Tag: Tokyo

Come Back Anytime (for Ramen). You’ll Love It at Bizentei!

Although Come Back Anytime doesn’t reveal Masamoto Ueda’s cooking secrets, what we see here reveals just how loved he is by the local neighbourhood. 

Come Back Anytime (2021) Documentary PosterA home video release is being planned! Please visit the official webpage or Facebook for the latest announcements.

Anyone who loves ramen will get to learn the difference between Tokyo style, street and what makes a perfect bowl delicious. Masamoto Ueda is a ramen master in John Daschbach‘s documentary Come Back Anytime, and this title is perfect to reflect his attitude and love for the craft. It’s tough to find an operation that’s 100% authentic.

Even in other cities worldwide, not many cooks know the importance in why their noodles should be served thick or thin. This man is the owner/operator of Bizentei, a shop located roughly between Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Chiyoda City (municipalities of Tokyo). It’s not too far off the beaten path, and he gets his regular customers and the occasional newcomer.

Sadly, he’s closed up shop since he’s retired, but for the nostalgia and flavours presented in this work, I’m sure many people hope someone else will take up the mantle. All that’s needed is knowledge of what he puts in the broth!

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First Hot Glimpses Inside Namco Akihabara’s Arcade in Electric Town

We got a an early glimpse in this photo gallery inside Namco Akihabara and how everything is laid out for gamers (of any time) to enjoy!

Namco Akihabara Front at NightAlthough the Sega GiGO Akihabara Building is long gone, Namco has taken over the space to open its own collective of products for gamers to enjoy. This six-floor game centre simply known as Namco Akihabara opened March 1st, and we are fortunate to have a friend who’s in Japan right now, willing to take snaps for us.

Special thanks go to Gerald Parkin for providing info and some insight to this new operation. He’s living an otaku’s dream in this trip and reported that not every floor here was open during opening week. These dedicated levels are for (collectable) trading card games on the fifth floor, capsule toys on the fourth, music based video games on the third, lots of claw machines for the second and first and your traditional arcade cabinets in the basement.

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[Fantasia 2021] Having “Dreams on Fire”

The movie Dreams on Fire is about finding that passion to make Yume that rising star, and fulfilling a dream to become a professional dancer.

Dreams on Fire (2021) - IMDbFantasia Film Festival 2021
North American Premiere

Moviegoers who love films about newcomers wanting to firmly establish themselves in the performing arts have seen this premise before. There’s an individual who wants to be recognized. But in order to do so usually means crossing the line or burning a bridge somewhere.

Yume (Bambi Naka) has Dreams on Fire–this film’s title. After watching a spectacular performance at a local theatre, all she wants to do is dance. She goes against her parents’ wishes and leaves the nest to find she’s alone. She’s nowhere close to getting auditions for those shows or being recognized, much less winning at street dance competitions. But there’s more to the art than having the moves. There’s also finding that drive to keep going. As Don Henley once sang, “She can’t feel the heat coming off the street.”

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Wind Up Geek’s Cool Japan: Toilet Paper for Smartphone Found at Tokyo Airport

docomovid2By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

One has heard of the tech that can be found within a Japanese toilet and for those of us who have actually visited or now live in Japan, you can experience it firsthand. But now people can experience the next level at a Tokyo airport. Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in partnership with Japan’s communication giant NTT Docomo are adding an extra service to your stay in the country that still tries to lead the world in new innovations and at the same time change the way we think. Visitors to Japan are being offered Smartphone toilet paper so that you may wipe your communication device and wipe yourself all in one visit to their facilities.

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Traditional Japanese Group Covers Track from GNR’s ‘Appetite for Destruction’

SMER_CD_BLH14By James Robert Shaw
(The Wind up Geek)

They have yet to go viral on YouTube with this recording but Japan‘s Bamboo Flute Orchestra has received over 840,000 views on Facebook thanks in part to Guns N’ Roses, the NHK, and the Rock vs. Metal Facebook page (stylized Rock \m/ Metal). Bamboo Flute Orchestra which contains members Yoshimi Tsujimoto, Erina Ito, and Yuko Watanabe are taking the Internet by storm. Like the Yoshida Brothers before them they are introducing traditional Japanese music to a wider audience. With their first album Shakuhachi (released on September 28, 2016), they create a fusion by performing pop and rock tunes with traditional instruments. Some of the songs covered by the Bamboo Flute Orchestra are Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal”, Avicii‘s “Wake Me Up”, and Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off”.

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