Japan’s Lo Maglev Train
Checkout Japan’s latest Shinkansen(Bullet Train), that reached speeds of 311 mph, check out the video below to see it in action, its expected to launch in 2027.
Japan
Anything related to Japan
PS Vita TV
Last night at Sony’s pre TGS show, they unveiled the PS Vita TV, which is entering the rival market of the Chromecast, and Apple TV. Its a tiny device that allows you to play Vita games on your TV using a Dualshock 3 controller, as well as stream Hulu and many other media services . It’ll be available for $99 in Japan this November 14th and also will allow for remote play from the PS4. It’ll be interesting to see how this device does, and hopefully Nintendo takes some cues from this and produces an inexpensive device for playing 3DS games on your TV.
Off to Taipei, Taiwan!
I’m on my way to Taipei tonight, I’ll have plenty to share when I get back! I’ll be posting pictures on my Facebook, and will have blog posts when I return in 3 Days.
First Day Out in Tokyo with My Big Bro: Tokyo Tower
Let me just start off by saying, it was around 90 degrees today and %80 humid. It was crazy hot today, and the hottest weather I’ve experienced in my 3 months in Japan so far, and made going into AC buildings feel heavenly.
My brother got here yesterday, and today was our first day out in Tokyo and despite the scorching heat, we had a great time today and Anthony was in amazement of the magical world of Japan. The first place we decided to go to was the Tokyo Tower, I hadn’t been there yet and it would be much less crowded than Tokyo Skytree. It was still an incredible view from the top and without the massive crowd of Skytree, which was a nice change. We then headed to Ginza and went to the Apple Store and had lunch at Hawaiian style hamburger joint in Ginza as well. It was nice day in Tokyo, and my brother is loving it here in Japan so far. I have 1 more final, then headed to Taiwan real early Wednesday morning.
Albert?
Scorching Hot
The Godfather
Tokyo Tower
View from 150M
Creapy
JFK
Last Super
Grandma Theresa
Julia?
It’s a Small World?
Final Weekend With the Family
I had a great time this weekend with my Host Family, we went to the Marines Baseball game Friday night, and then went to Diaba on Sunday. After school on Friday I got picked up by Yuko-san and Karen-chan, just outside the station and we drove to the stadium which was a short 5 min ride away. We enjoyed a great game with an exciting 3rd inning where we scored 5 runs. Then in the top of the 5th inning there was big firework display, and we ran just outside of the stadium to get the best view of the fireworks. The stadium is on the water and made for a beautiful view with the fireworks in the night sky and ocean in the background.
Then on Sunday we headed out to Diaba, to visit this retro car Museum, which I know my Dad would’ve enjoyed, and to enjoy the grand mall in Diaba. We walked around the car Museum and enjoyed all the vintage cars, and then stumbled upon a quiet little cafe. Karen got a chocolate bagel and had her face covered in chocolate, and Yuko-san and I got a salmon bagel and turkey bagel. It was great way to spend one of my last Sundays with my host family in Japan, relaxing and having a quiet Sunday in Diaba city.
It’s our life, Chiba Lotte!!
Piggback Ride
Love Hate Relationship
Hanabi
Buzz!
Apple Trademarks ‘iWatch’ in Japan
Wearable technology is a relatively untapped market so far, and every major company is eager to jump on this bandwagon. So far, we have seen success with the Pebble, Nike Fuelband, and there are many other companies that are competing to set the standard. There has been some talk and rumors about Apple creating their own smart watch, and it could be sooner than we think. They just trademarked the ‘iWatch’ in Japan and I wouldn’t be surprised if they announce something this year or the next. Overall we are going to see a lot wearable technology this year and the next.
Ghibli Museum
This is probably the hardest place to go to in Japan, because the tickets can only be bought 2 weeks in advance, at a convenient store, and everything is in Japanese when you’re trying to purchase the tickets. On top of all that the tickets sale out super fast, usually you have to book 2 weeks in advance to be safe, you can also purchase tickets over sea, which I recommend doing if you really want to go on a visit to Japan. That being said I finally was able to go this last weekend, after trying to plan this trip since almost the beginning of my arrival in Japan. That being said, it was worth the wait.
We got off the at the train stop and then took the “Neko (Cat) Bus” to the museum, which was a short 5-10 min ride to the museum. We arrived to this architecturally beautiful building, with a huge statue on the top of the building. We entered the museum, and unfortunately they wouldn’t allow us to take any photos and there was a lot of staff throughout the museum, I managed to snag a few shots though. The museum itself looks straight out of Ghibli, the inside is beautiful and was carefully designed to fit the style of Ghibli movies. There weren’t a ton of exhibits in the museum, but they were all really interesting and well worth the price, each one carefully crafted in a true Ghibli manor. My favorite part of the museum was the exclusive short animation movie they had, It was really high quality, as expected of any Ghibli product, and there was no dialogue so everyone could enjoy. They change the short films at the museum every 3 months or so, and it’s a big draw for many people. For the price of about $10, I recommend this to anyone that is a fan of Ghibli, if you’re not, it’s still a good museum, but you may not enjoy it as much without a background of the films.
Courtesy of Google
Cat Bus
Castle in the Sky.
Courtesy of Google
Roof View
Neko Bus
Giant Cat!! (Courtesy of Google)
Castle in the Sky
Showa Memorial Park
Last weekend I went to this big park just outside of Tokyo, and there was a ton going on there. Everyone was outside enjoying the weather and playing in the park, it’s a win lose situation. There is always a lot going on and tons to do, but places are always crowded at the same time, just depends on your mood I guess. I loved it last weekend, all the energy and excitement, we walked around and were bombarded by these little kids who I triggered by simply saying “Hello!”. I kind of knew what I was getting into, because that’s generally the only English little kids know or use the most.
Showa Kinen Koen (Showa Memorial Park) is a massive, lovely park with bike and walking paths, a lake for boating, water parks and is beautiful in spring. We were lucky enough to see all the colorful flowers blooming, which made for some great pictures. I had a lot of fun at the park, and we were off to the Ghibli Museum after leaving.
Crazy Kids Haha
Spirals
Map
Wiser Man
Pond
Hana
Wise Man
Great Buddha (Daibutsu)
Great Buddha (Daibutsu)
After enjoying Kamkura and all it had to offer we went to our next spot, the Great Buddha. The name was definitely not an exaggeration, it was huge measuring 13.35 Meters high and is the second largest in Japan. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. It was quite a site and you could even go inside that statue which was really neat. However it was really hot inside, due to the humidity and heat, so I didn’t stay in there too long.
Inside
Inside
Sleeping and Sandals
IES Group
Daibutsu
Labu Labu
History
Originally casted in 1252, it was wiped away by a tsunami tidal in the 15th century and was then recanted and remains today. It has made Kamakura famous and is famous across Japan, being its number one attraction. It’s a natural treasure with over 1.2 million visitors a year.
Great Gatsby Review
Great Gatsby was finally released in Japan, and I got the chance to go see it over the weekend. As is common, I read this book in High School and actually made a short movie of it myself. So I know the story pretty well and I think the movie did a good job of telling the story, and adding a modern edge to the film. The cinematography definitely reminded me of Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge, which I think this feel did well with modernizing the film and giving it a fresh look from the previous Gatsby films made.
Lala Port – Toho Cinemas
Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance speaks for itself, and he does a great job playing Gatsby and captures the craziness and class of J. Gatsby. I’ve heard mixed reviews about Tobe Maguire’s portrayal of Nick Carraway, and I think he did well at portrayal of Carraway. However, my problem is I just don’t like Carraway that much, and doesn’t really serve that a purpose in the Movie, I that’s how Fitzgerald planned this, but in the film I just end up disliking him. I also came to the conclusion that he almost certainly is a closest gay, there is a interesting analysis of that here, it may be naïve but I can’t see a significant reason for him other than being gay to fit into the story.
Overall though, I enjoyed the movie a lot, and I really liked the music in the film. It stayed true to the times of the film, but made it believable for the grandness of what the parties where like back then. It still has all the symbolism that was in the book, and I wish I could have seen this film when I was in High School. This isn’t a movie that you have to see in theaters, and I’d recommend waiting for the DVD unless you really want to see it, I also saw it in 3D and didn’t add anything to the movie.
Verdict
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