Looks like I left it for over a month this time ToT I'm sure one day I'll actually be able to write these every week like I did back when I started the A Week in Tokyo series back in 2007. Maybe when I retire? ^^;

Huge poster of the rather huge and rather popular talent Matsuko Deluxe.
Folks who regularly appear on Japanese TV are known as Tarento [タレント] which is the Japanese pronunciation of "Talent."

Tokio's Yamaguchi wants you to rent him.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Been having quite a few meetings with Dentsu at their offices in Shiodome. They got lovely views. There was an earthquake during one of the meetings which left the building swaying back n forth for a few minutes. Most buildings in Japan are designed and built with earthquake resilient measures.

Will be speaking on behalf of Dentsu at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France - only a few weeks to go! The topic is Anime Diversity and today we are going over my latest deck - will be back there next week to do a dry run.

Heading back to base going through Shinbashi. More photos of the area in the Shinbashi post - great place to go to spend time thinking about what to eat.

Some traditional Japanese dindins tonight.

Tonight's dinner is with the founder of 2chan - Hiroyuki Nishimura [西村博之].

Love the way rubbish is lined up and stacked so neatly.

Have completely lost touch with whats going on with the reactors. The last thing I heard was that its going to take months for the rods to cool down. All channels apart from NHK hardly feature reactor stuff anymore. Has all the paranoia by the press calmed down in your neck of the woods yet?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Tis the season when a load of blossomy blossoms bloom.

Went to see the Momoiro Clover girls perform at Nakano and also launched their official English site on Mirai Gaia.

Kalbi lunch set at Matsuya.

Matsuya is like a Japanese fast food place. Very cheap and nomalicious too. Many good meals for less than 500 yen.

This Seven Eleven used to be a Mc Dees - used to go there often and am rather miffed that they closed down. There's a lot of convenience store wars going on around this block. There's 5 convenient stores within a 100 meter radius! 1 Lawson, 2 Family Marts, 1 AM/PM and this Seven Eleven.
Do you have a convenient store within walking distance from your gaff? Are convenient stores few or far between?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Trying out some flat icecreamery.

Om nom nom.

Figma Yui is my fave to date - she looks exactly like the anime! But she may not be my fave for much longer...

Afternoon of coding in the office.

Meeting with some developers and content producers at the Konami headquarters in Roppongi. Hmmmm. Will be interesting to see how this all turns out.

Taking the bus from Roppongi to Shibuya is much quicker and cheaper than taking the subway.

At the Parco in Shibuya - nice shoes.

More photos and write up in the Ghost in the Shell Kinect post.

Working with many illustrators on Mirai-chan stuff at the moment.

Finally upgrading MacBook Pro memory from 4GB to 8GB. How much memory does your mean machine have?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Its annoying when mousepads starts to crumble at the edges - leave a load of mess on the table! But there is a remedy...

Whip out the topcoat that you use to finish off your Gundam models and spray the whole base of the mat - leave outside to dry and the crumbling should stop for a few months.

Deep fried chicken on rice for lunch.

My first time at Asagaya [阿佐ヶ谷]. Quite a few anime companies around here.

Today I'm at Asagaya to meetup with Satelight - the folks who produce Macross Frontier. Bump into the father of Macross - Shoji Kawamori-san.

Blossoms in Musashikoyama.

My tech guy Chris Gaunt tying not to buy another coke.

Sunset in Musashikoyama.

Evening Cherry Blossoms near Himonya.

Bottles of water placed nearly the house is a traditional Japanese method toward off cats. I guess cats see their own reflection in them or something.

Ramen for lunch at Seiya. Very cheap at 500 yen. How much does a bowl of ramen cost in your kingdom?

Out in the Naka Meguro area for dindins and some evening Hanami - photos in the Hanami post.

Umi Budou [海葡萄] or "Sea Grapes." Very interesting taste and texture.

Yui wants some too. Some sea grapes I mean.

Why is Yui lying down with chopsticks pointing downwards?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Chinese with Yui.

Wanted to take a photo of the fishing magazine but accidentally tripped and snapped this shot too early. Oh wait - it *is* a fishing magazine.

We've had about 2 large scale quakes since the 3/11 quake. When that happens, most programs switch to the news with a map of Japan in the corner to highlight any tsunami warnings.
Tokyo shook quite a bit but no notable damage.

At the school girl uniform shop Lucy Pop. Kamiyama-san here is the owner and is currently designing the first line of Mirai-chan uniforms starting with the Summer version. Should be ready in June for filming and for retail late Summer?
More photos from inside the shop in the Japanese School Girl Uniforms post.

Together with a Lucy Pop girl and Asanon who is the voice actress for Mirai Suenaga. You can hear her voice in the Learn Hiragana video below.

Currently working with vividblaze on our second single production. Our first production was Mirai Mechanism and the second is to be sung by Mirai Suenaga. We done the recording a few weeks back and is now in the middle of mastering.

Not familiar with this Mac software at all ^^;

After recording, its off with Asanon and vividblaze to get some dindins around the Mizonokuchi area.

Even everyday scenery in Japan looks great at night.

Was surprised that my fly lice cost only 400 yen and there was enough for two bellys! Also bumped into comrades from Kotobukiya in the same restaurant. Tis a small world.

Been working with Kadokawa on launching the official Japanese and English site for Twin Angel on Mirai Gaia.

The gorgeous Nozomi Sasaki in the new ads for Cocktail Calorie.

How many of you following Gintama?

Been working on the Itamado project of late. Latest progress here.

The black inflatable crow hung over some rubbish to scare other crows as this one is supposed to be dead ^^;

Om Rice for lunch. Om Rice [オムライス] is a usually rice covered with an omelette.

Last year when this road was filled with cherry blossoms, the lanterns at night were all lit up and looked lovely. Not light up this year though either due to the self restraint mood or energy saving.

There is a small note on the wall asking folks to feel free to take these bits of furniture. Many folks would leave unwanted furniture and electrical equipment outside their house for a limited period. If nobody takes them then the owner would buy a sticker from the convenience store which basically pays the local ward to collect and dispose of the stuff.

Lately, due to the transition from analog to digital TV, many folks have been leaving their old TV sets out on the streets which still work fine.

Grabbing some Yakitori on the way back to base. 150 yen each.

Childrens Day [こどもの日] takes place on the 5th of May and celebrates the happiness of children. As part of the celebrations, Carp shaped flags can be seen decorating shops and streets.

The usual bunch of stuff that just seems to fall from the ceiling. fave figure of this bunch is Taneshima Popura. Which of these tickle your fancy?

Some of the top folks over from Anime Expo. Am working with them on a few events and will be looking after some guests over from Japan too.

In last weeks Weekly Ascii talking about how I use RSS Graffiti to channel Twitter updates into my Facebook.

At Joseph's new pad housewarming party. Lovely location slap bang in the middle of Tokyo.

Also met up with Ken Lee at the party too. Our Mirai Itasha is actually going to be re-itarized soon.

Om nomming on wifeys Singapore Laksa.

Joined in on the shenanigans at the Good Smile Company 10th Anniversary event.

Being interviewed by Mac People magazine for a July feature. The other Japanese Mac magazine that I was featured in yonks ago was Mac Fan.

Musashikoyama Palm shopping arcade. Dragons were hung up recently with a "Stay Strong Japan!" message.

Met up with Ghost in the Shell Director Kenji Kamiyama and producer Tomohiko Ishii.

Photos of the office taken recently.

Damn! Forgot to hide something in this photo ^^;

Been meaning to talk about the new designs for Mirai Millennium - will do it soon ^^;

Been getting kinda warm of late.

When there is a large quake, attention focuses to the nuclear reactors - and then goes back to the regular TV schedule.

I want to try some of that Star Wars Coffee.

You will be punished.

A new office and shopping complex in the works at Shibuya called Hikarie. Used to be a cinema here many moons ago. The building to the right of the Visa sign is Cross Tower where I used to work at the Amazon offices.

One of my fave restaurants ever - Negishi.

Heading to Togoshi Ginza for lunch.

Check out more form life in Tokyo in the new photo paginated pages.

What is the most you would pay for an anime Blu-ray title? Below are some example costs of what anime blu-ray's cost in Japan.

• Madoka Magica (retails at 7,350 yen (91USD) but available for 5,827 yen (72USD)). 2 Episodes included.
  
• Oreimo 4 (retails at 7,350 yen (91USD) but available for 5,439 yen (67USD)). 2 Episodes included.
  
• Shakugan no Shana Blu-ray Box (retails at 31,500 yen (390USD) but available for 23,098 yen (286USD)). 24 Episodes included.
  
• Hidan no Aria retails at 4,200 yen (52USD) but available for 3,080 yen (38USD)). 1 Episode included.

Whats the most you would pay for 2 episodes on blu-ray?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Of late, I've been getting a load of nitty gritty on the industry by working with anime producers like Kadokawa, Ascii Media Works, King Records, Satelight and Production IG.

The anime industry is in a spot of bother where sales of DVD's and Blu-rays are not selling enough to recuperate the initial investment. Many users think that the cost of a blu-ray is 0 yen when its released as they seem to make their way to the Internets.

So why does the anime industry continue to make anime titles? One reason is because occasionally they will produce a hit title like K-ON! Bakemonogatari or Oreimo where the sales of DVD's, Blu-rays,OST CD's and royalties from 3rd parties producing merchandise will not only recuperate costs but also make a profit.

Merchandise royalties typically range from 2% to 5% of retail price but depends on the copyright holder and negotiations.
If you for example buy a Good Smile figure of this Kirino Nendoroid, then Good Smile pays the copyright holder a royalty which then goes to recuperating costs and hopefully a profit too.

Quite a bit of change is needed to make anime titles. Some titles can cost something like 5,000,000 yen for a 20 min title. 8,000,000 yen for better quality. Am currently working with a company who are paying about 2,000,000 yen per minute of animation.

So where does all this cache come from? One thing you may notice is that an anime is produced by a group of companies that get together to form whats known as a Seisaku Iinkai [製作委員会]. This is basically a group of companies that invest cash in producing a TV show or anime. What then happens is that one company may then have the rights over the DVD or Blu-ray titles, one company will profit from the royalties from merchandise and so on.
The expectation is that the anime title will be popular enough to recuperate costs and make a profit.

Going back to Blu-rays/DVDs, the prices that Japanese consumers are accustomed to paying is not usually what folks overseas would pay.

In many cases, Blu-ray or DVD's are priced lower for the market overseas but then Japanese consumers go to Amazon.com to buy the overseas edition which still comes with the original Japanese soundtrack anyway. An example is the Strike Witches Japanese DVD which retails at 16,590 yen (200 USD) but the overseas English version at Amazon.com only costs 50 USD - the Japanese one costs 4 times more for nearly the same thing!

I've seen comments from Japanese consumers saying that people would be dumb to buy the Japanese version when they could to go Amazon.com and buy the same thing for less than half price.
If Japanese consumers all start to buy the overseas edition then the anime industry is going to find it even more difficult to recuperate costs.

So now that you got a better understanding of the situation, if you was making strategical decisions for the anime industry, what decisions would you make to try to make back the money that you invested in making the anime titles?

One suggestion I see is the "just make better titles" but most of the producers don't really know if something is going to hit or miss until it gets out there.

Photos taken at the Good Smile Company 10th Anniversary event last week where they displayed all of the figures that they've released + a few up n coming releases too.
Will take a look at the scale figures at a later time but for today we lookie at the Nendoroids. Cant wait for Mirai Suenaga to join the family!
Just to note that not all 100 Nendoroid releases are here but if you consider the Nendoroid Puchi then there are well over 100. I also notice that they didn't have some OEM releases either. How many of these can you name and which ones do you have?

There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

And a few more event photos from other comrades who attended the event.
http://akibahobby.net/2011/05/gsc_10th_photo.html
http://www.moeyo.com/2011/05/goodsmile10th.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkdmz/sets/72157626620919320/

Hatsune Miku will be performing live in Los Angeles at this years Anime Expo @.@ I'm particularly excited because I'm working with Crypton, Sega and a load of others on this most coolsome project where Miku will be singing many of her tunes as you may have seen in her previous live concert below.

Will be coming over to the US with the MIKU-Fes. 2011 Production Committee where I'm due to be the MC for the concert and for the other Miku related events that will be announced soon.

The official website is up at http://mikufes.com/ and if it looks familiar then that's because it runs on Mirai Gaia. Tis the first official English language site for Miku so I'm rather happy ^o^

Its a simple site for now before the other contents and features get released. Been working with all the stakeholders Crypton, Sega, Toyota, Tokyo Kawaii Magazine who all have to sign off on the design and content which is the reason why there have been a lack of updates for the past few days ^^;

Did I forget to mention that Rin, Len and Luka are performing too?

And all the nitty gritty below. I don't have ticketing info now but will update you when I find out more.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

The Nitty Gritty

The Miku-Fes 2011 Committee is joining with ANIME EXPO 2011 to bring a Hatsune Miku concert to Los Angeles, at the ANIME EXPO 2011 (Staple Convention Center from the 1st July to the 4th July). She will be preforming with sponsorship from Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. in the NOKIA theater on the 2nd July 2011.

The concert is based on the event that took place in Tokyo on the 9th March 2010 named "Miku's Day Thanksgiving", but will feature a few improvements over the original event. The 3D imaging will be created by SEGA and supervised supported by the Cryton Future Media, the creator's of Hatsune Miku.

About Cryton Future Media

Crypton Future Media, Inc. (Head Office: Sapporo, Director: Hirouki Itou) is a company that specializes in various sound generator software, and in 2007 released the "Character Vocal Series 01: Hatsune Miku". Since the release there have been tens of thousands of songs created using Miku's voice, and she has created an international sensation on the internet - which is only growing bigger. In 2010 they also introduced a web based music distribution service - over 1000 music labels are using it to distribute media.

About SEGA

SEGA Inc. (Head Office: Tokyo, Director: Okitane Usui) was established in 1960 and ever since have been bringing the world a variety of original games and software for everyone to enjoy. They are also the creators of the rhythm action game "Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- 2nd", which has sold an impressive 40 thousand copies - a game enjoyed by Miku fans all over the world!

About Tokyo Kawaii Magazine

Tokyo Kawaii Magazine is an iPhone electronic magazine that was first released in March 2010. It introduces Japan's anime, fashion and pop culture to the world in both English and Spanish, and is downlaoded all over the world. In the past the magazine has featured famous anime series such as Suzumiya Haruhi and Evangelion, and the most recent issue had a large special feature featuring Hatsune Miku!

About Miku's Day Thanksgiving

Miku's Day Thanksgiving is a solo-concert created for the virtual idol Hatsune Miku. The concert took place on the 9th March 2010 at Zepp Tokyo. This date was chosen because the Japanese words for 'three' and 'nine' can be read as 'Miku".

There were two performances - an afternoon performance and an evening performance, and a total of 5000 fans came to see Miku live, along with another 4000 fans who watched via online streaming. The concert was run using the 3D model data created by SEGA for the 'Hatsune Miku Project Diva Arcade" game - huge versions of the models from the game stood on stage and gave fans a performance that they will never forget. The concert made news worldwide.

About Anime Expo

Anime Expo (AX) is a North American anime event that has been running since 1992 in Los Angeles. Every year a number of guests are invited from Japan to attend the event and give live performances or attend conferences. This year the event will be taking place from 1st - 4th of July at the Los Angeles Staple Convention Center - the biggest convention center on the West Coast.

About The NOKIA Theater

The NOKIA Theater L.A. LIVE is a concert hall opened in 2007, adjoined to the Los Angeles Convention Center. It houses an impressive 7100 seats and has held over 120 live events since it's opening.

Apart from the usual photos in the A Week in Tokyo series, I also take a load of street photos that I've been meaning to share for a while. I've always been in love with Tokyo's urban architecture and never get bored looking at the same streets every day.

Anyway, this new "Streets of Tokyo" series will always be a collection of photos that I take while running out to meetings and wot not - not going to write about each of them though and say "this is a street" and "this is another street" ^^; How many places do you recognize?

One thing that you will notice about the photos is how clean the streets are. Sometimes there can be a lack of dustbins which is a pain but most folks are good at taking their rubbish home.
This was unlike the area that I was brought up in back in London which always had rubbish, newspapers and poo lying around. There's hardly ever any dog poo lying around in Tokyo - saw one brownie the other day which must have been the first time in 4 years or so!

Was back in London a year ago after a 5 year absence. Had changed much and was nostalgic. Still spotted the nostalgic poo-in-the-road though ^^;
Was nice to be back in the UK but have always wanted to live over here and love it - want to die on a tatami mat as they say.
Where do you live and are you happy where you are?

On another note, many folks ask if they can trace my street drawings for their manga that they are working on - feel free to trace or use for an assignment or whatever.

Poll for the question in the first photo.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Last year I started to work on Mirai Suenaga's story entitled Mirai Millennium. At the time I was working with Anin Tofu-san on the concept artwork before meeting Skan Srisuwan who was the lead designer at Square Enix who managed the Front Mission project.

Today we are going to take a look at the final designs of the Solar Marine uniform and Retrograde suit that Skan and I worked on for a few months.
The 2048px x 1152px wallpaper of this illustration available at Flickr.

Full version. Chun also helped with final touching up.

Simplified version.

Final design of Mirai's Solar Marine uniform. Boots are made from Orgtanium which is an organic breed of titanium. The light flexible material builds up energy though kinetics that enables the wearer to pilot the Retrograde suits.

For folks who are doing commission work for me - use this image above as a reference for your work. Files should be at least 350dpi @ A4(4961px x 7016px). Uniforms should be drawn on its own layer with the bottom layer being a Mirai in birthday suit. Facial expressions should also be on a separate later. Final delivery should be in PSD format.

Solar Marines have a very important side kick called "Retrokyu" [レトロキュウ]. Expressions such as anger, joy or just plain "......" are projected on the front panel of the unit. Retrokyu would hover around their owner and normally take the form of this ball shape.
One of the reasons why they are so important is because they actually transform into their owners Retrograde suit.

And this is the final design of the Retrograde Suits. The reason why the final suit doesn't resemble the Retrokyu is because it transforms in Transformers style ^^; Next step is to show you how it would transform.

The Orgtanium boots enable free control of each leg while the arms are attached to the Spinal Unit. Inspiration of the suit came from Ripleys Power Loader and the Iron Man suitcase.

Some mechanics for the arms which extend from the Spinal Unit through the Elastic Titanium bands.

Mechanics for the skirt and legs of the Retrograde Suit.

Thanks to everybody on my Facebook who helped come up with the naming of "Millennium Blade" for Mirai's choice of weapon.
The blade is projected from the Sorunix Jewel embedded in the hilt. Sorunix is a rare stone mined on Sorunia.

Initial sketches of the Solar Marine uniform. Skirt a bit too-I-spy-pantsu short.
Notes to folks doing commissions for me - do not use these sketches as reference material! Use the one introduced at the top of the post.

Skirt and legs made a wee bit longer.

Initial designs of the Millennium Blade.

Initial designs of the Retrograde Suit. The first design had the pilot wearing goggles which I wasn't too fond of. Legs also a bit too thin too.

Feet made bigger and goggles removed.

Final rough where we got rid of the headpiece.

Solar Marine uniform for Kanata Hoshikawa. Notice that she has a different belt and uniform pattern design.

Now that the Mirai Millennium designs are complete, its time to start to work with various illustrators to extend the universe. The first designer I worked with was KKo. Still in the middle of developing the story though and want something ready by the time we broadcast the second season of Culture Japan TV.

Variations on the artwork that KKo done for me. Larger 2560px x 1440px wallpaper version at Flickr.

Original artwork by Azamiyuko and Solar Marine uniform by Chun.

2560px x 1440px wallpaper version at Flickr.

2560px x 1440px wallpaper version at Flickr.
I'll upload all the Photoshop files with transparency for you to play with soon.

This was the initial concept art of the Retrograde Suit by Anin Tofu-san.

As you can see by Mirai being in place - tis quite a big suit - bigger than I anticipated.

Suit redesigned to be smaller and more power-loader-ish.

And this is what it would have looked like with Mirai in place.
More from the Mirai Millennium universe soon.

Gorgeous photos of DD (Dollfie Dream) Mio posted by Yui over at Figure.fm which I just had to share. I don't think I've asked before but who is your fave DD?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©1998-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©2003-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
スーパードルフィー®、ドルフィードリーム® はボークス社の商標登録であり、その全ての権利を所有しています。

Been waiting for this moment for many moons now ^^ Recently got my grubby mitts on the latest factory sample of Mirai Suenaga. Its a great feeling to have ones creation made into a figure like this - but not just any figure - the figma brand is one which I have enjoyed for many moons.

This was all made possible thanks to you and your support! I want to particularly thank all those who pre-ordered her and am pleased to say that we sold much more than expected and met the target so that we can do the Nendoroid version!

Had a surprisingly large number of sales from Japan too - reached number 3 in the toy sales ranking for Amazon Japan.

Mirai is the first figma to be sculpted by the Good Smile Company team and you can see her bits n bobs at the official GSC site. You can also read about how the figma Mirai started off as an April fools a couple O years ago.
And if you are wondering about the Itachari bicycle - its made by Kodomut.

The box which I designed with the GSC team. Wanted to keep the design simple.

Shes got a "not to be sold outside of Japan" printed on the box but the distributor should stick their own sticker over that part. Shes region free ^^

Mirai in the blister packaging with a laptop, Mirai-chan doll, handkerchief, camera and crying face. This is the first factory sample though so maybe a wee bit rough around the edges. She will be out end of June.
Folks who are interested in getting their hands on one, try some of the following trusted dealers. Some of these dealers have stopped taking pre-orders and wont be selling her until shes in stock though.

• JList (English)
  
• Hobby Search (Japanese)
  
• Hobby Search (English)
  
• AmiAmi (Japanese)
  
• AmiAmi (English) (purchase limit raised to 10 pieces)
  
• HobbyLink Japan (English)
  
• Toyet (English)
  
• Kid Nemo (English)
  
• Archonia (English)
  
• HobbyStock
  
• Amazon Japan (Japanese/English)
  
• KKnM (Singapore)
  
• Toys N Toys (Singapore)

Saber has a new toy to play with.

I'll be getting at least a carton to keep ^^;

Mirai out of the box - first thing to do is to give her a katana and see what she does with it.

Braids and ahoge are soft so should not snap off unless you chew on them.

Need one of the Mirai cosplayers (scroll a bit down that page to see them) to pose with Saber for a photo.

Looks like Mirai found herself a very comfy pillow.

Comes with a 3.50Ghz laptop with 34GBs of memory. You can install OSX, Windows or whatever on it.

Hope Mirai can help out a bit while I look for a new full time member of staff.

Mirai comes with a Lumix LX8 which she will use to help take photos around the streets of Tokyo.

Mirai is being crying for some reason.

Its because the Gruesome Twosome are making Mirai do an ecchi video.

Mirai then realizes that she has the ability to Awaken.

Awakening begins.

Awakening sequence initiates.

Awakening scene continues for a long time.

Mirai : "I'm not in the mood right now to make an ecchi video so I will show you what this blade is made of"
Spinzaku : "Noooooooooooo! I just wanted a few seconds of your lovely eyes!"
Lulu : "Spinzaku, please stay alive for a just few more seconds."

Mirai : "Eat this!"

Spinzaku : "Nooooooooo nom nom nom."

Lulu : "Enough of this! I need Spinzaku to shoot a yaoi video after so need him alive for just another day."

Spinzaku and Lulu start to wipe poo from their shoe on Mirai's head.

Reika arrives on the scene with Mirai's main source of energy - SmallusMiraius.

Mirai needs to look into the eyes of SmallusMiraius to recharge her energy.

In the meantime, Reika deals with the Gruesome Twosome.

Mirai is all charged up and also changes into her Gantz suit. Hmmm, this looks incredibly familiar!

But Mirai decided that she didn't want to look like Reika so she changed into her Drossel suit.

But then Mirai got a bit too hot and changed into her Lily outfit.

But then Mirai decided that she wanted a breeze down below.

And by this time I gave up on doing the return of Figma Theater as it was taking too long ^^;

Kamen Mirai.

Eva Mirai.

Gorgeous Figma.

Maid Mirai. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should just spray the pink bits orange.

Mikuru does Mirai cosplay.

Haruhi tries some of that Mirai cosplay too.

Forgot to put on the sukumizu parts for this photo.

Mirai looks good with blaster.

Time to om nom nom Mirai.

Another familiar scene!

Mugi does Mirai cosplay.

What Kyon wears when nobody is looking.

Yui and Mirai on the way to the K-ON after school activities which you can see in some of the posts below.

Got this set of trays from Muji for about 2,000 yen.

I forgot to ask for orange shimapan ToT
Nothing that an orange marker and some Gundam top coat wont fix though ^^;

I've only got just the one sample at the moment and cant wait to have more to stick around the house and car ^^;

As you have noticed from many of these photos, many other figma faces can be exchanged with Mirai to do a Face Off.

Mirai together with the Good Smile Company mascot - Gussuma Seijin [グッスマ星人].

Saber does Mirai cosplay.

Black Rock Mirai.

Neck a bit too long ^^;

Love this combo.

I mentioned that I was concerned with Mirai's hair at the back which covers the figma hole. In many of the past figma's, its always been difficult to get the figma stand in that hole due to the hair. Good Smile remedied this with an extra attachment that you can see here.

Virtual Idol Mirai.

Kagami does Mirai cosplay.

Playing with Mirai at dindins with the Mikufes folks.

Pew pew.

No ZettaiRyouiki but very nice Futomomo.

There will be a few climbing all over the dashboard ^^;

Scale figure is planned too and I cant believe who they got to do the illustration - tis somebody that *all of you* know ^^;

I've been in desperate need of a clone to help out for many moons now. While work is fun, there's not much time to relax which is important to maintain a good self.
Then one day I got wind of a place in Akihabara called Clone Factory. Went along to get my clone made and at the same time film what goes on for Culture Japan but didn't quite get the clone that I was looking for...

Outside Akihabara station on the way to Clone Factory.

Arrival at Clone Factory. A chair in the middle of the room is surrounded by digital SLR's - some on the ceiling too.

One side of the room has some 3D stuff going on.

Time to start the cloning process. First off I need to sit still in that chair for a few seconds.

Danny : "A *what* is going to be inserted in my where?"

Then before I could say "But I don't fancy a foreign object shoved up my b..." all the cameras start to trigger in a loop with some rays of wot not taking slices of measurements.

During the cloning process, ones soul can be seen exiting the body via the mouth. This is because the Mayans said that a single soul should not coexist in the same time and space. The device up the bottom is a SEU95 (Soul Expulsion Unit) that temporarily expels the soul outside the body for 0.955756 seconds.

All measurements and stats have been taken and are mished n mashed up using a state of the art Dell...
No that's not bashing Dell because I owned one too - which I gave to somebody I didn't like.

They need a while to prepare my data but what normally happens is that a 3D model of the subject is created from all the stats taken in the cloning process.

This is the boss of Clone Factory kaneko-san together with his clone.

Kaneko-san shows us how the SEU95 is inserted in the back orifice. Clone subjects have the choice of having this inserted in the front orifice (dolphin) too.

Once all the data is prepared, its time to print out the clone and that's done with the ZPrinter 650.

The printer has a tray of plaster where the clone is born. You can see the ink cartridges near the top.

The clones are printed using layers of ink which harden in the plaster. When the process is complete, the tray of plaster remains completely unchanged on the surface - we've already poked about with this one though.

This is what objects look like after printing. The remaining powdery plaster needs to be removed.

Next to the printer is another machine which handles the removal of excess plaster.

The machine makes sure that powder doesn't go all over the place when a jet of air is used to clean the object. If you breathe in the powder then it will clog up your lungs and cause death. But you will get a nice plaster cast of your lungs which is nice I guess.

Constant stream of air shoots out of this thingy. Possibly painful if you point it at your eye or other private parts.

Examples of some clones born at Clone Factory. You can see how these ladies looked like in their original 3D form at the Clone Factory site.

One of the reasons why the boss wanted to offer this cloning service is so that folks can preserve that special (some call it "unfortunate") moment in life - getting married or wot not. They would clone the makeup, hairstyle and dress worn at the time too.

This cloning product is called Jibun-san [自分さん] which roughly translated as "Me" ^^;

Folks who want their own clone can contact Clone Factory to reserve a cloning session. They need a few days to prep your clone so if you are visiting Tokyo and want to take it back with you then book at the beginning of your trip. Don't forget to prepare 138,000 yen for your clone ^^;

Clone Factory can clone pretty much any solid object and could even do Saber if I asked ^^;

Other clones in the office including the chap in gold who is Go Hiromi. For folks who have seen this episode of Culture Japan and didn't get the joke - its because he often shouts "Go!"

Some Vocaloid and Tohou printouts.

As you may be able to make out, the surface of the printed objects are a bit rough which is due to the limitations of the printer. Smoother surfaces can be gained by more expensive printers ^^

The other 3D printer which you already have seen is the Digital Wax that can print baby smooth surfaces.

The final product is then covered in some sort of top coat to protect the surface.

Which would you like to wake up beside to?

Ready to run off to more filming around Akihabara.

Quick snap with the clone factory team before heading off. My collars are folded underneath my shirt for the cloning process but completely forgot and continued filming in Akihabara like that ><

Next location is the Radio Kaikan.

A few days later, my clone is ready! My producer stuck the head on a stormtrooper body for me ^^;
Now all that's left is to get him to do some work - any of the following from my daily schedule.

TV production, Final Cut editing, blogging, meetings, working with illustrators, account management for our clients, artwork in Fireworks/Photoshop/Illustrator, preparing Keynotes, web UI design, new client acquisition, hoovering, toilet cleaning.

Unfortunately my clone doesn't seem to do much work and instead prefers to play with the girls in the office. I'm sure they should have left the soul in when making the copy.

Unfortunately the head does not fit on the Hot Toys Iron Man or Briareos.

Danny Clone : "Hmmmm, too big. But those eyes would make a lovely pillow."
Saber : "Get out of my face before I shove this melon pan up your tiny orifice and then make you eat it after."
Danny Clone : "....."

Clone sized Mirai doll : "Your hand is cold..."

What would you print if you had your own 3D Printer?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Nearly forgot - some of these photos taken by Teddy.

For folks who would get a clone done of themselves - what body would you choose?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©1998-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©2003-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
スーパードルフィー®、ドルフィードリーム® はボークス社の商標登録であり、その全ての権利を所有しています。

Photo taken outside Nextage [八佰伴] in Shanghai. Having a small gathering of folks at Nextage this Sunday May 22nd at 4PM on the 9th floor. Do feel free to come along to and meet other local comrades too. If you have a daughter then bring her along to meet Saber.

We'll probably gather in this restaurant Xin Wang on the 9th floor depending on how many turn up. Tweet me at @dannychoo if you get lost. See you there!

List up of previous meetings around the world.

Hiragana - its the Japanese equivalent of the English alphabet where all 47 characters are used to make up words. There were originally 50 hiragana but the Japanese government got rid of 3 because they sounded too much like other existing hiragana. The whole hiragana set is still called "Goju On" [50音] meaning "Fifty Sounds."

My mascot characters Mirai Suenaga, Haruka Suenaga and Kanata Hoshikawa will be teaching you all 47 hiragana and are brought to you in a most adorable chibi form by Ikkyu-san.

Learning and understanding Japanese helps to enrich ones enjoyment of Japanese Pop Culture - even more so if the content is moesome ^^; We previously learned hiragana from Mirai in 3D form and I'll be working with my girls to bring you more Japanese language material in various media forms including products.

あ (a) for "akumakko"

Today is the first sound from the hiragana set which is "あ" (a) and pronounced like "ah." For each hiragana introduced, we will learn a new word that starts with that hiragana and today its "あくまっこ" [悪魔っ娘] (devil girl) and pronounced like "akumakko."
The katakana equivalent is "ア".

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Boku no sensei wa akumakko ni niteiru
僕の先生はあくまっこに似ている。
My sensei looks like a devil girl.

Exercise

Write out "あ" 50 times on your right arm and say "あ" 20 times on a public train or bus.

All hiragana in this series will be tagged "hiragana".

How much hiragana can you read?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
BTW, just wondering if you have Japanese fonts installed?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

い (i) for "ie"

Following on from the previous hiragana which was あ, today we learn "い" (i) which is pronounced like "ee". Today's word is "いえ” [家] which means house. The katakana equivalent is "イ".
Today's models are Mirai Suenaga and Haruka Suenaga illustrated by Ikkyu-san.

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Omae no ie wa kusai na.
お前のいえは臭いな。
Your house really smells bad.

Exercise

Write out "い” 50 times on the wall of your bosses or teachers house and say "い" 20 times to the first person you talk to on the phone today.

Wanted to have each hiragana represent something Japanese or otaku but couldn't think of one for い - if you can then let us know in the comments ^^;
Oh - and fixed the PDF version for the previous あ。

All Hiragana in this series will be tagged "hiragana"

Just got back from spending a most awesome few days in Shanghai. The last time I was there was in 2008 - so much has changed in these few years not only in my life but in China too. Some of my clients had been sharing with me sales stats of how China is the second largest consumer of Japanese Pop Culture after Japan - then I was able to see it in China with my own four eyes.

The rest of the world is (for the most part) presented with the negative aspects of China but only those who live in or visit China can see how well the market is doing - *especially* when it comes to what the Chinese call "ACG" (Anime Comic Game) which they use to describe Japanese Pop Culture.

Looking forward to spending more time on the mainland spreading Japanese culture to a wider audience.

Back in the morning of departure from Shanghai. At wifey's parents place getting Saber changed into her flight gear.

Saber all ready to do a Mami Tomoe...

Outside wifey's parents place ready to head out.

This is where we come to grab food every morning.

Passing by Nextage where the Shanghai Meetup was.

Heading to the airport. Gorgeous weather.

Waiting for a MacBook Air with Thunderbolt and a Retina display?

Saying farewell to comrades. The T-shirt is of Mirai in her Solar Marine uniform geared up in a Retrograde Suit which you may have seen in the Mirai Millennium Design post.
The T-shirt is available from J-List for 19.95 USD where 25% is being donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society. I'm not accepting any royalties from sales and the remainder just enables J-List to cover production costs.

The text on the T-Shirt is "Ganbare Nippon!!" [頑張れ日本!!] which in this case means "Keep fighting, Japan!!" or "Don't give up, Japan!!"
There is also a sleeveless version for the ladies or Hideyoshi's out there.

The print on the silk screen T-shirt is not full color however and Mirai's face does look a wee bit white-ish so avoid if that would not be your cuppa tea.

Outside Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Not a lot in the airport to keep you occupied if you are waiting for a flight though.

See you soon Shanghai!

About to om nom.

Japan in sight - Moriya [守谷] below which has some nice beaches.
[gmap=35.1383, 140.2598]

Flying over Chiba.

Alien spacecraft spotted on the ocean.

A lot of the land around the Tokyo Bay/Chiba area is artificial land. One thing hardly reported on overseas media is the damage in these areas after the Tohoku Kanto Earthquake where much of the land started to liquify.

Today we land in Haneda International Airport.

ANA - All Nippon Airways. Fab service.

Haneda International is still pretty new. Got a post about Haneda which I'm in the middle of writing up.

The Arashi boys welcome us back home. Looks like they overdone the photoshop a bit.

This time we parked the car at the airport. Had quite a bit of luggage so t'was a lifesaver.

5 days for 7,500 yen which was reasonable.

Disabled facilities in Japan are top notch and you can read more about them in this earlier post.

Our trusty Mirai Mobile charging up her turbine cells.

A load of Sega buildings near the airport.

Haneda is located in Tokyo and we are home within 30 mins of leaving the airport.

The girls sitting down as always before I leave in the event of an earthquake.

While I was away a load of stuff fell from that hole in the ceiling again ^^;

Your fancy is being tickled by what? I'll try to get the most voted for as a giveaway this week - only choose boxed items. Saber is not boxed.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Figma Mirai has more accessories to play with and Nendoroid Mirai will have lots of fun too.

Before I left, removed some of the figures which looked likely to fall in the event of a quake just like last time.

Some of the figures removed from the shelves. That Nadeko would have most certainly broke ^^;

Time to unpack hand luggage. Why is that MacBook Pro so heavy? Its like they put in metal weights or something ^^;

Chairman Mao goodies. Most of my meetings in Tokyo just require me with an iPad and camera so these are perfect. Will give them a test run before making Mirai ones.

Saber's luggage.

Pouch for electronics.

This is what I meant about Saber doing a Mami Tomoe ^^;
This new bag is about 55cm tall which means that a Dollfie wont fit in with the head attached. The legs need to be slightly bent at the knees too.

The ShowsDoll doll stand is a lifesaver - nice n light.

Saber changes into something more comfy. Much more comfy.

Some of the electronics I carry. Would love to have one charger to charge all.

Met a load of folks in Shanghai. got a lot of following up to do.

And then this morning a load more goodies fall from the ceiling again ^^;

Mirai enjoyed her trip to the mainland too.

Messy office but need to deal with mails first.

Out n about this afternoon in Nishikoyama nabbing some milk.
More from the Tokyo Arrival series below.

You saw her in the 100 Nendoroids post and now shes available for you to pre-order at the Good Smile Company Online Store. Gumako is going for 3,000 yen where 1,000 yen of each sale will go to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

"Cheerful Japan" is the name of the charity project that Good Smile has created to support the relief efforts up North which was hit by the Kanto Tohoku Earthquake.

Just like figma Mirai, Gumako also started off as an April Fools project back in 2008 but now she will be available as a Nendoroid with the Good Smile "Gusuma Seijin" that figma Mirai already seems to have ^^;

You got until 2011/06/07 to place your pre-order.

Also part of the Cheerful Japan project is the Good Smile Seijin Plushie. Cost is 15,000 yen where 5,000 yen will be donated to the Japan Red Cross.

The best thing is that the plushie comes with some Zettai Ryoiki.
Go place your orders! http://goodsmile.ecq.sc/

Absolutely gorgeous. This Azusa Nakano figure is due out this September and will retail for 7,800 yen. Tis 1/7 scale and manufactured by Max Factory.
Shes also up for pre-order at some of the following trusted online retailers.
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/
http://www.amiami.jp/shop/?set=english
http://hlj.com
http://archonia.com
http://kidnemo.fm
http://hobbystock.jp
http://jlist.com

Max Factory Azusa want?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Those socks... Are they trying to say something to us?

That pink...thing... What is azunyan trying to tell us?

Fans of the Anime Festival Asia may recognize some of these ladies but what are they all doing dressed up like that together?
They be a new idol unit called "Sea A" and will be making their debut in Japan with their first single called "Dream Shooter" that will be the ending theme of the anime title Vanguard released by Lantis.
See them in action below.

And here are the ladies in alphabetical order.

Beryl(ベリル)

DOB: 1991/01/29
Blood Type: O
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Birth Place: Singapore
Favorite Food: Mum’s home cooked food, Steamboat, Teppan Yaki, Sushi, Ramen
Favorite Anime: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY, KImi ni Todoke, LOVELY★COMPLEX, Hakuoki
Places I want to go in Japan: Akihabara, Shibuya, Harajyuku

Estelle(エステル)

DOB: 1992/12/01
Blood Type: B
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Birth Place: Singapore
Favorite Food: Pasta, Chicken Rice, Sashimi, Unagi, Shishamo, Chawan-mushi
Favorite Anime: Card Capture Sakura, Chobits, Angelic Layer, Magical Knight Rayearth, Mobile Suite Gundam SEED DESTINY, NARUTO – Shippu Den Kizuna, Kaicho wa Maid sama (loves CLAMP works!)
Places I want to go in Japan: Akihabara

Valerie(ヴァレリー)

DOB: 1991/02/14
Blood Type: O
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Birth Place: Singapore
Favorite Food: Mother’s homemade pasta, Curry Rice
Favorite Anime: TORA DORA!, Kaicho wa Maid Sama, Kurage Hime
Places I want to go in Japan: Akihabara

Sakana, er I mean Wynnie(ヴィニー)

DOB: 1989/07/10
Blood Type: ?
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Birth Place: Malaysia
Favorite Food: Roti Pisang, Teh tarik, Sashimi, Chawan-mushi
Favorite Anime: ONEPIECE, NARUTO, K-ON!, My little sister cannot be this cute, Kaicho wa Maid Sama, Please!! Teacher, Please!! Sister, Chobits
Places I want to go in Japan: Akihabara

う (u) for "usagi"

Following on from the previous hiragana which was い, today we learn "う" (u) which is pronounced like "oo" as in "moo". Today's word is "うさぎ” [兎] which means rabbit. The katakana equivalent is "ウ".
Today's models are Mirai Suenaga and her pet rabbit Momo-chan illustrated by Ikkyu-san.

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
うちのうさぎ食べちゃダメ。
No you cant eat my rabbit.

Do note that "うさぎ" is often written in Katakana like "ウサギ".

Exercise

Write out "う” 50 times on a white shirt with lipstick belonging to your male boss or teacher and say "う" 20 times while your head is submerged in the bathtub filled with hot water.

What other word could I use thats Japan or otaku related?

All Hiragana in this series will be tagged "hiragana"

Have decided what to call these products - "Moekana" [萌え仮名] which is made from "Moe" + "Kana" where Kana is the word that describes the syllabic Japanese scripts "Hiragana" and "Katakana."

I only mentioned in the comments but these illustrations will be printed on karuta cards and sold as a pack. Bushiroad have kindly introduced me to the folks who manufacture their cards and should have these them ready by November 11 2011.
Also aim to have these marketed at younger children in Japan who already use karuta to learn hiragana. There's already some Puricure karuta on the market.

These will also be printed on a wall chart with all 47 kana and there will be some merchandise including apparel too. Am currently working on the Kanji charts too.

え (e) for "enpitsu"

Following on from the previous hiragana which was う, today we learn "え" (e) which is pronounced like an abrupt "air". Today's word is "えんぴつ” [鉛筆] (pronounced "enpitsu") which means "pencil". The katakana equivalent is "エ".
Today's model is Haruka Suenaga illustrated by Ikkyu-san.

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
enpitsu de me wo kaku no wa yokunai kamoshirenai
えんぴつで目を掻くのは良くないかもしれない
It's probably not a good idea to scratch your eyes with a pencil

Exercise

Write out "え” 50 times on the ceiling of your teacher or bosses house with marmite and say "え" 20 times at the counter when ordering some Mac Donalds.

Any other word that begins with "え" thats otaku or Japan related that you can think of?

All Hiragana in the Moekana series will be tagged "hiragana"

Had the honor of giving a lecture at the largest university in Japan - Nihon University.

And you could squeeze them like this while making a "puni puni" sound.

Zooming back in time to the morning at about 10:40. Is making our way by car to the economics building at Nihon University which is also known as Nichidai [日大].

After parking, we are lead through the canteen area to meet some of the students. Students really do take good care of their appearance over here. I had bad taste in clothing during my uni years. Come to think about it - I still have bad taste ^^;

Cant for the life of me remember what the canteen was like at SOAS.

At the teachers office where their lockers and mail boxes are situated. Here they do paper work and take a break.

Off to have early lunch before my talk at one of the canteens in the building. The 550 yen plate is called "Quality Lunch" while the 480 yen plate is the "Economy Lunch." The 0 yen plate is called "go and eat your own poo."

Professor Barry Natusch and I going over a few details before my talk begins.
I first met Barry at Tokyo CGM Night episode 2 and we talked soon after about the possibility of me giving a talk to his students.

My Mayo Don for lunch.

Moving to another building to give my talk.

While looking up details for this article, I came across info in English about the Monbukagakusho Scholarship which gave me the idea of interviewing some of the students to find out more.

This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?

The stage where teachers do their moon walks.

Setting up my bits n pieces.

Brought along the MacBook Pro in the event that the Dell Mini 9 running Leopard failed...

...and indeed, the Dell wasn't able to manage the output to the projector. Worked fine at home on HD displays but when I attach it to my TV or various projectors, the display just conks out.

Pin mic set.

Was asked to talk about my career and how I discovered my first goal in life. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do in terms of work but I knew I wanted to live and work in Japan.

Was very nervous ^^;

Introducing my daughters.

My talk is done and time to take a look around the campus. A quick look at Barrys personal gadgets.

Many of the classrooms looked no different to many Japanese offices. Classrooms in SOAS certainly didn't look like this.

At the entrance of one of the buildings with a security guard giving me the evil eye.

With Professor Barry Natusch.

The students at Nihon University are so lucky! They get to eat Singapore Hainan Chicken Lice every day!

Lovely decor of this ramen place.

At one of the libraries.

Some diligent students studying hard. Visiting Nihon University gave me a flashback of my times at London University SOAS where I studied Japanese and Korean language.

SOAS was great - the teachers that I had really cared about whether students were learning or not and done everything they could to support us.
The location was great too near Tottenham Court Road station - I could take a No38 bus straight home to Graham Road Hackney.
Are you pleased with the university that you went to or are attending? If you are not at uni yet, will you choose one in your region or move elsewhere to attend one? Which one will you be attending?

My wife moved to Japan to attend university. After graduating she then moved to the UK to learn English and we met when we were both working part time at a Japanese restaurant.
Is moving overseas to attend university an option for you?

A load of interesting reads for those having trouble sleeping at night.

Diligent student spotted.

This student is from Taiwan who attended my talk earlier. Here we see him studying English. Unlike this chap however, there are a load who don't study much.

It is a common fact that many (not all) students in Japan have an easy time and don't do an incredible amount of study when they get into university - was able to confirm this with many students and professors too.
One of the reasons is that they have been studying hard all their life to make it into a good university and are drained after getting in - thus many of them take it easy.

While its tough to get into universities over here and easy to graduate once they are in, I found that London University was the opposite. I jumped into the second year of a 4 year degree through a Japanese language entrance examination - all my studying up until then was self study through manga, anime, games and music.

Once I was in however, the actual course with constant tests was difficult enough to eliminate most of the class by the end of the 4 years. Only 3 or 4-ish out of 30-ish students made it through to the end.

What are your courses like? Is it playtime or work your nuts or eyes off?

Terminals to look up health material in the library.

Still running IE6...

Students out n about.

A chart of the different types of certificates that students can issue from the vending machine below.
They range from 100 yen to 600 yen for certificates of graduation, current grades and proof that they attend the school.

And here is the vending machine which looks no different than the ones you may see in a curry shop.

Administration for students.

The university visit also brought back many memories for my wife too.

The 3D food menu.

If you are moving to Japan then you will eventually get used to the small tables.

Nice canteen interior.

Forgot to go to the top floor where all the Bukatsu rooms are - just like the music room in K-ON where one will find a load of students getting up to sporting, music and other activities.

Nihon University has their own Mos Burger!

They get to eat Mos Burger *and* Hainan Chicken Lice every day! Whats the food like in your university canteen?

Barry with some of his students.

In the parking lot to discover a Mikoshi used during Japanese Festivals.

And this is what Barry uses to get to work. Could do with a few stickers.

Back in the car heading off to another meeting on the other side of Tokyo.

A snap of the ceremonies that take place when new students join Nihon University. Didn't have anything like this back in the UK!

Photos taken this time last week at Shanghai CGM Night. Didn't think many would come along due to the one day notice but was happy to see that so many made it - this snap with some of the comrades who stayed until the end.
As always, it was great to be able to meet folks from so many different backgrounds and provide a venue for all to make new comrades - thanks to everybody who came!

The day started with a visit and interviews at Halozone which is a plaza filled with anime retail stores and cafe's. They had a load of figures - most legit but some bootleg. One of the store owners told me one of the reasons why these bootlegs exist was because many figures don't get to retail stores in China through official routes - same reason why fansubbed anime exists.
Halozone probably had everything that an otaku needs from figures, dolls and other anime goodies.

After interviews at the maid cafe, headed off to NextAge to meet the rest of the readers who brought their lovely daughters along. Had a great time and look forward to going back soon.
In the meantime, as a way to keep connected with folks in China, I've started to use the social tool Weibo at http://weibo.com/dannychoo

Halozone can be found at the following address in Shanghai.
上海市浦东新区张杨路721
(721 zhangyang rd pudong new area shanghai)

Some of these photos nabbed from:-
http://bbs.9gal.com/read.php?tid=258597&fpage=0&toread=&page=1
http://www.hexieshe.com/632987/

Next meetup will be Los Angeles CGM Night 2 and will be held inside Anime Expo. Details soon. Previous meetup photos listed up below.

「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©1998-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
「創作造形©ボークス・造形村」©2003-2010 VOLKS INC. All rights are reserved.
スーパードルフィー®、ドルフィードリーム® はボークス社の商標登録であり、その全ての権利を所有しています。