Archive for the 'travel' Category

Kiddyland - Harajuku

Published at November 16, 2008 in Kawaii, Akihabara, Harajuku, Kiddy Land, Tokyo, Totoro, photography, Japan, ghibli and travel. 0 Comments

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Kiddy Land is a pretty mainstream toy shop, and wouldn’t normally warrent a mention here - except that this is Tokyo, and mainstream means something completely different. Spanning five floors, of most interest are the anime and Ghibli sections. While the former caters for more kodomo and shonen level stuff, the latter is worth checking just for it’s huge selection and the over sized plush Totoro (pictured above) that sits as it’s centerpiece. Yours for just 676 quid. Worth a mention too are the hugely helpful (like everywhere so far in Tokyo) and mainly bilingual staff. Worth a visit, for sure.

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Shinjuku Gyoen

Published at November 16, 2008 in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, photography and travel. 0 Comments

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Awaking to a surprisingly sunny and very hot November day, we decided to take a short walk down to Shinjuku Gyoen. While I’d been impressed with the serenity of the gardens around the Imperial Palace a couple of days previously, nothing had prepared me for the vibe here. The park is split into three main sections modelled after traditional English, French and Japanese gardens, with the latter of course being the most interesting.

Huge Koi and turtles swim gently under arching footbridges, while kingfishers dive for food from trees above the ponds. Pogodas, shrines and ornate stone lanterns dot the beautifully crafted landscape, and a traditional teahouse serves green tea and delicious Japanese sweets. It is quite simply the most relaxing, beautiful place I have yet had the pleasure to visit.

Again, the contrast with the sorrounding urban chaos is startling; especially as this is the view as you leave the main gate to return to Nishi-Shinjuku:

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Shinjuku JR at rush hour

Published at November 13, 2008 in Shinjuku, manga, Japan, cities and travel. 0 Comments

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I’m always surprised when people moan that no-one talks on the tube in London – I mean, exactly what the fuck are we meant to say? It’s pretty much the same on the Tokyo JR lines – no-ones chatting, too engrossed in their manga, their text messages, their DS and PSP games, the flat screens showing beauty product ads and video games trailers or studying their reflected hair in the dark windows. Pulling into stations is always announced by the usual bombardment of neon signs, followed by the sight of commuters waiting in perfect, orderly queues. Something not so familiar if you hail from London, then. Some might say it looks a bit robotic and regimented, but that’s hardly two words I’d use to describe Tokyo residents. Not fucking rude are three that spring to mind.

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Mandarake Complex– The greatest shop in the world

Published at November 13, 2008 in Tokyo, Akihabara, WANT, manga, anime, shirow and travel. 0 Comments

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Mandarake – a chain of otaku shops dotted around Tokyo and Japan – opened it’s Akihabara superstore earlier this year, and it’s clear why it’s become it’s flagship. Spanning eight levels, it’s the first place to go for any sci-fi, manga or anime fan needing a spot of retail therapy. We ploughed through six of the eight floors – sensibly skipping the shojo and hentai/doujinshi departments – and for most of the time it was just too much to take in, let alone process. I bought a couple of art books – Shirow’s Intron Depot (which I’m embarrassed to say i’d never got round to picking up before, but grabbed for a truly bargain price) and an unbelievable and unique Patlabor book which I can’t even start to describe to you right now. When I’m home and sane again I’ll post some pics and review it; believe me it’s worth the wait. Time permitting I’m going to head back there before I leave, but in the meantime here’s some photos. Apologies for the poor quality at times, this was a covert operation, for as the signs throughout the store tell you PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT PERMITTED.

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OMG PUPPIES!!!111!!!!11!

Published at November 10, 2008 in OMG PUPPIES, Kawaii, Shinjuku, Tokyo, travel, Japan and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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Shinjuku seems to be littered with tiny pet stores and street stalls selling hyperactive puppies and kittens in plastic cages - simultaneously both one of the most disturbing and kawaii things I’ve ever witnessed. Hand written signs proclaim both the breeds and the age in weeks of he animal - there’s a slight sense of sadness when you notice that the ages have had stickers over the top of them; the number of layers showing how long the poor creatures have gone without finding a loving home…

Loiter around for long enough and it’s worth it though, just to see fully grown men fawning over the adorable prisoners…

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Shopping for Manga in Shinjuku

Published at November 10, 2008 in manga, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Denno Coil, Japan, cities, anime and travel. 0 Comments

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Just like all the stories you hear, manga is everywhere in Japan. There’s racks of it in every supermarket and convenience store you pass, and at lunch times gangs of salary-men and students gather around to silently read it.

Today we stumbled across Comic and DVD Forrest in Shinjuku, a specialist store with so much stock that, to be frank, it’s a bit of a mindfuck. Didn’t actually buy anything this time - they had a couple of Denno Coil art books, but not the exact one I’m looking for - but I did manage to grab a few shots before the super-polite staff busted me….

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Shinjuku

Published at November 10, 2008 in science fiction, Japan, Tokyo, Shinjuku, tech, photography, mundane SF, travel, cities and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

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So we’re here. Finally.

Actually, we arrived about 48 hours ago, after what seemed like a week of travelling. Hellish. But, of course, with hindsight completely worth it. Shinjuku is everything all the cliches say it is - Akira, Bladerunner and Neuromancer all rolled into one, but somehow weirder for not actually feeling that futuristic. Or at least, it’s a kind of retro futuristic, a reminder of the that 80’s cyberpunk vision that it inspired but never quite happened anywhere else. Like all sci-fi, they got some things wrong. Example? Well, it seems damn near impossible to find any public Wi-Fi round here. But why would you need it when everyone’s had 3G capable phones for over ten years?

Anyway, there’s another cliche about pictures and word counts…

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About the image ^^

Published at February 27, 2008 in cities, photography, travel, morocco, marrakesh and mundane SF. 0 Comments

A couple of people have asked me about the image at the top of the site…it’s actually a photo I took while in holiday in Marrakesh last July. We were looking for the Museum of Modern Art I believe, when I spotted this apparently dumped pile of old, busted TVs stacked on top of a random roof, looking like an abandoned set from a Mad Max movie..

Marrakesh, aside from being one of my favourite cities, is one of the most Sci Fi places I’ve ever visited. Nothing beats the clash of Islamic culture and the ancient architecture with 24 hour Internet cafes and satelite dishes sprouting from every rooftop. Tokyo and Seoul might be your first pick for SF holidays, but I can’t recommend the feeling of being dropped into an alien culture that Marrakesh gives you enough…

Check out my other photos here…

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