We came across this in the mall. You build your own cars then race it for cash.
Thomas and I were inspired to do a little racing of our own…
In what has to be the most interesting exhibit yet, Yokohama has a customs museum where you can see all the smuggled items that were confiscated. Shown here is a glass walkway that you look down to see such things as stacks of ice and a pile of ecstacy.
This friendly guy was used to smuggle some of the goods. He must be bad luck.
This is a display of the customs work force. Someone seems out of place, no?
Here’s more pics of Yokohama. What a great city! It’s about half an hour express train ride outside of Tokyo.
1. Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan
2. View from the top. That’s Tokyo in the horizon. They got all the sun.
3. Port of Yokohama
4. Good times on the pier
Thanks again to Saiko and her mom for showing us a great time!
A “gothloli” is a girl with a keen fashion sense to mix a gothic and lolita look to create something totally new. I’m not sure if the rest of the world is ready for Japan’s latest cultural export. If I had a kid I think I’d rather them be goth than lolita. These girls really create quite a spectacle in Harajuku. I like how they lug all sorts of things around in suitcases all day. Oh and I also love those tiny little hats they bandy about, “Kawaii!!”
We’ve eased our way out of tourist mode and started becoming more productive. Darwin has been working on a few design pieces, and I am keeping a schedule of producing one song a day. Speaking of which, I dug up this music video that I made from footage of our last trip to Tokyo in 2005. Hope you like.
I thought this ad for coffee was adorable. The english at the bottom says “Come on in! We’re small enough to fit in your palm. But working together we’ll make the best coffee you’ve ever had!”
This was part of a student exhibition at Spiral. It was a bit of an odd, but beautiful, collection of work. I only managed to take a few pics until I got caught. I thought we could take pictures 
.
We came across this display window at the Anime Center in Akihabara. The store used pictures of girls in lingerie to advertise their 3-dimensional printer. We didn’t go in, but I have to wonder… if they show this from the outside, I wonder what’s on the inside?
I have no clue what this van is blaring around Tokyo all the time but it is LOUD! Here’s a short clip to demonstrate the decibel level.
Walking through the new Akiba Square Darwin and I were shocked by the sign before us, “Seattle Burger”. Darwin translated the outdoor menu and was surprised to find that they stocked a veggie burger since they are nowhere to be found in Japan. I figured we had to try it out for the Emerald City. Upon entering the establishment, the only thing that really made it Seattle was the Ichiro jersey hanging up in the place. We order our “vegetable burgers” and patiently wait. I took another look at the menu and became suspicious that our “vegetable burger” may in fact translate to lettuce and tomato on a meat patty. I was right, and moments later I ate my first meat burger in years. I have to say that it was delicious, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to get another “vegetable burger” any time soon.
