Posts Tagged ‘Tokyo’
Aug23
Japan 2020 Olympics teased in new video
2016 at 07:31 pm by admin | Comments Off
With the 2016 Olympics coming to a close this past Sunday, August 21st, the closing ceremony passed the torch from Rio to Tokyo in a large-scale presentation previewing the 2020 Olympics! The presentation featured a full-length video showing off Tokyo, Japan alongside a number of sports and collaborations with popular icons like Mario, Pac-Man, Hello Kitty, Doraemon and more. The presentation also included a choreographed dance, as well as other multi-language displays. Check out the presentation itself below, and look forward to 2020!
Jul06
Ghibli exhibit to host exclusive menu
2016 at 05:14 pm by admin | Comments Off
The brand new upcoming Studio Ghibli exhibit, titled “The Great Ghibli Exhibition~From Nausicaä to Red Turtle~”, has announced a brand-new exclusive menu to go alongside the exhibit! The exhibit will open on July 7th in Tokyo, and will begin serving these unique foods at the Museum Café THE SUN in the exhibition. The menu offers a wide variety of options, each of them themed after Studio Ghibli characters from the company’s years of animated films. Some of the food options include a Soot Sprite black hamburger, Totoro matcha shaved ice dessert, a Nausicaä-themed parfait, and even the sunny-side-up egg on toast from Castle in the Sky! The exhibit will also feature a wide variety of Ghibli memorabilia and souvenirs on top of these delicious treats, making this exhibit a must-see for any Ghibli fan!
Sep28
YAMAHA’s musical chairs take the stage in October
2015 at 02:43 pm by admin | Comments Off
Known for their work with the vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku, automobile and tech company YAMAHA will once again bring their technical expertise to the field of music this wall with a unique new musical wheelchair! The chair, which is called &Y01 or Andy 01, designed this wheelchair with ease of use in mind, as well as combining it with percussion instruments. The design of the chair was based around the eighth note often seen on traditional music staffs, with the large sail on the back made to emulate the wavy line of the note. The chairs will debut in a concert titled “Slow Movement -The Eternal Symphony-”, which will debut at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan on October 3rd. With the goal of making music accessible to all people regardless of condition, these unique wheelchairs will hopefully lead to new innovations in combining music into our daily lives in unexpected ways.
Jul20
Tokyo museum reveals gold & Silver Gundams
2015 at 11:16 am by admin | Comments Off
Fine jewelery company Ginza Tanaka has collaborated with Bandai to create a line of exclusive limited edition Rx-78-2 Gundam figures made of gold and silver! These figures, which are only available at the newly opened “The Art of Gundam” exhibit in Tokyo, are crafted in solid 24-karat gold and 95% pure silver, and come in two different scales. The Robot Damashii-based Rx-78 stands at 5″ tall, and costs over $160,000 for the gold variant and $5,000 for the silver version.
The other size featured at the museum is based on the Gundam Converge line of super-deformed figures, and stands at 2″ in height. These smaller figures also offer a smaller price point: $30,000 for the gold figure and $2,000 for the silver. Also on display at the event are a number of platinum art cards, featuring art of the Gundam, the Zaku II, and infamous antagonist Char Aznable, priced at $120 each. The exhibit will remain open until Sepember 27th, so fans have plenty of time to save up some cash for these fancy Gundam collectibles!
Jul31
Final Fantasy restaurant opens in Tokyo
2014 at 01:12 pm by admin | Comments Off
Ever since Final Fantasy XIV’s relaunch in 2013 as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, the massively-multiplayer online entry into the classic Final Fantasy franchise has been receiving praise from players all over the world for its immersive world and cooperative gameplay. In commemoration of the anniversary of the game’s launch coming up in August 2014, Square-Enix has opened a brand-new café in Akihabara, Tokyo based on the hit franchise!
The café, called the Eorzea Café, was designed after a location in Final Fantasy XIV titled Carline Canopy, and has been constructed entirely with the mood and theme of the videogame in mind. These elements include giant stained glass windows, dark wood furniture and counters, and even life-sized statues of Moogles, floating bat-like mascots from the Final Fantasy series!
On top of serving unique food and drinks based on Final Fantasy XIV, like the Bahamut Giga Flare Curry or the Weight of the Land Titan Burger, the café features replicas of weapons from the game, and even has a series of computers set up so that customers can play the game while enjoying their food! In commemoration of the grand opening of the café, game director Naoki Yoshida was present at the event, meeting fans and serving lucky customers their orders.
Final Fantasy, which began in 1987 with the release of the original NES classic RPG, has since become a worldwide phenomenon, spanning countless sequels, spinoffs, remakes, anime adaptations, and more. Each game has its own standalone storyline, with no real connection between any of the numbered releases, allowing each game to start off with a new and interesting story. Fans of the franchise have since come to love the games’ soundtracks, characters, and unique plot lines alongside with the classic Final Fantasy turn-based battle gameplay.
Apr10
IKEA transforms monorail into playground
2014 at 01:49 pm by admin | Comments Off
Tokyo train passengers are in for a treat, as IKEA has turned an entire monorail into a fun interactive showroom! With “Party Train” written across the side of the Tama Monorail Line, this is the latest move by IKEA to help celebrate the new opening of their store near Tokyo’s Tachikawa station.
Once inside, travelers are greeted to a flurry of colors and designs, and were able to sit down and relax with a variety of snacks and games. IKEA employees were aboard the train as well, and played with travelers as well as hosted quizzes and prize giveaways. The train was available for two days earlier this week, making it a limited edition hotspot for fans and passengers alike!
IKEA is a Swedish company, founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances, and home accessories. IKEA is known for its modern architectural designs and eco-friendly interior design work. Founded by Ingvar Kamprad when he was only 17 years old, the company is now one of the largest furniture retailers in the world, with a nearly $40 billion revenue in 2013. IKEA has since become an international name, and has nearly 350 stores across 43 different countries.
Mar24
AnimeJapan 2014
2014 at 04:37 pm by admin | Comments Off
This past weekend was host to one of the biggest anime conventions of the year, AnimeJapan 2014! Hosted on March 22nd – 23rd at the Big Sight event space in Odaiba, Tokyo, AnimeJapan 2014 was the combination of two separate events, Tokyo Anime Fair and Anime Contents Expo, into one giant weekend-long event! A wide variety of popular and upcoming anime were at the event, including popular titles like Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online, Tiger & Bunny, Fate/Stay Night, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and many more!
The show featured a wide variety of display pieces, sets, and announcements to help make it a popular attraction for anime fans all over Japan! Some of the biggest news included the announcement of a new Lupin III movie, following the backstory between world-class thief Lupin and expert marksman Jigen and their fateful meeting, along with news surrounding the upcoming Saint Seiya 3D movie, which will retell the events of the Sanctuary arc!
Alongside these reveals were a variety of cool sets, including life-size statues of characters like Goku, Astro Boy, Naruto, Luffy, and more. The show also featured representations of popular mechs, like the Tachikoma robot from Ghost in the Shell and the custom Toyota Auris based off the character Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam fame. The life-size Ingram mech from the upcoming Patlabor live-action film was even featured at the event, allowing fans to get closer than ever to the giant machine.
There was also a large presence of figures and collectibles at the event, showing off a wide variety of upcoming toy releases from GoodSmile and Bandai, including figures from popular anime like Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, Girls und Panzer, and others. There was also a large booth dedicated to the currently airing Gundam Build Fighters anime, showing off a variety of Gunpla form the series and allowing fans to stand behind a replica of the Gundam controls from the show!
With such a large presence this year, AnimeJapan is sure to impress next year as well, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more news!
Photo Credits: Naonori Oiwa
Mar17
Goku vs Luffy statue debuts in Tokyo
2014 at 11:45 am by admin | Comments Off
In order to debut the newest crossover video game based off of popular Shonen Jump manga characters, titled J-Stars Victory Vs., Bandai Namco has created a life-size diorama in the middle of Tokyo, featuring world-famous characters Goku and Luffy duking it out! this display features both character performing their signatures moves amid fake rubble, debris, and even an overturned car. The display, which features an interactive panel that activates sound effects and the characters’ voices, will be open to the public until March 23rd. Bandai Namco, also displaying posters with different match-ups from the video game across Shibuya train stations, hopes to make this anniversary game a big fan favorite, and has pulled out all the stops in order to commemorate the game’s release.
Dragon Ball is a manga series written and illustrated by artist Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, and was adapted into two anime series, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, which were broadcast from 1986 to 1996. The series follows the adventures of the protagonist, Goku, from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. The series has since become one of the most successful manga and anime series of all time, with 18 movies, a variety of spinoff material, video games, merchandise, and more.
One Piece, a manga series by Eiichiro Oda, is an ongoing manga series since August 4, 1997, with over 740 chapters and more on the way. Following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy whose body gains the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit, Luffy explores the ocean with his pirate crew in search of the world’s ultimate treasure, known as One Piece. The manga has sold over 345 million volumes worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history, and has since been adapted into an ongoing, 600-episode anime, as well as a variety of theatrical releases.