 million votes cast citywide, he and a few hundred supporters still saw reason to gather at Koenji station for an election night celebration. Toyama arrived at the festivities on his scooter carrying a television, which he and his supporters later watched for coverage of the election results.
Other notable eccentrics in the gubernatorial race included Dr. Nakamats (the wacky, prolific inventor whose list of 3,000 creations includes the floppy disk), Kisho Kurokawa (the well-known Metabolist architect), Kinzo Sakura (a comedian) and Kumiko Uchikawa (a feng shui expert).
[Via: Iza!]
Kappa, arguably Japan's most well-known creature of legend, are mischievous river imps notorious for luring people -- particularly children -- into the water to drown and eat them. They smell like fish, enjoy cucumbers and sumo, and are said to be very courteous despite their malicious tendencies.
Although kappa are typically about the size of a child and greenish in color, they can vary widely in appearance. They frequently have a turtle-like shell and scaly skin, but sometimes their skin is moist and slick, or coated in fur. Most walk upright on their hind legs, but they are occasionally seen on all fours. Regardless of body type, the top of the kappa's head usually features a bowl-shaped depression containing water. The water inside this bowl is the source of the kappa's power.
The Edo period (1603 to 1867) saw some serious scientific literature devoted to the study of these creatures. Suikokouryaku (1820), for example, is a compendium of kappa-related information gathered from a variety of sources from Japan and China. The book, which is housed in the Iwase Bunko Library, includes kappa sketches by artist Kurimoto Tanshu. Here are a few.
The kappa on the left, sketched by Ito Chobei, was captured during the Meiwa period (1764 to 1772) in Edo, somewhere in present-day Tokyo's Edogawa ward. When the creature was shown to Ota Chogen, a noted herbalist of the time, he identified it as a kappa -- he happened to have a kappa sketch with him that showed a creature with strikingly similar features. According to the text in the book, this kappa measured 60 cm (2 ft) tall and had slippery skin like that of a catfish.
The middle picture above shows a type of kappa with no shell, and the picture on the right shows a kappa that was caught in a net in Mito, Japan in 1801. This kappa had a prominent chest, a crooked back and three anuses.
Later in the Edo period, an illustrated guide to 12 types of kappa (Suiko juni-hin no zu) was produced based on information taken from Suikokouryaku. A portion of this document is shown above. Check out the complete, high-resolution version here.
Ito Keisuke, a well-known man of medicine and prolific natural history artist in the Edo period, sometimes included depictions of mysterious creatures with his animal drawings -- like the kappa on the left above, for example. The middle picture shows a kappa that was observed in one of the moats around Edo castle in the late 18th century. The picture on the right shows a kappa observed in the early 17th century in what is now the city of Hita in Oita prefecture (Kyushu). This kappa looked sort of like a turtle standing on its hind legs, and it had a depression on its head, webbed fingers, and splotches on its chest and abdomen.
The neneko (or neko) kappa, shown on the left above, was sketched by Akamatsu Sotan in his 1855 work entitled Tonegawa zushi ("Illustrated History of the Tone River"). This kappa was known to move to a new location along the river each year, causing trouble wherever it went.
The image on the right shows a kappa scroll and kappa hand belonging to Sougenji (a.k.a. Kappa-dera, or "kappa temple") located in the Ueno-Asakusa area of Tokyo. The temple is one of countless places in Japan that has stories and legends of kappa associated with it. According to this temple's legend, the surrounding area was once a basin with poor drainage, making it prone to flooding. A local raincoat maker (the Japanese word for "raincoat" is "kappa") took it upon himself to construct a series of drainage ditches, which he was able to complete with the help of a kappa living in the Sumida River. It is said that people fortunate enough to lay eyes on this kappa were blessed with success in business.
For lots more background information and kappa links, check here.
On February 6, Nippon Oil (ENEOS), Toyota Motors, Hino Motors and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced the launch of a joint project aimed at putting bio hydrofined diesel (also known as BHD, or second-generation biodiesel) into practical use. In 2007, the city will begin trial operation of city buses that run on a 10% BHD-diesel blend.
Produced through a process of hydrogenating vegetable oil and animal fats, BHD is more resistant to oxidation than conventional biodiesel known as fatty acid methyl ester (also known as FAME, or first-generation biodiesel), allowing for higher concentrations in diesel blends. While FAME concentrations in diesel blends are limited to 5%, BHD concentrations can reach 10%. The new fuel complies with Tokyo's latest emission control regulations.
Furthermore, the BHD production process allows for the raw materials -- vegetable oil, animal fat and used cooking oil -- to be processed together. In FAME production, each type of raw material must be processed separately.
Before deciding whether or not to put BHD into practical use, the group will study the overall effectiveness of the fuel as a means of fighting global warming, as well as the feasibility of establishing a fuel production and supply system. The proposed move toward BHD is the first stage in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's project to cut carbon emissions to 25% of 2000 levels by 2020.
Asia's first confirmed case of chytridiomycosis, a fatal infectious disease that affects amphibians, has been discovered in the Tokyo area. The disease has resulted in dramatic population declines and extinctions in the Americas and Australia and is a primary cause of shrinking frog populations in many areas around the world.
Although chytridiomycosis poses no danger to mammals (including humans), birds or reptiles, there is great danger to amphibians. The disease is caused by exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a parasitic chytrid fungus that kills more than 90% of amphibians that come into contact with it.
A consortium of 16 environmental groups, including World Wildlife Fund Japan, the Japanese Society of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, and the Herpetological Society of Japan, plan to issue an emergency declaration calling for increased quarantine efforts and closer monitoring of the sale and distribution of amphibians.
The disease was discovered by a Tokyo-area resident who keeps South and Central American frogs as pets. In November and December last year, 14 of his 35 frogs (11 species) died suddenly. Laboratory analysis at Azabu University in Kanagawa prefecture revealed chytridiomycosis as the cause of death. The likely source of the infection was a frog purchased at a pet store at the end of October.
Azabu University researchers warn there is no way to control the disease if it spreads outdoors, and that it will trigger the widespread death of frogs in Japan.
The environmental groups are asking people to check their frogs for signs of the disease. Symptoms include lifelessness, red spots on the skin and other unusual skin conditions. People are encouraged to seek treatment for their pets if the disease is found, and are urged not to abandon their amphibians in the wild.
/// Text in illustration ///
Signs of chytridiomycosis
- Leg movement appears lethargic
- Nocturnal/tree-dwelling frogs sit still the entire day
- Frog does not move when touched
Checking for chytridiomycosis
(1) Frog does not blink when touched.
(2) Frog does not try to turn over when flipped on its back.
(3) Frog does not react when mouth is pinched shut.
[Source: Asahi]
Here are a few places that will be interesting to visit once they are complete...
Osaka IRT Research Center (Osaka)
With the completion of the Umeda Kita Yard Redevelopment Project in 2011, the robot takeover of central Osaka will have begun. This 7-hectare area on the north side of JR Osaka station will be home to the Osaka IRT Research Center (tentative name), which will bring together ten companies -- including Citizen, German industrial robot manufacturer KUKA, Panasonic (Matsushita), Murata Manufacturing and others -- who will conduct IRT (information/robot technology) research in areas ranging from data communication networks to artificial intelligence to control technology. In an area open to the human public, the companies will maintain ongoing interactive exhibits showcasing the latest advances in robotics, making it an ideal destination for tourists and residents who wish to acquaint themselves with their new overlords.
Sumida Tower (Tokyo)
The year 2011 will also see the completion of the Sumida Tower, which will stand 614 meters (2001 feet) tall. As the tallest free-standing tower in the world and the tallest man-made structure in Japan, Sumida Tower will serve as a communications tower for six television stations.
The tower, which is also referred to as the New Tokyo Tower, is expected to attract about 3 million people per year to Tokyo's Sumida ward, replacing Tokyo's other tower (Tokyo Tower) as the phallic tourist trap of choice. The Sumida Tower will dwarf the aging 333-meter Tokyo Tower, which was constructed in 1958 by the Takenaka Corporation.
No need for the Takenaka Corporation to feel envious, though. The company has bigger plans...
Sky City 1000 (Tokyo)
Since 1989, the Takenaka Corporation has been toying with the idea of constructing Sky City 1000, a 1 km (3281 feet) tall superstructure containing a virtual city of 35,000 residents and 100,000 workers. Sky City's 8 square kilometers (3.1 square miles) of floor space means there will be plenty of room for shops, schools, theaters, and all the other trappings of urban life that attract tourists.
Sky City 1000 will no doubt be a nice place to explore, and it should relieve some of Tokyo's congestion and free up some green space in the city below -- which will be great for the peons living on the outside.
Space hotels (450 km over Tokyo)
For travelers seeking greater highs, there are space hotels. Since 1989, Shimizu Construction has been developing plans to construct a 64-room space hotel, which the company hopes to put into operation in another 20 to 30 years.
At 450 kilometers (279 miles) above the planet surface, guests will enjoy fantastic views from their 7 x 4 meter rooms. The 7,500 ton facility will rotate at 3 rpm, producing enough centrifugal force for an artificial gravity of 0.7 g.
For the traveler seeking a more colorful destination, there is Pon De Station, a 24-room low earth orbit hotel designed to resemble a stack of "Pon de Ring" donuts from Mister Donut. The Pon De Station design comes from the Space page on the quirky SNTV site, and it appears to be a variation of the proposed "Space Love" hotel that also appears on the site.
The Space Love Project is seeking investors in its hotel, which will specialize in offering intimate space weddings. The hotel plans to offer rooms to couples for 10 million yen ($83,000), which includes the round-trip journey aboard a small space plane.
(For a glimpse of hyperactive web weirdness, visit the SNTV jump page, sit back and enjoy the ride.)
Martian settlement (Mars)
For the ultimate getaway, there is Mars. Japanese construction giant Obayashi Corporation has been researching and developing plans for a Martian colony for over 10 years. According to the company's projections, the Martian population will reach 500 in the year 2057. By 2090, the population will be 50,000 strong and the Martian economy will make up 5% of the solar system's GDP. By then, it should be an interesting tourist option. But the company believes Martians will declare independence from Earth in 2092, so you better hurry up and make those travel arrangements before things get sticky.
These photos show painted cardboard shelters in the homeless city that took root in the underground sprawl of Shinjuku station's western wing in the mid-1990s. A deadly fire swept through the community in February 1998, forcing the inhabitants out and conveniently allowing the city to proceed with long-awaited plans to construct the moving walkway that now exists there. The paintings were also lost in the fire.
The cardboard house painters were Junichiro Take, who once spent 22 days in jail for performing his art in Shinjuku station, along with Takeo Yoshizaki, Yasuhiro Yamane, Itohisa Takano and others. Check out the full gallery here and read more background information here.
See more photos at Eyedia's gallery of Shinjuku cardboard house paintings.
[Via: No-sword]
This October, Japan's National Science Museum (Ueno, Tokyo) will host an exhibit of monster-related cultural artifacts, including the mummies of a mermaid and tengu (long-nosed goblin), as well as a selection of items documenting other traditional Japanese monsters like the kappa.
Scheduled to run from October 17 to November 12, the exhibit will feature about 100 historical items concerning legendary beasts and apparitions (yokai) from the Edo period to the present day. The exhibit is organized by the National Science Museum and the Ikimono Bunkashi Gakkai, whose members include Imperial Prince Akishinomiya.
On September 19, experts armed with state-of-the-art equipment began taking X-rays of the mummified tengu and mermaid, which belong to the Hachinohe City Museum in Aomori prefecture. The specimens, both of which are about 30 centimeters long, are commonly believed to be artistic creations made sometime during the first half of the 19th century. The tengu is believed to be an elaborate sculpture whose materials include paper, the head of a monkey and the body of a bird. The mermaid, also regarded as a sculptural work, is believed to consist of a wooden upper body attached to the tail of an actual fish.
The exhibit will feature the X-rays of both creatures.
[Source: Kyodo via Weekly Teinou Bee Woman]
