Hey, I’m no artist, but I found a neat site through Boing Boing. It’s called Pictaps, and you basically draw your own character, then it renders it and you can watch it dance around. It also stores every figure drawn, so you can see everyone else’s creations as well!
Neat stuff!
So as part of my ongoing plans for self-improvement, I’ve started to study languages again. I recently went to Borders so that I could pick up basic books in Tagalog and Korean; I’m starting with the former. After years of being able to understand a lot of it without being able to speak any of it, I figure it’s about time I work on getting better at it. I took a quarter of it in school, but I didn’t get much out of it. So far, I’ve gone through about 40 pages, and I’ve already started to get a much better grasp of the language. I think this book is more to my liking - systematic, concise, and well-explained.
In other language news, I’m thinking of adding a Japanese-to-English dictionary script to the Tokyograph site, and I’m also curious about whether a translation script would be a feasible long-term project for me. In any case, I hope to at least have the dictionary added in the near future, depending on how quickly I can figure out a good way to present it and integrate it into the site.
So, uh, the Tokyograph Forum has tentatively opened! I’m sure there are a lot of things I need to iron out, and I don’t really like the conflict with the main site’s color theme, but I’m sure things will improve soon enough. Hopefully with the help of some feedback!
At the least, you can just use the forums for commenting on the news articles.
Anyway, here’s the link: Tokyograph Forums (or you can just get there from the main page)
We left the Sammy Ebisu Plaza and explored the shops in Dotonbori and the surrounding area. At one point, we took a break at the Starbucks/TSUTAYA (TSUTAYA is a book/music/DVD store) while we opened up a box of trading cards that Chuck had won earlier in Den Den Town.
Chuck had tried his luck at a sort of capsule machine - you put in your money, and it spits out a plastic ball that contains a key. The key opens one of the doors on the machine and you claim your prize. He was hoping for the DS, but of course it wasn’t to be, and he instead got a box of packs for this trading-card arcade game called World Club Champion Football (football as in soccer, of course). It’s actually pretty neat - each card represents a player, and the cards somehow contain electronic data to identify the card. The arcade machines have a flat surface representing the field, and you place your team (chosen from the cards you have) on it. The game detects which cards you have, and you can customize your formations just by moving your cards around. We had seen the game at several arcades in Akihabara, and tournaments seemed to be popular.
Unfortunately, we never got to use the cards during our trip, but maybe Chuck has had a chance since then to try it out.
We got some souvenir shopping done, but unfortunately it had begun to rain by late afternoon. It became dark not too long after, and we were able to get some pictures of the area at night:
Osaka at night
More Osaka at night, with a shot of Glico Man
There was a yakitoriya on Dotonbori that looked cheap, so we took in a pretty good meal there (I think fried/grilled food with Japanese beer will always be a good meal in my mind). The place itself was cozy, and the walls were covered with photos of celebrities who had eaten there (I think I only recognized one or two of them).
After that, we decided it was time to take the train back to Kyoto. When we got back to the ryokan, there was a big group of people there making a lot of noise - it looked like a group of high school students on a trip to Japan (presumably from the U.S.) for whatever reason. In any case, we avoided the crowd and went up to our room to unload.
I think we went to Shijo again that night, but I really can’t remember what happened. So meh.
It seems that Ai Otsuka is also scheduled to release a “best” album, titled “Ai am BEST” (愛 am BEST). The release date is March 28.
The DVD contains music clips for each of the songs.
Some news for Ai Otsuka fans:
I don’t believe the album has been officially announced yet, but I’ve been seeing reports on blogs that her 4th album, titled “Love Story,” will be released on March 7. Here’s the reported track list:
The additional DVD contains:
I’m not sure if that means the album won’t contain the regular version of “CHU-LIP”; another site listed it without the “love-piano ver.”, so who knows? In any case, the “CHU-LIP” single goes on sale February 21 - you can see the jacket covers on the official news post on her site.
Speaking of which, I just started watching Kirakira Kenshui (”CHU-LIP” is the ending theme for the drama) because of Manami Konishi. Looks fun so far, though obviously not meant to be anywhere close to a serious drama. I’m just happy for her that she’s finally getting a lead role! Congrats, Konitan!!
EDIT: I meant to update this earlier. For those who haven’t realized yet, this album turned out to be a false rumor.
I went ahead and prematurely uploaded the new site design for Tokyograph. It’s not incredibly different, but I think the content is better organized and the site is more functional. Of course, since it wasn’t completely perfected before I switched, there are some things that still need to be fixed.
I’ve changed the way the release lists and the rankings are stored, which allows for better archiving. This means that past lists and rankings will be kept in the database so that they’ll still be available in the future. At the same time, this means I need to do some conversion from the old text files, which will take some time.
But overall, the changes mean good things, and there are many more updates to come. Some of the things to look forward to:
There’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done, in terms of the data structure and streamlining code. I’ve got a busy year ahead of me!
I just got a chance to watch the first episode of Hana Yori Dango 2 - I’m so excited for this series! I thought the first series was awesome, without even having read the original manga. I was really happy when I heard that a second season was coming out, and to top it off, this first episode is 2 hours long! More HYD goodness to enjoy.
Part of the first episode was filmed in New York; it would’ve been amazing if I could’ve been there and seen them in action. I’d especially want to meet Mao Inoue. She does a fantastic job as Tsukushi, and I’m trying to find some of the other dramas/films she’s been in to see her in other roles. She’s just so… adorable? Is that the right word? Probably not, but in any case, I really enjoy seeing her on screen.
I can’t wait to see the rest. HYD is definitely at the top of my list of most anticipated dramas this season.
We decided to pass on the castles and temples in Osaka (since we were planning to do plenty of that in Kyoto tomorrow), and pretty much spent the rest of our day in Namba, which is basically a large shopping/entertainment district. We probably should’ve taken the time to at least check out Amerikamura (aka “American Village”) since it wasn’t too far away, but I don’t think we missed out on too much.
Dotonbori is a long shopping street in the Namba district, and it’s one of the primary tourist spots in Osaka. The street is probably best known for its many restaurants, but it’s also recognized for a few major landmarks such as the Glico Man and the large mechanical crab at the restaurant Kani Doraku. Here’s a picture of the street (including the crab):
Dotonbori in Osaka
Further down this street, there was a statue of all three members of the comedy group Yasuda Dai Circus (with Dancho in his trademark loincloth). Chuck got some great pictures with the statues, while I unfortunately have none. I’ll see if I can get them from him so I can post them.
I also got my first taste of Osaka takoyaki from a nearby stand! Yum!
Anyway, we browsed through a lot of the shops throughout the day, on and off Dotonbori. I picked up lots of souvenirs, including some postcards and a pocket guide to Osaka-ben (for my own amusement).
At some point in the afternoon, we decided to go into the Sammy Ebisu Plaza. It’s a multi-story entertainment center, and the top floors are something like an amusement park. You go up the elevator and they give you a card which essentially functions as a credit card. There are several restaurants, booths, and shops in there, and you use your card to make any purchases, which you finally pay off in actual cash when you leave.
We had been looking to get some okonomiyaki, and there happened to be an okonomiyaki shop inside the plaza. It was really busy when we got there, and the only seats available were right at the counter in front of the teppan (though we were later moved to a table after the place started clearing up). I remember getting mine with shrimp, and Chuck got a “modern yaki,” which means it’s topped with noodles. Both of them were very good, and just thinking about it is making me crave some okonomiyaki right now…
Continuing the story…
On Wednesday morning, we got up early and took the train to Osaka. We decided to first take a quick look at Den Den Town (also known as “Electric Town”) in the Nipponbashi district. The area is often compared to Akihabara in Tokyo, but it’s not nearly as prominent or as densely packed. After having already been to Akiba, I didn’t find it particularly amazing. Still, there’s plenty to please an otaku.
When we got there most of the shops were still closed or barely opening, so we didn’t go through too many places, but we did at least pass through Osaka Gundam’s, a fairly impressive multilevel Gundam store. One neat attraction is at the top of escalator to the second floor, there’s a large Gundam fist breaking through the wall. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. There are also a lot of neat customized gunpla on display (again, no pictures).
After passing through several blocks of Den Den Town, we found ourselves at our next destination: Shinsekai. This neighborhood used to be a favorite place for my friend Nate while he was in Osaka. It has the atmosphere of a less modern urban Japan, and is situated in a destitute area of Osaka, so there are generally many homeless people around. Shinsekai also has somewhat of a reputation as a seedy area. Even local Osakans tend to avoid Shinsekai, though in reality it’s supposedly not so dangerous (it’s still Japan, after all). Some sources on the web say there used to be a lot of crime in previous decades, but I don’t really know much about the history of the place. In any case, you can be sure it’s full of interesting people.
The central landmark of Shinsekai is the Tsutenkaku tower. Compared to other towers, it’s not that tall, but among the surrounding buildings, it definitely stands out.
Anyway, some pictures of Shinsekai, all including the Tsutenkaku from different angles:
A main entrance to Shinsekai
Just past the entrance
One of the Shinsekai intersections
A view from deeper inside Shinsekai