Posts Tagged ‘Tokyo’

Hello Kitty spectacle in Tokyo Bay

Posted on August 28th, 2010 • Filed under mediarosa • 8 Comments

Gundam videographer darwinfish105 has captured some dazzling footage of the 8-meter-tall laser-shooting Hello Kitty spectacle at Odaiba Beach, which has appeared as part of a campaign to promote tree-planting activities in Tokyo.

+ Video

The event, which features periodic light and water shows, will continue through August 22.

Read the original post on Pink Tentacle

 

Post-apocalyptic Tokyo scenery

Posted on August 21st, 2010 • Filed under mediarosa • 13 Comments

The illustrations of TokyoGenso (a.k.a. Tokyo Fantasy) depict a post-apocalyptic Tokyo devoid of people and overtaken by nature.

Shinjuku skyline [+]

Tokyo Big Sight [+]

Rainbow Bridge [+]

Moai statue at Shibuya station [+]

Kabuki-za Theater, Ginza [+]

Mode HAL iKO Building, Shinjuku [+]

Poster for “The Book of Eli” (Japanese title: “The Walker”) [+]

Gundam // Tokyogenso Robot

Tokyo Sky Tree [+]

Sofmap Akihabara [+]

Haneda Airport [+]

Cover of Liberal Time, September 2010

Akihabara [+]

Saigō Takamori statue, Ueno

Poster for “The Book of Eli” (a.k.a. “The Walker) – Osaka version [+]

Osaka street scene – Tsūtenkaku Tower [+]

Osaka street scene – Billiken [+]

Osaka street scene [+]

Hato Bus [+]

Tokyo Monorail [+]

Shibuya station (Fukutoshin Line) // Seibu Shibuya

“Manneken Pis” statue at Hamamatsuchō station

Ueno [+]

Tokyo Tower [+]

Shinjuku station [+]

Hanayashiki amusement park, Asakusa [+]

McDonald’s [+]

Yoyogi station [+]

Nakano station [+]

Akihabara [+]

Shibuya [+]

Wako Building, Ginza [+]

[Links: tokyogenso blog, pixiv, deviantART]

Read the original post on Pink Tentacle

 

Vintage Tokyo subway manner posters

Posted on August 14th, 2010 • Filed under mediarosa • 13 Comments

Here are a few manner posters that appeared in the Tokyo subways between 1976 and 1982.

Three annoying train monsters (October 1982)

The three annoying train monsters shown in the poster are Nesshii (the sleeping monster), Asshii (the leg-crossing monster), and Shinbunshii (the newspaper-reading monster).

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Don’t throw chewing gum on the platform (September 1976)

Even Superman is no match for chewing gum discarded on the train platform.

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The Seat Monopolizer (July 1976)

Inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” this poster encourages passengers not to take up more seat space than necessary.

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Don’t forget your umbrella (June 1977)

This poster of the high-class courtesan Agemaki (from the kabuki play “Sukeroku”), whose captivating beauty was said to make men forgetful, is meant to remind passengers to take their umbrellas when they leave the train.

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Space Invader (March 1979)

This 1979 poster pays tribute to the extremely popular Space Invaders video arcade game and encourages passengers to read their newspapers without invading the space of other passengers.

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Isami-ashi: Wait behind the white line (May 1979)

The image of sumo wrestlers locked in combat serves as a reminder for passengers to stand safely behind the white line when waiting for the train.

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Don’t forget your umbrella (October 1981)

The text at the top of this poster — which shows Jesus overwhelmed with umbrellas at the Last Supper — reads “Kasane-gasane no kami-danomi” (lit. “Wishing to God again and again”). The poster makes a play on the words “kasa” (umbrella) and “kasane-gasane” (again and again).

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Shimatta (March 1977)

This poster warns passengers against getting their shoulder bags caught in the train doors.

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Coughing on the platform (January 1979)

Modeled after the paintings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, this poster — titled “Hōmu de Concon” (coughing on the platform) — urges people not to smoke on the train platforms during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM). The poster makes a play on the words “concon” (coughing sound) and “cancan” (French chorus line dance).

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Dream at home (December 1981)

This poster, which features Doraemon dressed as Santa, encourages Christmas and end-of-year drunks not to pass out on the train.

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The Non-Thinker (May 1981)

The image of a cross-legged version of Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” aims to encourage passengers to sit in a way that is considerate of other passengers.

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Kappa, (August 1979)

The image of a kappa (river imp) against a backdrop of lit cigarettes serves as a reminder not to smoke on the platform during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM). The text at the top of the poster reads “Gaman gurai wa he no kappa,” which translates loosely as “waiting is no big deal.”

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Umbrellas left behind in the subway (June 1976)

This Marilyn Monroe poster aims to remind passengers to take their umbrellas with them when they leave the train. The text in the top right corner — “Kaerazaru kasa” (umbrella of no return) — is a play on “Kaerazaru Kawa,” the Japanese title for “River of No Return,” the 1954 movie starring Monroe.

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I’ll stand up (July 1979)

Uesugi Teppei, a character from the popular manga “Ore wa Teppei,” offers to give up his seat to the elderly and infirm.

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Do not rush onto the train (April 1979)

This poster advises passengers not to rush onto the train at the last moment. The text (かけこみ禁寺） is a play on the words かけこみ禁止 (kakekomi kinshi – “don’t rush onto the train”) and かけこみ寺 (Kakekomi-dera – Kakekomi temple), which has long been known as a sanctuary for married women fleeing their husbands.

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Clearly show your train pass (September 1978)

The image of Napoleon holding a partially concealed train pass is meant to remind passengers to clearly show their train passes to the station attendant when passing through the gates. The dictionary page in the background appears to be a reference to Napoleon’s famous quote, “The word ‘impossible’ is not in my dictionary.”

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Humans are forgetful (February 1976)

This poster, which reminds passengers to take their belongings when they leave the train, shows Astro Boy returning a forgotten hat and umbrella to his creator, Osamu Tezuka.

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When the bell chimes, it’s too late (April 1977)

This poster, which depicts Cinderella rushing from the ball at the stroke of midnight, is meant to warn passengers against the danger of trying to rush into the train after the departure chime sounds.

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Mary is tired (December 1977)

The image of Mary carrying baby Jesus aims to encourage passengers to give up their seats to mothers with small children.

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No smoking during non-smoking hours (October 1980)

The “Journey to the West” monkey urges passengers not to smoke on the platform during the designated non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM).

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You’ve had too much to drink (October 1976)

This October 1976 poster of a drinking Santa is addressed to the drunks on the train. The text, loosely translated, reads: “I look like Santa because you’ve had too much to drink. It’s only October. If you drink, be considerate of the other passengers.”

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Wasureemon (June 1980)

Doraemon offers a friendly reminder not to forget your umbrella. The text at the bottom is a suggestion to write your name, address and company name (or school name) on your possessions.

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Marcel Marceau (October 1978)

Marcel Marceau gestures toward a priority seat reserved for elderly and handicapped passengers, expecting mothers, and passengers accompanying small children.

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I stepped in gum (March 1980)

The image of a cat stepping in gum is a playful twist on the popular children’s song “Neko Funjatta” (“I Stepped on a Cat”).

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Clearly show your train pass (September 1976)

This poster is a reminder for passengers to clearly show their train passes to the station attendant, even when they fly like Superman through the ticket gates.

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Please open it (July 1977)

This poster of a melting snowman aims to encourage passengers seated near a window to let cool air in when it is hot inside.

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Non-smoking Time (November 1982)

The image of John Wayne on a mock cover of Time magazine serves as a reminder not to smoke on the platform during non-smoking hours (7:00-9:30 AM and 5:00-7:00 PM).

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[Source: Manner Poster 100, published by Teito Rapid Transit Authority, 1983]

Read the original post on Pink Tentacle

 

Floating point: Tokyo time-lapse

Posted on July 17th, 2010 • Filed under mediarosa • 7 Comments

“Floating point,” the latest Tokyo time-lapse video by photographer Samuel Cockedey, features views of Rainbow Bridge, Shinagawa station, Ikebukuro, Ochanomizu, and Tsukishima.

+ Video

Read the original post on Pink Tentacle

 

Web Trend Map from iA

Posted on April 29th, 2009 • Filed under mediarosa • No Comments

The Web Trend Map is a yearly publication by Information Architects Inc. (iA).

It maps the 333 leading Web domains and the 111 most influential Internet people onto the Tokyo Metro map.

Domains are carefully selected by the iA research team in Zürich and chosen through dialogue with map enthusiasts.

Each domain is evaluated based on traffic, revenue, age and the company that owns it.

The iA design team in Tokyo assigns these selected domains to individual stations on the Tokyo Metro map in ways that complement the characters of each.

For example, Twitter is located in Shibuya this year: Shibuya is the station with the biggest buzz.

Google is placed in the busiest, most highly trafficked train station in the world: Shinjuku.

The New York Times, the »Old Gray Lady«, is located in Sugamo—a shopping paradise for Tokyo’s grandmothers.

We grouped closely-associated websites and tried to make sure each individual domain is on a metro line that suits it, with close attention paid to the intersections.

As a result, the map produces a web of associations: some provocative, some curious, others satirically accurate.

Why Tokyo Metro? Because it works beautifully.

You can evaluate a domain based on its station’s height,width and position.

Height: A station’s height represents its domain’s success. »Success« refers not only to traffic, but also revenue and trend.

Width: A station’s width represents the stability of the company behind its domain. However, not every large corporation has a large building.

Unless its domain has proven itself as a significant online component, its station remains thin.

Position: A station’s location on a metro line indicates the group it belongs to.

A station‘s position on the map—whether inside the main line, on the main line, or outside the main line—indicates whether it is a part of the tech establishment, a traffic hub, or an online suburb.

Web Trend Map 4 by Information Architects Inc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.