three shots of the akashi kaikyo bridge (and wataru-kun)

16Mar17

The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge runs between the city of Akashi* and the island of Awaji and has the “longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world.” (Wikipedia) It’s an engineering marvel and a beautiful bridge. I took these shots from Maiko Park, which is situated just below the point where the bridge leaves […]

Filed under: architecture, Japan, Kansai, photography, travel   |  2 Comments
Tags: 15mm Heliar, Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, analogue, わたるくん, film, Kodak Portra 800, Maiko Park, mascot, suspension bridge, Voigtlander Bessa-L, Wataru-kun, 明石海峡大橋

my eternal love for Peko-chan

11May14

Have I ever mentioned my undying love for Peko-chan (ペコちゃん), the mascot of Japan’s ubiquitous Fujiya confectionery shops? It’s true.  It’s all true. And oh-my-god I just discovered the Hello Kitty 40th anniversary tie-in with Peko-chan:  “sweet! and cute!”

Filed under: funs, Japan, personal, scraps and bones, sweet story of Trout Monroe   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: ペコちゃん, cute, Fujiya, Hello Kitty, mascot, Peko-chan, sweet and cute, 不二家

at the 2012 Aqua Metropolis Osaka Festival

04May13

The 2012 Aqua Metropolis Osaka Festival offered a series of delights, including a giant inflatable kokeshi doll produced by the artist collective Yotta Groove.  There’s something both benign and menacing about the cute blankness of the kokeshi doll when it’s magnified to kaiju proportions.  Yotta Groove wasn’t the only collective active at the Aqua Metropolis […]

Filed under: art, culture, festival, Japan, Kansai, Osaka, society, sweet story of Trout Monroe   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 2012 Aqua Metropolis Osaka Festival, art, artwork, こけし, イッテキマスNipponシリーズ”花子”, プロジェクトオバチャーン, film photography, Florentijn Hofman, giant inflatable kokeshi, giant inflatable rubber duck, Holga, installation, kokeshi, mascot, Osaka Obachan, Osaka's drinking water, photography, Project Obachaaan, rubber duck, sculpture, water purification, water purification plant, Yotta Groove, 四十七人のオバチャーン, 巨大アヒルちゃん, 水都大阪2012

tracking the wild Billiken

11Sep11

The recent increase in popularity of Osaka’s Shinsekai area among Japanese tourists has brought with it a proliferation of the Billiken, the “God of Things as They Ought to Be.”  The original Billiken (pictured directly below) sits at the top of Tsutenkaku Tower, and there have always been one or two “false idols” in the […]

Filed under: culture, funs, Japan, Kansai, Osaka   |  2 Comments
Tags: ビリケン, Billiken, Billiken craze, cultural artifact, icon, mascot, Osaka, pop culture, Shin-sekai, Shinsekai, The God of Things as They Ought to Be, 大阪, 新世界

octopus theater

21Oct10

Photo information, by order of appearance, including camera, lens, and film type: 1) Voigtlander Bessa-T, 50mm Nokton, uncertain film type. 2) Voigtlander Bessa R2A, 35mm Ultron, Fuji Natura 1600. 3) Ricoh GRD2, digital square. 4) Voigtlander Bessa R2A, 35mm Ultron, Kodak 400 Ultra Color. 5) Voigtlander Bessa R2A, 35mm Ultron, Kodak 400 Ultra Color.

Filed under: design, Japan, Kansai, music, Osaka, photography, scraps and bones   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: advertising, たこ, たこ焼き, タコ, Makoto Kawamoto, mascot, octopus, Octopus Theater, photography, rangefinder, Ricoh GRD2, takoyaki, Voigtlander Bessa R2A, Voigtlander Bessa-T, 川本真琴

nagoya triplet (3): yama-chan, the chicken man

07Mar10

Every city in Japan has its own specialty foods, and Nagoya is no exception.  The list of regional specialties includes miso-katsu (pork cutlets with miso sauce), tenmusu (rice balls with tempura inside), and ogura toast (anko — red bean paste — on toast).  I think my favorite of all must be hitsumabushi — grilled eel […]

Filed under: daily life, drinking, eating, Japan, personal, restaurant, travel   |  2 Comments
Tags: やまちゃん, cannibal mascot, chicken wings, food, grilled eel, hitsumabushi, local food, mabaroshino tebasaki, mascot, Nagoya, regional specialties, spicy chicken wings, Yamachan, 名古屋, 幻の手羽先, 手羽先

mobile suit gundam, earth protector

08Oct09

Tokyo may have failed in its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, but at least it has an 18-meter Gundam statue to show for it.  According to the Japan Times, the “35-ton fiberglass and steel monolith is the centerpiece of the Green Tokyo Gundam Project intended to raise environmental awareness.”  While there are certainly […]

Filed under: animation, architecture, art, culture, design, Japan, manga, philosophy, politics, society, technology, travel   |  2 Comments
Tags: aesthetics of futurism, architecture, お台場, ガンダム, フジテレビ本社ビル, consumerism, costume, creature, enjoyment, Fuji Television Building, future, futurism, futuristic, futuristic style, giant robot, Gundam, Kenzo Tange, mascot, mobile suit, Odaiba, pink rabbit-elf, planetary crisis, pleasure, robot, Tange Kenzo, Tokyo, 東京, 丹下健三