tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65645791258156166092025-06-30T20:53:40.835+09:00Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-25161564391686724732012-03-11T10:36:00.001+09:002023-11-15T18:02:49.347+09:00

Several years ago, in a drunken conversation with a friend who wanted to know why Tokyo had such a pull on me, I told her that I had, for years, felt that I was meant to be here for the "Big One" — that whether I lived or died, the quake that is meant to destroy Tokyo is something I needed to see through. I can't explain why I felt that way. Or why I still feel it. A year ago today, though, part

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo, Japan35.6894875 139.6917063999999329.852282499999998 138.03869139999992 41.526692499999996 141.34472139999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-85317918854358201552011-05-23T09:05:00.005+09:002011-05-23T09:36:59.518+09:00

It's been over a year since I wrote anything here. I guess I felt that I'd nothing much to say. But the March 11 megaquake and tsunami in eastern Japan was, to say the least, a life changing experience. Not that my day to day life has changed all that much, and I was never really in any harm, but the way I view life has changed. When I had the choice to leave Tokyo I realized that my home now

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-79977950210915723992010-04-17T09:31:00.002+09:002010-04-17T09:37:02.673+09:00

It is quiet. I know how that sounds. Silent? It's not exactly the first thought that comes to mind when you think of Japan, especially of Tokyo. With its constant din of announcements, crowded streets, packed trains, jingles, chimes, and high school girls squealing "kawaii". But it is. Quiet. Ride a packed rush hour train and you'll understand. Every morning I squeeze onto the same train, the 8:

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-22365651606699364182009-09-09T11:31:00.006+09:002009-09-09T11:55:53.035+09:00

I last met my friend Emil in Tokyo on 15th February 2008, when he was making a visa run from Seoul were he lived. I'd arranged to meet him outside the Starbucks at Scramble Crossing in front of Shibuya station. I remember spotting him in the crowd giving me a wave and a smile as he crossed the road. He was wearing jeans and a black V-necked sweater over a white collared shirt. His hair was longer

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-90240516742361047692009-06-14T14:38:00.022+09:002009-06-15T10:30:46.616+09:00

From left: Akiyama Masumi (designer), Asaki Katsuhide (photographer), Patrick W. Galbraith (author), Andrew Lee (editor), and Akashiro Miyu (illustrator).We had a great turn out for the launch party of The Otaku Encyclopedia last Friday. The party was held at a maid café in Akihabara, called Café Schatzkiste. The poor maids were only expecting around thirty people to show up so didn't know what

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-34728453376971349042009-06-09T16:37:00.006+09:002009-06-14T16:18:31.473+09:00

I am finally emerging from under the mountain of moé* I have been buried under for the past six months, to tell you that finally The Otaku Encyclopedia is on sale in Japan! This photo of it on display at Kinokunia in Shinjuku was sent to me just now (thanks Haru!) proving that the book has gone on sale about a week earlier than I'd been told it would be! I guess I better hurry up with the

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-34463097385964739792009-01-17T17:20:00.006+09:002009-01-17T17:45:54.816+09:00

I had a fun night at Danny Choo's place the other evening when he invited me over to have dinner with our mutual friend Takashi "Bob" Okazaki, and a few of his Afro Samurai colleagues. Turned out to be quite the otaku gathering, with Bob dressing up as Darth Vader and all us lads going gaga over Danny's figure collection. I'm not sure what kind of expression I was trying to pull in this photo,

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-48417236193524425972009-01-13T12:10:00.006+09:002009-01-13T13:00:57.505+09:00

Yesterday was the Seijin no hi (Coming of Age Day) holiday in Japan. It was beautiful weather and I headed out with my new mate Danny Choo to take a few pix for his blog. The plan was to get photos of him in his Storm Trooper costume with as many cute twenty-year-old girls we could grab. The official age for adults in Japan is twenty and on this day each year, young men and women gather at their

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-54890389003753314922008-12-03T15:21:00.009+09:002008-12-03T15:45:08.350+09:00

I woke up early this morning to watch Brian Ashcraft on NTV's morning show "Zoom in Super." He was interviewed a few days ago about Arcade Mania! and all of us involved in the book have been dying to see how it'd turn out. And it was fantastic!The show had basically decided to do the story because they'd seen Arcade Mania!, and ran a 10 minute segment about foreign tourists flocking to Japanese

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-44262418513977567802008-11-22T13:30:00.006+09:002008-12-03T15:36:09.494+09:00

I swear it's a total coincidence that the last post was also about something up on PingMag. No, really! If I wasn't so lazy I might have posted something in between, but no... Anyway, Ping had nice long chat with Brian Ashcraft the author of Arcade Mania! Hopefully this is the start of lots of press on the book and we'll sell lots of copies! Read the interview here...

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-73125570021586253032008-11-10T21:13:00.005+09:002008-11-12T23:52:57.112+09:00

I recently interviewed Max Hodges of White Rabbit press about his new Tokyo Realtime: Kabukicho audio guide tour. He's a pretty crazy guy so it's kind of a shame so much of what we spoke about was "off the record"! But you can read (the rather heavily edited) version live on Pingmag now.

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-86481247154535785352008-10-27T13:38:00.009+09:002010-04-17T09:44:34.239+09:00

"Rock'n'Roll High School" by the Ramones blasts from the speakers as four Japanese girls in high-school uniform come on stage. It couldn't be a more perfect song to introduce this band to the waiting press. Scandal are young, sexy, and have a gimmick that may just carry them to international stardom. As I've pointed out before, there is something magnetic about metal performed by Japanese

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-66611691804062812382008-10-17T01:11:00.019+09:002008-10-17T08:16:43.561+09:00

I caught a couple of exhibitions last week, one by chance and the other less random; but both were linked by the fact art in Japan these days often has its roots deeply buried in corporate-pop-culture. We probably we have Takashi Murakami to thank for this. Him and his grand Superflat theory—that Japanese don't traditionally make distinctions between "high" and "low" art—have sure made it easier

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-89171295425974570502008-10-01T00:18:00.005+09:002008-10-02T08:40:00.470+09:00

I found a good place to sit and watch. From a seat near this bar's window, I can see Shibuya passing me by. Opposite me there's an Excelsior Caffé that I know, from personal experience—and a somewhat obsessional love of good coffee—fails to excel in café. Beside that there's an entrance to a basement bar that's advertising cheap beer. A black guy stands there, waiting for customers, and

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-42830567953649639552008-09-26T16:30:00.008+09:002008-12-03T15:36:34.073+09:00

A quick reminder that the launch of Arcade Mania! is tomorrow night (Saturday 27th) so if any of you who happen to read this blog also happen to be in Tokyo, please come along!Here is a link to the invitation on Kotaku

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-38411111316783605192008-09-20T15:15:00.006+09:002008-11-22T15:46:51.338+09:00

I went to COMIKE about a month ago, along with about 500 thousand others, and it always amazes me just how massive this amateur comic market is. I've been four or five times now and the manga on offer this time were the usual piles of comic-porn. Naked manga honeys assaulted and exalted by a mass of sweaty otaku. This shocked, and to be honest kind of titillated me the first time I went, but it

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-61827308850970161202008-09-19T09:37:00.010+09:002008-09-19T10:13:56.775+09:00

I've been rather busy over the past few weeks rolling out the websites for both Yokai Attack! and Arcade Mania! But both are finished now and getting good feedback.The launch party for Arcade Mania! will be at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro on the 27th September. So if you are in Tokyo make sure you come. The author, Brian Ashcraft, has put the invite up on Kotaku, with a link to my site! Nice of him to

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-17465186743406194782008-09-09T17:25:00.006+09:002008-09-09T17:42:47.175+09:00

I am currently editing a book on Japanese pop-culture, and keep stumbling across stuff that dredges up memories from my childhood. Which is odd considering I grew up in Australia.The latest flashback is to a time I could swim-like-a-fish, using a special oxygen rich chewing gum to help me breathe; and how, with the help of my trusty white dolphin sidekick, I would fight off underwater baddies… I

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-50878398158657171872008-08-29T16:42:00.002+09:002008-08-29T16:50:24.072+09:00

There's been a bit of a buzz the past few days over Facebook refusing to give a Japanese woman an account because her family name a Jedi to the same it is.Blogs everywhere have picked up the story and even Lucasfilm posted it on their official blog.But just who is the Facebook Yoda?Well I am pleased to say that she is none other than Hiroko Yoda one of the authors of Yokai Attack! Which

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-31670476990188985822008-08-26T12:32:00.008+09:002008-08-26T16:54:22.344+09:00

Anyone who watches as much Japanese TV as I do is bound to know who Shoko-tan is. She seems to be everywhere at the moment, on countless celebrity panel shows, or performing songs from her new album, or ensuring people have good manners in ads for the Promise finance company. She also has an extremely popular blog.On one of those many TV shows she appears in, I saw that as a kid she was really

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-81898152572965049052008-08-15T23:05:00.004+09:002008-08-17T21:08:14.648+09:00

I know simply posting links to YouTube vids is a lazy way to blog, but hey...

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-10235025053418873462008-08-05T21:57:00.002+09:002008-08-05T22:06:04.183+09:00

I was searching Google Maps today to find how to get to a restaurant for a friend's birthday (can't believe he's 50!), when I noticed that Google has just launched the Street View of Tokyo. It is pretty impressive. I mean this is a damn big city! And they seem to have pretty much covered the whole place. They even have the building I live in on there, and I live in a back street of a fairly

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-90729384510223205792008-06-26T10:20:00.006+09:002008-08-05T22:14:19.026+09:00

Not posting much these days... so thought I'd test out blogger's mobile blogging function. Maybe that will inspire me to blog more. I can email from my mobile while sitting on the train... or in the office like I am now. I just read the Devilman manga, it's pretty wacky!

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-64333509325941066642008-06-04T15:41:00.010+09:002008-09-19T10:10:09.740+09:00

So, what’s my excuse this time? For not posting in 3 months. Well, yokai actually. The little buggers attacked me. Kept me stuck at home for months. In the dark. Chained to my computer. And when I tried to get away? They crashed my hard drive, and I lost 3 months work. That didn’t please them at all! Made me do all the work over again. In 5 days! Not nice.But I got them back. Used purple for the

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564579125815616609.post-18457432334583445112008-02-29T14:28:00.002+09:002008-02-29T14:41:14.703+09:00

Yet again I've been somewhat slack in posting. I'd like to blame it on the rather serious hard drive crash I had recently which forced me to work like a robot until I had redone the 3 months work I lost (yes I know "backup"). But really, even if that hadn't happened I probably wouldn't have posted. I have been a very busy boy.I am however, back. And as you may've noticed I've moved this blog over

Nandemohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09260751270153366382noreply@blogger.com0