FEPY

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The Fiat Cinque Tank, a dream bulldozer custom-built by ironsmith Kogoro Kurata, consists of an old Fiat 500 body mounted on the caterpillar tracks of a cheap secondhand tractor. The farm machine can only reach a speed of 3 kilometers per hour, turning a trip to the nearest convenience store into a 2-hour adventure, according to Kurata. But the classic look of the cabin no doubt impresses the neighbors, and the working power shovel comes in handy when obstacles block the way.

See Kurata’s site for photos documenting the construction process: 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Link: Monkey Farm]

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Ballpoint pen artist Shohei Otomo mashes up old and new in bold illustrations spiked with heavy doses of manga-style gore and perversion.

Sunglassed Geisha

Boss Batter

Onsen Ping Pong Geisha

Gurgling Heart

Extermination of Giant Carp

Portrait of a Far East Hoodlum - #1

Okiku Doll

SM Geisha

See Shohei Otomo’s website for much more. (Many images NSFW).

[Via: Bouncing Red Ball]

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I went for a bite to eat with a friend last night a Sashimi place in Dogenzaka.

I generally go the easy options when i eat raw fish … Nigiri Sushi and nothing too adventerous at that.  Last night i wasn`t in charge of the menu so it was a bit out of my comfort zone.

Despite my initial hesitation i gave everything a go and enjoyed most of it.

The cooked fish head was right up my alled though, had it a few times and recommend it to anyone.

But when push comes to shove i guess i tend to go places i`m a bit more familiar with the whole menu, like last Friday nights Yakatori … fantastic.

Been a bit slow around here these days due to some work issues keeping away from regular posting.

That will be over soon so it will be back to normal …. when maybe not “normal” but i`ll be writing a bit more.Similar Posts:

• Quarter Pounder Opens In Shibuya & Omotesando
• Tila Tequila In Shibuya
• Shibuya At Night
• White Day In Japan
• Shibuya Crossing

Post from: Neil Duckett

Sashimi In Shibuya

Sashimi In Shibuya

Originally from Neil Duckett

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Just in time for the 30th anniversary festivities comes this girlie Gundam, a jewel-encrusted RX-78-2 (apparently created by a Taiwanese fan) looking pretty in pink and lace.

[Via Gigazine]

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A vandalized toilet at Kitashikahama Park in Tokyo’s Adachi ward is raising questions about the effectiveness of the park’s controversial new “Mosquito” alarm — a device designed to repel teenagers by emitting an obnoxious high-frequency tone that only they can hear.

The Mosquito, which was installed at the park on May 21 to discourage teens from hanging out there after hours, now operates every night from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM. The device produces a high-pitched tone of around 17 kHz, which is unbearable to teen ears. The sound has no effect on older people, as the ability to hear high frequencies declines naturally with age.

The broken toilet, which was discovered on the morning of June 21, appears to have been smashed with a baseball bat. Spent bottle rockets were also found at the site.

Surveillance camera footage showed what appeared to be as many as seven teenagers hanging out in the park in the early morning hours of June 21, while the Mosquito was in operation. Authorities were unable to determine whether the teens in the video were responsible for the vandalism.

According to Adachi ward officials, teen vandals inflicted 700,000 yen ($7,400) worth of damage in the park last year. Unable to solve the problem with extra patrols, the authorities began searching for new measures. They eventually turned their attention to the Mosquito, which is already in use at some Tokyo-area convenience stores plagued by loitering teens.

The prospect of using the Mosquito has been controversial, and critics question whether it is in the city’s interest to use such a device that discriminates against young people as a group, even if they are responsible for causing problems. In the end, the officials decided to test the device at the park until March 2010.

The smashed toilet is first case of vandalism at the park since the Mosquito was installed.

[Source: MBS]

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Waiting in line for the iPhone 3G S last Friday was a mixed experience. I decided to head up to The Grove Apple Store which is located next to the LA Farmer’s Market. The store employees set up two lines, one for people who had reservations and the other for everyone else. Approximately 20-25 people were ahead of me in the reservations line. Even with this fairly short line, the entire process took over 40 minutes.

I chose not to get the iPhone activated in store. As you probably already know, the activation servers got beat up on Friday. However, once I got home later that afternoon, activation went through instantly.

After a couple of days with the new iPhone, I feel it’s a solid upgrade from the previous generation. The first thing I noticed was the screen. The fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating works as advertised and also feels great. The screen feels like a slick UV-coated magazine cover.

Thanks to processor, cache and memory upgrades, real world performance gets a noticeable upgrade. Apps launch faster and the more processor intensive apps get close to running in a manner befitting their desktop counterparts (Peggle is a prime example).

I purchased a 3G about a year ago so I had to pay the $500 early adopter’s tax to get this phone. But I do believe that all of the numerous moderate to tiny upgrades combine to add a great deal of value to the total package. Have any iPhone 3G S line experiences that you’d like to share?

Related posts:

• Spotlight coming to the iPhone
• Too Many iPhone Apps
• iPhone 3G Review

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Tokyo-based photographer Samuel Cockedey presents more miraculous views of the Shinjuku cityscape in his latest stop-motion video (featuring minimal beats by Kusanagi).

[Links: YouTube, Vimeo]

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After swine flu caused panic with its appearance in Japan last month, masks became even more of a mainstay than they are most of the time.

But now, with the virus officially a pandemic, it’s possible that precautions will become even more prominent.

Perhaps.

Japanese mask mania?

Originally from Tokyo Times

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In the mid-1840s, ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) created a number of woodblock prints showing legendary tanuki (raccoon dogs) using their humorously large scrota in creative ways.

River fishing

Shelter from evening showers

Rokurokubi (long-necked monster) disguise

Net fishing

Making dashi (soup stock)

Weightlifting

Catfish mallet

Coming and going

Making mochi

Visiting Konpira, the guardian deity of seafaring

Boy’s festival

Cause of chronic abdominal pain

Shichifukujin (the Seven Lucky Gods) disguise

Fortune-telling tent

Shop signs

River crossing

Towboat

Seine fishing

See more of Kuniyoshi’s tanuki images at Kuniyoshi Project (1, 2).

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The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released high-definition video captured by the Kaguya moon probe moments before crashing onto the lunar surface on June 11.

+ Video

The 3D movie was created based on observation data captured about 12 minutes prior to the controlled crash, as the probe headed toward its final destination near the Gill crater. The video goes black at the end as Kaguya moves into the dark area of the moon.

JAXA has also released a few still images of the view during the final approach:

[Source: JAXA]

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