what happens twice happens three times

in march 2007, i went to southeast asia for my second time. my route was bangkok –> ayutthaya –> chiang mai –> chiang kong –> luang prabang (on the mekong river) –> vientiane –> phnom penh –> bangkok.

some of the best experiences that i had on this trip were not documented on film or pixels… but here is a sample of the ones that were…

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

if you have, or could come up with the time and money to take a trip in southeast asia, i highly suggest it.

Ingredients

Preparation

after typing all of that, i am extemely hungry

here are some pictures of japanese graffiti… from around osaka, nagoya, and tokyo. there’s one shot in there (of the sideways face) that i took in bangkok.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

filmed in nippombashi, osaka.
call me crazy, but i could watch this over and over again.

everybody loves monkeys, and one of the benefits of living in the kansai region is being able to hang out with monkeys whenever you want to at arashiyama’s iwatayama monkey park. i encountered some wild monkeys in cambodia around angkor wat as well.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

what’s tarako? it’s mentaiko.
what’s mentaiko? it’s pickled fish eggs.
sometimes they’re spicy.
sometimes they’re grilled.
sometimes they’re served in a rice ball.
sometimes they’re spread over baked goods.
sometimes you see them being advertised on giant TV screens around the city, being promoted by a pair of singing and dancing kids wearing mentaiko hats.

what’s that? you want to buy the CD? really??

the last two are from a busride out in the countryside. my camera couldn’t handle the pace, but i thought i would post them anyways.

here are two photosets of pictures that i took while i was in cambodia in february, 2006. they are from phnom penh, battambang, siem reap, angkor wat, and from a boat journey from siem reap to battambang. every time i look at these pictures i want to go back.

to view the picture sets, click on the images below…

set one:

set two:

here are some pictures that i took at the international design center in nagoya. they have a special show on now about art deco and it’s influence on design throughout the 20th century. lots of eye candy. check it out.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

a robot lovers dream come true. part of the nippombashi street festa. wow.

make sure that you check out the pictures, too…

bad english is funny.

why is it called “engrish”? because there is no difference between the “r” and “l” sounds in japanese, so they have a hell of a time learning how to pronounce english words with these phonemes. it also leads to funny typos all over the place.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

here in japan, everyone is well aware of the fact that robots will take over the human race, and that it is just a matter of time before we have to deal with supreme robot overlords. these pictures are from robocup 2005 that was held at intex osaka, and from robo cafe (japanese only site), a robot-themed store and cafe near my house in osaka.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

most of these pictures were taken at temples, castles, and museums. they are of traditonal japanese art. i have taken pictures of ukiyoe (woodblock prints), shoji (painted sliding doors), and emaki (rolled paintings/prints). people take pictures all the time in temples and castles, but i never know if someone is going to come up to me and ask me to stop taking pictures of the artwork, especially if i’m pressing the camera right up against a glass display cabinet. most of it is well over 100 years old — surely the copyright has expired?

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

here is a photo set of kimono fabric that i have taken over the last year. my girlfriend is into kimono in a major way, so i’ve accompanied her to many shops, mostly in kyoto. these are pictures that i have taken in those shops, and randomly in my daily life.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

satirical video about the japanese tradition of sushi.

if the video stalls while you are watching it, pause the video and allow it some time to buffer before watching. it’s worth the wait.

here’s a photo set of japanese sake kegs. the sake brewers give kegs of their product to shrines as an offering to the gods celebrated by those shrines. the labels usually feature traditional japanese calligraphy (shodo) as the main design element. most of these pictures were taken at itsukushima jinja shrine in miyajima (near hiroshima) and a shrine near himeji castle.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

this is a photo set from the nippombashi street festa 2006. nippombashi is the center of “otaku” culture in osaka, second only to akihabara in tokyo. also known as “den den town”, this area was almost exclusively electronics stores in the 80’s and 90’s. recently, more and more of the retail market of electronic goods is shifting towards electronics superstores like yodobashi camera (japanese only) and bic camera (japanese only), so as the electronics shops go out of business one by one, otaku shops take their place (anime/manga shops, maid cafes/hostess bars, toy shops, etc). words can’t explain the fantasy world that these people live in (at least my words can’t do it justice), so i’ll let the pictures do the talking.

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

Yes, things like this do still seem strange after living here for one year. Music Video of Denki Groove (directed by Pierre Taki and Masakazu Amahisa).