Tag: Tokyo

Wind up Geek’s Cool Japan: Halloween Means Themed Cafes and a Costumed Teru

glaylibcafehalloweenBy James Robert Shaw
(The Wind up Geek)

Halloween is no small trivial holiday for me. I make it a point to take a week’s vacation every year around the night of ghouls, ghosts and goblins just to celebrate it properly. Halloween like Christmas is a time for me to celebrate the three Fs, friends, food and family. Whether I am spending the year handing out candy to children or spending the night out at an event, wherever I may go, the Halloween spirit goes with me. But it is during this time of year I wish I could move at the speed of The Flash or teleport faster than an Enterprise red shirt taking his final shore leave. Sometimes borders suck and in this case not being able to spend the day at Glay Lib Cafe‘s annual Halloween celebration, sucks harder than a toothless vampire who doesn’t have the strength to open a bottle of vintage blood.

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Japanese Rock Group VooDoo Hawaiians to Play Tokyo’s Club251 with Doberman

VooDooHawaiiansBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Tickets are now on sale for VooDoo Hawaiians latest concert at Tokyo‘s popular Club251. The venue is located in the basement of the office building owned by Two Five One Co, Ltd in one of the most interesting and lively districts of Tokyo, Shimokitazawa. The area is known for its hungry bands and it’s loud and flashy nightlife. Club251 has hosted a variety of acts that one would consider the underdogs of the music industry, or to put it another way, artists that haven’t given in to the mainstream. SpecialThanks, Thee 50’s High Teens, Broken Doll, Earth Crisis, and The Monochrome Set are just a few groups that have played to the excitement of patrons in this sub-level venue .

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Mass of Fans Break Barrier, Crush YouTuber at Japanese Idol Festival

TokyoIdolFest2016LogoBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

As Westerners we consider the Japanese as a polite people, but when it comes to a j-pop idol concert, that politeness quickly disappears. On one hand they may bow to you out of respect, on the other hand they have no second thoughts of taking you down if you get between them and their performing idol. YouTuber Storehouse Channel (保管庫ちゃんねる) was witness to such an incident on the 2nd day of the Tokyo Idol Festival, the world’s largest idol festival, held annually In the Odaiba and Aomi area.

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Wind Up Geek’s Cool Japan: Godzilla Appears at Tokyo Bathhouse

GodzillaBathhouse2By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Godzilla has appeared at a Japanese bathhouse in southeast Tokyo in a district known as the Ōta ward. The depiction of Godzilla as he appears in the latest film Godzilla Resurgence (シン・ゴジラ, Shin Gojira), can be seen alongside a pagoda from Ikegami Honmon-ji (池上本門寺) temple and Haneda Airport, both symbols of Ōta ward. The five-storey pagoda is a structure that has been classified as “Important Cultural Property” to the people of Japan by the Japanese Government.

Mizuki Tanaka is the artist behind the sento (bathhouse) mural and is the country’s only female bathhouse painter. She apprenticed under sento art master Morio Nakajima for almost a decade. Tanaka’s mural was in collaboration with Ōta officials. Tanaka decided to paint Shin Gojira after discussing it with her family. The mural took 20 hours to paint.

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Sanrio’s Hello Kitty to Help Educate the Prevention of Heat Stroke

HelloKittySummerBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

The Japan Weather Association (JWA) has appointed Hello Kitty as this year’s ambassador in the JWA’s fight to combat heat stroke. According to the Ministry of Environment that oversees the JWA, more than 5,000 people have required ambulance services this year due to the effects of heat stroke. As a result, the Ministry has named July “heat stroke prevention awareness month” and are organizing four awareness events to be held in densely populated cities. The cities that will be hosting these events are Tokyo, Sendai, Kobe, and Fukuoka.

As part of the event original Hello Kitty summer greeting cards and heat stroke meters will be handed out, instruction classes in the use of parasols will be held, heat stroke seminars will be given, and products to prevent against heat stroke will be made available. Other activities are:

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Band Ja Naimon! Releases “Kimemaster” MV as Part of Pony Canyon Debut

BandJaNaimonCDJ-pop group Band Ja Naimon! (バンドじゃないもん!) released the music video attached to their upcoming single “Kimemaster! (キメマスター！)”. The all-female idol group was transferred from Warner Music Japan to Pony Canyon in January, 2016. “Kimemaster! / Kimochi Dake Sanka Shimasu (キメマスター！ / 気持ちだけ参加します。)” will be available for purchase May 18th and is the 2nd major label debut for the group formed in 2012.

“Kimemaster” is directed by Daisuke Kondon with animation by Yuka Ota and Akane Okamoto of pH Studio Inc.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wMee4bYUYI&w=560&h=315%5D

Band Ja Naimon! will be performing May 17 and 18th at the Akasaka Blitz (赤坂BLITZ) in Minato, Tokyo as part of the Band Ja Naimon! nationwide Tour 2016 ~Teppen Mezasouze! Mushashugyo-hen~. Doors open at 6:15 pm (18:15) with show at 7 pm (19:00).

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