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Chrs,
Dav
We’ve been getting a lot of attention for Ai’s 2008 Tokyo cherry blossom article, so I thought I’d write a quick guide to using Yahoo Japan and their hanami prediction pages. Yahoo has loads of great content for Japan, but navigating through the Kanji can be difficult. I always use their weather service, but this is the first year I’ve ever tried their sakura map. And now with the sakura in full bloom, choosing where to spend these precious days is important business!
Ever tried finding a specific place in Japan by its address alone? It can drive you nuts. Which is the reason why virtually every shop includes a map on their website, flyers or tissue packs. Since places are not designated by street names and house numbers, it can be difficult to find your destination. But if know how the system works, it’s pretty usable.
Map courtesy of Yahoo
I’m happy to announce that our new Events page has gone live. The old one hasn’t really been updated for a while, for various reasons, but mostly because it was way too inflexible. The new one allows us to rapidly enter new events as they’re happening, so look forward to more action on there soon. You can also subscribe to our events list via RSS or with any calendar application that can handle the iCal format.
Like any good web site these days the new Events page is in βeta, so if something doesn’t work, please tell us about it, right here in the comments. We have some more things planned, up to and including giving you, yes YOU, the ability to add events. Even your own BBQ party. Stay tuned.
Chrs,
Dav
I read a piece in Boing Boing about how most of the companies who advertise on Japanese trains use a search picture, with an input box and pointer to show that you should search for the term. In contrast, most companies in the US seem to give a URL for you to enter into a browser. Most of the comments focussed on how this is going to be how things are done in the future and how URLs are slowly being phased out in favour of search. Many mentioned that people now don’t know how to enter a URL and instead use the search box to get to a site. I think the reason for these search boxes is different.
Last weekend someone tried to put this dog out in the Sodaigomi (large rubbish). It seems the owner thought the animal had passed its use-by-date and it was acceptable to put it out with the trash. The rubbish collector offered to take the dog to the hokenjo, but the person’s neighbor, disgusted by it all, volunteered to find the dog a home. Luckily she called Animal Refuge Kansai (ARK) and they were able to rescue the dog and pursue the matter further with the police.
Playing with Tokyo train data and google maps today, I was looking through some of the big lines. When I tried the Yamanote (Tokyo’s loop line) it’s shape really surprised me. I’d always thought that it was kind of egg-shaped, roughly following the representation on train maps. In fact it makes this cute almost-heart shape as it travels around the megalopolis.
You can see the Emperor’s palace (the big patch of green inside on the right) and Yoyogi park (the patch on the left, just outside the loop).
Another picture after the jump..
Here’s a remote control helicopter I saw today, which looks like a robot that ripped off James Bond’s jet pack. It looks almost exactly like Asimo, the lovable little robot made by Honda, but I guess for trademark reasons it’s not called AsimoCopter, but RoboChopper. Actually, the C is a bit badly drawn, so it looks like RoboShopper. The guy in the hobby shop where I saw it was really nice, and explained all about the control. It’s able to go up and down and rotate left and right. There’s no control for forward, but when it goes up it veers that way by itself. He said they’re hard to control and easy to break, but still, how often to you get a chance to own a bit of the future. If the Honda techs are listening, this would definitely be the next cool thing to do with Asimo.
More pictures after the jump, including an Indoor Remote Control Doraemon Helicopter!
Spring is synonymous with sakura (桜) in Japan. Sakura, or cherry blossoms, are (in)famous for their short-lived but explosive bursts of color, carpeting the streets of Tokyo with their papery pink petals. In all sense of the word, they are spectacular… if only for one week out of the whole year! To get the most out of this season, ohanami (お花見) or flower viewing is a must. But I recommend you go the extra step and… eat them!
More specifically, a shot from behind. (Or Butt Shot, but that just isn’t as eloquent now, is it??)
It’s kafun (花粉）, or pollen, season in Japan, and for many that means itchy eyes, runny noses and lots of sneezing. Japan’s famous for its sugi (スギ）, cedar pollen, though I believe sugi is followed by waves of other pollen that irritate people months on end. Maybe those white masks are good for something, afterall!
