Its that time of year again! Comic Fiesta 2013 is this weekend meaning that Culture Japan Night takes place the day after on the 23rd December 2013. Summary as follows.

Culture Japan Night Kuala Lumpur 2013 Winter

Date : Dec 23 2013
Time : 2 - 8PM
Entrance Fee : RM5*
*Come wearing a Mirai Suenaga T-shirt and get free entry
Location : ALOFT KUALA LUMPUR SENTRAL. No 5 Jalan Stesen Sentral · Kuala Lumpur 50470
Hall : Grand Ballroom
Freebie : 1 Free bottle of Mirai Water for each participant while stocks last.
For sale : CJ Night T-shirt - only available at CJ Nights. Chitose Shirasawa poster - make your wall look cool with a white hair loli.
Register here > http://buff.ly/1hiSCrc

This first photo is of the CJ Night T-shirt which will be on sale from now on only at CJ Nights that take place worldwide. The "Est 2009" means that the first CJ Night was held back in Jan 2009 Tokyo.

This T-shirt will cost RM90 but if you buy 2 or more then its RM75 each. If you come alone then make friend in the queue and you can buy together at RM75 each.

This is the Chitose Shirasawa A2 poster that will only be available at CJ Night - 1 for RM25 or 2 or more for RM20 each. If you come alone then make friend in queue and still be able to buy for RM20 each.
Folks who can't afford it can just print this image - should be big enough for A4 ^^

All participants at CJ Night KL get a free bottle of Mirai Water while stocks last so come early! We work with Delcol to bottle our water.
Please recycle bottle by using it to scare cats like they do in Japan - or better still keep it as an ornament in your room which is what I'll be doing ^^

If you want more than one bottle then its going to cost you RM2 each.
If you can't afford any of our stuff then download some Mirai Suenaga highres photoshop files and make your own - for personal use only please!

CJ Night is a place where you can mingle with like minded folks to expand your network.
Cosplay/doll and figure display welcome. If you want to sell doujinshi then just show up and will try to find you a table - no additional cost but no ecchi please. Slightly ecchi can ^^;
I'll be there all day signing, taking photos and chatting with folks - see you soon!

Ah, also pasted the google docs registration form below.

Comic Fiesta - not only Malaysia's longest standing but also biggest ACG event takes place this weekend from Saturday 21st - Sunday.
There are a load of guests which include Shirahane Nao and Ikkyuu who work with the Culture Japan brand very closely.

Other guests include Redjuice, Livetune, Yugene Fay, Onnies, Stayxxxx and Xrystal. For an indication of just how epic CF is - check out last years photos and this years fan OP below!

This post contains a video, click here to view.

The Culture Japan booth will be back with a load of goodies which include what seems to be our most popular design to date - the white full print T-shirt called "Summer."

As you may know, full print T-shirts made by other Japanese manufacturers cost around 6000 yen (RM190) but we are selling them for RM90 - 2 or more for RM75 each.

This our full menu!
But there is something missing from the menu...

...and this is it!
What with the production of Smart Doll, I didnt get round to securing the Touch n Go production line which meant that we were only able to print 200 of this design ><

The intention was to make this available to folks who bought the white Summer T-shirt and thats what we will do - if you buy 1 Summer T-shirt, you will be entitled to buy 1 of this Touch n Go for RM20.

If you buy 2 White Summer T-shirts then you are entitled to buy 2 of these Touch n Go which will still cost you RM20 each.

If you do not want to buy the T-shirt just to get the Touch n Go (or if you dont like this design) then please wait for CJC2 which will take place in Summer 2014.

Also on sale is the Kimono Moekana T-shirt.

For retro game fans is the "Retro" T-shirt.

Currently my most fave Black T-shirt - "Girls" !

If you have the Mirai Suenaga LINE stickers then you will be familiar with this design which we call "Onigiri" ^^

Here are the T-shirt sizes - please measure before you come!

Learning Japanese? Then you need Moekanji to help you learn first grade kanji.

If you are planning on buying Moekanji - make sure you ask folks in the queue to see if they are buying too - buy together and get discount.

Moekana - the fun way to learn hiragana. Tens of thousands of packs sold so far.

Remember to buy with other folks at the same time to get discount!
If you cant afford these Japanese learning products then just refer to this post on learning Japanese.

If you got Moekana or Moekanji (or both) then you need cases to protect them from salivating comrades.

Remember not to be shy to talk to folks in the queue so that you can buy together and get discounts.

And here are the posters which include a 2014 calendar.

As you know, our Mirai Suenaga is now an official mascot for Japan Tourism - the first project we worked on together is a map of Japan and it will be given out at Comic Fiesta while stocks last.

The map will be folded though which is why we are selling a bigger A2 poster version of it.

I will also have Mirai Suenaga Smart Doll 001 on display too - both the Automatic and Manual versions - come to say hello to her!

Do remember that we have CJ Night the day after Comic Fiesta on the 23rd of December.
The CJ Night T-shirt will only be available at CJ Night KL. Details here.

All participants at CJ Night get a free bottle of Mirai Water.

The Chitose Shirasawa A2 poster is also only available at CJ Night.
See you all soon!

Nearly forgot to mention - I'm on stage 3 - 4PM Saturday at CF.

Comic Fiesta - not only Malaysia's longest standing but also biggest ACG event takes place this weekend from Saturday 21st - Sunday.
There are a load of guests which include Shirahane Nao and Ikkyuu who work with the Culture Japan brand very closely.

Other guests include Redjuice, Livetune, Yugene Fay, Onnies, Stayxxxx and Xrystal. For an indication of just how epic CF is - check out last years photos and this years fan OP below!

This post contains a video, click here to view.

The Culture Japan booth will be back with a load of goodies which include what seems to be our most popular design to date - the white full print T-shirt called "Summer."

As you may know, full print T-shirts made by other Japanese manufacturers cost around 6000 yen (RM190) but we are selling them for RM90 - 2 or more for RM75 each.

This our full menu!
But there is something missing from the menu...

...whats all this?!

What with the production of Smart Doll, I didn't get round to securing the Touch n Go production line which meant that we were only able to print 200 of this design ><

The intention was to make this available to folks who bought the white Summer T-shirt and thats what we will do - if you buy 1 Summer T-shirt, you will be entitled to buy 1 of this Touch n Go for RM20.

If you buy 2 White Summer T-shirts then you are entitled to buy 2 of these Touch n Go which will still cost you RM20 each.

If you do not want to buy the T-shirt just to get the Touch n Go (or if you dont like this design) then please wait for CJC2 which will take place in Summer 2014.

Also on sale is the Kimono Moekana T-shirt.

For retro game fans is the "Retro" T-shirt.

Currently my most fave Black T-shirt - "Girls" !

If you have the Mirai Suenaga LINE stickers then you will be familiar with this design which we call "Onigiri" ^^

Here are the T-shirt sizes - please measure before you come!

Learning Japanese? Then you need Moekanji to help you learn first grade kanji.

If you are planning on buying Moekanji - make sure you ask folks in the queue to see if they are buying too - buy together and get discount.

Moekana - the fun way to learn hiragana. Tens of thousands of packs sold so far.

Remember to buy with other folks at the same time to get discount!
If you cant afford these Japanese learning products then just refer to this post on learning Japanese.

If you got Moekana or Moekanji (or both) then you need cases to protect them from salivating comrades.

Remember not to be shy to talk to folks in the queue so that you can buy together and get discounts.

And here are the posters which include a 2014 calendar.

As you know, our Mirai Suenaga is now an official mascot for Japan Tourism - the first project we worked on together is a map of Japan and it will be given out at Comic Fiesta while stocks last.

The map will be folded though which is why we are selling a bigger A2 poster version of it.

I will also have Mirai Suenaga Smart Doll 001 on display too - both the Automatic and Manual versions - come to say hello to her!

Do remember that we have CJ Night the day after Comic Fiesta on the 23rd of December.
The CJ Night T-shirt will only be available at CJ Night KL. Details here.

All participants at CJ Night get a free bottle of Mirai Water.

The Chitose Shirasawa A2 poster is also only available at CJ Night.
See you all soon!

Nearly forgot to mention - I'm on stage 3 - 4PM Saturday at CF.

Folks may be wondering why the Japanese eat Chicken during Christmas from seeing it in anime, Jdrama or actually visiting here. This photo taken yesterday on Xmas eve in Shinbashi. Throughout all of Japan, folks can be seen queuing up outside KFC for some chicken. But why not the traditional Turkey and why KFC?

The Turkey does not breed naturally in Japan and is rarely cultivated. Apparently the taste is not of such a popularity to warrant large amounts of it to be imported into Japan either. Thus, many Japanese have not tried turkey.
Another reason why turkey didn't catch on as a popular dish during Christmas is the fact that most Japanese folks don't have ovens - or an oven big enough to roast an entire turkey.

One day at KFC's Aoyama branch, a foreigner went to buy some chicken at KFC and said "I'm having a party but because there is no turkey, I've come to get some fried chicken instead."
in 1974, KFC then started promoting the catchphrase "Christmas = Kentucky" and poured a load of yen into the marketing effort. The catchphrase soon caught on and together with the commercials on TV, the Japanese then started to consume a load of Chicken during the festive season.

This post contains a poll, click here to view.

This photo was also taken at KFC. Finger Lickin Good?
I just realized that this guy handed over cash to the lady who then served me and handed my change back to me. No wonder my chicken had corn in it.

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

Its the festive season again - which means that the streets of Tokyo are lined with a load of illuminations made up of a zillion LED's.

While Christmas in Japan looks great - its celebrated for different reasons over here - mainly for pulling in the punters which the illuminations do. As you can see from this first photo - illuminations are taken down on Christmas night with no trace of them the next day.
By the 26th with all the decorations pulled - its time to put up a completely different set of decorations for the new year.

Today we take a lookie at Christmas illuminations located around Roppongi Midtown, Galleria, Starlight Garden, Keyaki-zaka Street, Mori Building, Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree.

First up is Tokyo Midtown which is a few minutes walk from Roppongi station. To get to Roppongi, get off at Roppongi station on the Toei Oedo Line. Address as follows:
〒107-0052 東京都港区赤坂9-7-1
View location with Google Maps

At the Midtown Galleria. During Christmas season, you can find all sorts of Christmas decorations for your home and office.

The "Santa Tree" comprised of 1800 mini Santa figures.

Now moving onto Starlight Garden 2013 situated right outside Midtown - this year marks its 7th year anniversary and the entire garden is covered by 280,000 LED lightbulbs.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Folks can also get their picture taken with the illumination in the background for 1,050 yen.

If you don't have any girlfriend or wifey to take photos with then fear not ^o^

The walkway outside is also decorated with these blue and white LED lightings - very nice place to stroll around.

And now heading towards Roppongi Hills.

The Roppongi Hills Keyakizaka Illumination - this year marks its 10th year anniversary and if you're in the right place at the right time you also get to see the trees lit up in bright red.

At the top of the hill, folks can also get a glimpse of the Tokyo Tower with Christmas illumination. It says "2020" to celebrate the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The white & blue illuminations turn bright red for 10 minutes at the start of every hour from 5pm~11pm.

Mori Tower's Christmas tree comprised of 30,000 OLED candles.

Roppongi Hills Christmas Market 2013 - here you can find seasonal noms and also cute decorations.

How many of you have already seen 47 Ronin?

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Wreaths, pine cones, stars, plushies and more.

At West Walk, folks will be greeted by these giant mirror ball decorations hovering above called "Joy to the Love".

Also took a few snaps around Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree.

And lastly the Tokyo Skytree. Address as follows:
〒131−0045 東京都墨田区押上一丁目1番13号
View location with Google Maps

The glowing stairs of Solami-zaka and Hanami-zaka.

The illumination on Skytree changes daily and you can also see it lit up in red, lime green, blue and purple. For details, check out this page.

Tokyo Skytree's official mascot character "Sorakara-chan".

Wire frame illumination featuring Sorakara-chan, Teppenpen and Sukoburuburu.

Skytree Town projection mapping illumination. Check out the vid below to see it in action.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Christmas tree, approximately 634cm tall (1/100 of the Skytree).

And like with the previously visited Roppongi Hills, Skytree also has a European style market where they serve beer, wine and noms.
Check out the links below for more Places to Visit in Japan.

• Odaiba in the Winter 2013
• History of Shibuya
• Akihabara Shops 12
• Nikko Toshogu
• Japan Donki
• Ikaho Onsen
• Melonbooks
• Kobe Tetsujin
• Akihabara Shops 11
• Japan Alps
• View more

Find out more about the Culture Japan girls >>>

Seasons greetings folks! Following on from the tradition each year - I let my daughters bring you the greeting. This year is different however as its brought to you by the real Mirai Suenaga ^^;

Its a special Xmas as my real daughter gets to help put up the decorations ^^

If you keep tabs on my Facebook or Twitter, you will already know the rough release date and price for the Manual Version of Smart Doll.

Some Nendos below our tree. What did you get for this years Christmas?

Mirai raiding the fridge exhausted after spending a few hours setting up the tree.

Finally completed Mirai's hairpin - attached to her head via a strong magnet.

If you got dolly daughters then you may be able to find them some decent wrist bangles by looking at some rings.

This time last year all I had was some 3D printouts of Mirai - today she is almost complete and ready to hit the shelves. So happy and proud of her ><

And here is Mirai Suenaga in chibi form wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Mirai's younger sister Haruka Suenaga.

Merry Christmas from Kanata Hoshikawa - Mirai's senpai.

Merry Christmas from Eiji Seiun - Mirai's classmate.

Merry Christmas from Retrokyu - Mirai's sidekick.

Merry Christmas from Chitose Shirasawa - she works with Eiji in the lab.

Merry Christmas from Kizuna Yumeno - Mirai's rival.

This image sent in my Dave Gibson - cute!

Seasons greetings folks! Following on from the tradition each year - I let my daughters bring you the greeting. This year is different however as its brought to you by the real Mirai Suenaga ^^;

Its a special Xmas as my real daughter gets to help put up the decorations ^^

If you keep tabs on my Facebook or Twitter, you will already know the rough release date and price for the Manual Version of Smart Doll.

Some Nendos below our tree. What did you get for this years Christmas?

Mirai raiding the fridge exhausted after spending a few hours setting up the tree.

Finally completed Mirai's hairpin - attached to her head via a strong magnet.

If you got dolly daughters then you may be able to find them some decent wrist bangles by looking at some rings.

This time last year all I had was some 3D printouts of Mirai - today she is almost complete and ready to hit the shelves. So happy and proud of her ><

And here is Mirai Suenaga in chibi form wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Mirai's younger sister Haruka Suenaga.

Merry Christmas from Kanata Hoshikawa - Mirai's senpai.

Merry Christmas from Eiji Seiun - Mirai's classmate.

Merry Christmas from Retrokyu - Mirai's sidekick.

Merry Christmas from Chitose Shirasawa - she works with Eiji in the lab.

Merry Christmas from Kizuna Yumeno - Mirai's rival.

This image sent in my Dave Gibson - cute!

As recently announced, our Mirai Suenaga is now an official mascot for Japan Tourism!
As part of our first collaboration with the Japanese government, we have made a map of Japan which I think is the cutest map of Japan and hope you think so too ^^;

There is so much to see and do in Japan that it wasn't possible to fit everything in this time round - thus we are going to do maps for the various regions starting with Greater Tokyo soon.

This map of Japan has already been distributed at Comic Fiesta in Malaysia and will be distributed worldwide soon.

Below is a JPG format of the map - if you want bigger then you can grab it from the following link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannychoo/11459121703/sizes/o/

We left the cover upside down as that is how its printed so maybe you want to print your own and fold it too ^^

If you want to know more about Japan then check out the Visit Japan official facebook, the Places to visit in Japan category and read the reasons why I think Japan is a great place to visit.

Japan is truly a great place and you can also read how discovering it changed my life.

To celebrate this first collaboration with Japan Tourism, we are giving away some packs of Moekanji - the fun way to start learning Japanese!

All you have to do is fill in the form below and we will choose entries at random - we will then contact entries by email and ask for a postage address.

We also printed a huge illustration of the Japan Map to display at our booth at Comic Fiesta. Many folks took photos of it and used it as a background for their cosplay photos too ^o^

And this is what the rest of our booth looked like ^^

Dont forget to fill in the poll above in order to stand a chance of winning some Moekanji!

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

As recently announced, our Mirai Suenaga is now an official mascot for Japan Tourism!
As part of our first collaboration with the Japanese government, we have made a map of Japan which I think is the cutest map of Japan and hope you think so too ^^;

There is so much to see and do in Japan that it wasn't possible to fit everything in this time round - thus we are going to do maps for the various regions starting with Greater Tokyo soon.

This map of Japan has already been distributed at Comic Fiesta in Malaysia and will be distributed worldwide soon.

Below is a JPG format of the map - if you want bigger then you can grab it from the following link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannychoo/11459121703/sizes/o/

We left the cover upside down as that is how its printed so maybe you want to print your own and fold it too ^^

If you want to know more about Japan then check out the Visit Japan official facebook, the Places to visit in Japan category and read the reasons why I think Japan is a great place to visit.

Japan is truly a great place and you can also read how discovering it changed my life.

To celebrate this first collaboration with Japan Tourism, we are giving away some packs of Moekanji - the fun way to start learning Japanese!

All you have to do is fill in the form below and we will choose entries at random - we will then contact entries by email and ask for a postage address.

We also printed a huge illustration of the Japan Map to display at our booth at Comic Fiesta. Many folks took photos of it and used it as a background for their cosplay photos too ^o^

And this is what the rest of our booth looked like ^^

Dont forget to fill in the poll above in order to stand a chance of winning some Moekanji!

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

SoniAni [そにアニ], also known as "Super Sonico The Animation" is an anime featuring Super Sonico [すーぱーそに子] - the mascot character of Nitroplus. It is produced by WHITE FOX [ホワイトフォックス] (Jormungand, Katanagatari, Hataraku Maou-sama, Steins;Gate) and is directed by Kawamura Kenichi [川村 賢一] (Rozen Maiden) with character design by Tamura Masafumi [田村 正文].

SoniAni will begin airing on AT-X at 2014/01/06 20:30JST, on Sun TV [サンテレビジョン] at 2014/01/06 23:30JST, on TOKYO MX at 2014/01/06 24:30JST, on KBS KYOTO [KBS京都] at 2014/01/07 01:30JST, on TV Aichi [テレビ愛知] at 2014/01/07 02:35JST, on BS11 Digital[BS11デジタル] at 2014/01/07 03:30JST.

The story follows the life of Super Sonico - an 18-year old girl who has to manage her busy activities as a college student, a pin-up model, a waitress, and a lead role in a three-girl band. One day, she is forced to play alone in a concert because her band members Suzu and Fuuri cannot make it on time to the venue - that event was to become a turning point in her life.

Main Characters

• Super Sonico [すーぱーそに子] voiced by Super Sonico [すーぱーそに子]
• Fujimi Suzu [富士見鈴] voiced by Gotou Mai [後藤麻衣]
• Watanuki Fuuri [綿抜フウリ] voiced by Ozaki Mami [尾崎真実]

Visit the official site to view more details about the characters.

This post contains a poll, click here to view.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Check out the PVs above. If the videos were eaten, try this search query on YouTube.

The OP is Beat Goes On! by Super Sonico [すーぱーそに子] and is going to be released on 2014/02/26.

This post contains a poll, click here to view.

Key visual.

Scan from Google Sensei.

Did you know that our Mirai was in Sonico's game Sonicomi and that Sonico has appeared in Culture Japan and on the Moekanji cards?

One thing you probably didn't know is that Mirai and I will be in the new Sonico PS3 game though ^^;

This is Mirai's voice actress UTACO doing Mirai's lines.

And I play Mirai's manager ^^;
The game is due out April 2014.

Find out more about the Culture Japan girls >>>

In today's Japan in the Winter series, we take a gander around the Asakusa area - mainly the Nakamise street lined with traditional food and souvenirs.

At the Kaminarimon [雷門] - entrance to Sensoji Temple [浅草寺].

The giant red lantern on the Kaminarimon gates gets an overhaul done by Panasonic every once in a while and the last renovation took place just recently in November.

This is how the lantern looks like from below - a wooden carving of a dragon.

In Nakamise street, folks can find a load of replicas in smaller scales.

"Daruma" [達磨] dolls - in Japan we fill in one eye at the beginning of the year and fill in the other one when one has accomplished his/her goals.

"Maneki Neko" [招き猫] decorations.

Japanese "Geta" [下駄] sandals.

Kewpies with price tags hiding their kewpies...

"Okaki" [おかき] - a toasted mochi rice cake.

Taiyaki is a baked cake which can come in various fillings like red bean and custard.

An automated Taiyaki baking machine.

More daruma dolls , sensu (fans) and chopsticks.

Food-themed chopstick rests.

Traditional Japanese umbrellas.

More "Sensu" [扇子] traditional Japanese fans.

Turn your dog Japanese with these chonmage hats.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Japanese pattern collars.

If your dogs fancies wearing clothes (or has no choice) then they may also be interested in these kimono attire.

"Juzu" [数珠] or Buddhist rosary beads - used during a prayer in Japanese temples and also at butsudan.

Hello Kitty souvenirs.

Ume/tea/sesame seed flavored deep-fried manju - a manju is basically a dough bun stuffed with azuki bean paste.

Japanese masks in all shapes and sizes - some might be good for your 1/3 scale dolls too.

Compact umbrella for ninjas.

Lantern "Fuurin" [風鈴] decorations.

Ghibli, Doraemon and Pokemon plushies.

And now moving onto Sensouji [浅草寺] temple.

Loads of hawker stall or "Yatai" [屋台] out during this time of year.

Takoyaki on grill.

Fried manju - 790 yen for 6 pieces.

Bananas dipped in chocolate and frostings. Still look obscene to me ^^

Cotton candies wrapped in familiar faces - which one tickles your fancy?

Spit-roasted yakitori, seafoods and veggies.

Mini archery game - 500 yen for each try.

Buddhist statues with Skytree in the background.

The "Hagoita-ichi" [羽子板市] is a traditional market held at Sensouji dating back to the Edo period. It's usually held in December and specializes in Hagoita, which is basically a highly decorated version of a wooden paddle used in a game called "Hanetsuki" [羽根つき].
Although the Hagoita here are used mainly as decorations, you can check out how the Hanetsuki is played in the vid below.

This post contains a video, click here to view.

Folks can expect to see tons of open air stalls like these each with their own unique style of Hagoita. The grander the design the grander the damage is to ones wallet.

These Hagoita are usually around 10,000 yen.

Some can also be used to display your waifu.

Japanese traditional kites known as "Tako" [凧] were also on sale.

"Hina Ningyo" [ひな人形] - traditional Japanese dolls.

Barrels of sake offered to the shrine.

"Temizuya" [手水舎] - folks come here to purify themselves with the water before approaching the main shrine.

The smoke from the burning incense is said to bring good luck and many folks can be found trying to wave as much of the smoke towards themselves.

At the offertory box or "Saisen-bako" [賽銭箱] - folks usually throw in a coin and pray to the gods for another safe year.

Now outside Sensoji Temple past Denboin Street.

This fellow here is also said to bring good luck too if you rub his head which is why its the shiniest part ^^;

Pikachu, Doraemon and Hello Kitty themed lanterns.

Dried Japanese fruits and veggies.

Folks can rent a jinrikisha for their wedding but for roughly 10 times the price of a regular tour around the Asakusa area. More details here.

For those interested, here is the pricing table for the jinrikisha around Asakusa.

Hozuki no Reitetsu gacha.

Owarai geinin [お笑い芸人] prizes.

Super Sonico prize figure.

And this is what some vending machines look like in the area.

The latest menu at McDees - White Cheddar Quarter Pounder/Chicken Fillet.

Ever wondered why the Japanese eat KFC chickens on Christmas? If so then you may want to check out this post.

Hows the Wii U doing in your neck of the woods?

You can hitch a ride on one of these Panda Buses and travel around the streets of Asakusa and also Tokyo Skytree.

Turkish Doner kebab - 500 yen for a portion.

Cat cafes seem to be getting more popular these days - there are two near where I live in Musashikoyama. Inside one of these cafes you would have some beverages and snacks - but you are not allowed to eat the cats - not when anybody is looking anyway.
Anything similar in your neck of the woods?

Japanese "Nengajo" [年賀状] greeting cards which are traditionally sent out at the beginning of the year.

You can check out this post to see what Asakusa looks like in the Summer.

For more Places to Visit in Japan check out the links below.

• Tokyo illuminations
• Odaiba in the Winter 2013
• History of Shibuya
• Akihabara Shops 12
• Nikko Toshogu
• Japan Donki
• Ikaho Onsen
• Melonbooks
• Kobe Tetsujin
• Akihabara Shops 11
• View more

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

Happy new year folks! What are you doing over the new year? Having fun is important but while you have a wee bit of time off, I strongly recommend that you spend a bit of time reflecting on the past year by listing up all the things you did in 2013 that you feel worth writing down.
Does your list look good? if so great! If not then write down what you are going to do in 2014 and aim to achieve so that you will be happy with your list when reflecting on it in 2015.

Below is a list of some of the notable stuff that I done in 2013 with my small team.

• Product & Content development

• Launched our second Japanese learning deck of cards Moekanji
• Launched Japanese learning series MoeManga

• Mirai Suenaga

• Mirai became an official mascot for Japan Tourism - first project is Japan Map
• Became official mascot for Penang Island Malaysia
• Collaborated with the designer of Gundam on a car for Mirai in Mirai Project
• Became mascot for convenience store LAWSON
• Became mascot for Air Asia
• Became mascot for Volks
• Became members card for Kinokuniya
• Increased variations of Mirai Suenaga Touch n Go
• Increased variation of apparel line of T-shirts
• Rolled out Mirai LINE stickers and official account now nearly 2 million followers.
• Mirai Water
• Mirai Macarons

• Government work

• Appointed by Japanese Government as member of the Creative Industries Internationalization Committee for METI (Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
• Start working with Japan Tourism on Mirai Suenaga projects
• MC for Manga Festival Singapore organized by METI
• Appointed as a judge for the British Business Awards by the British Government.

• Attended and rolled out Culture Japan booths at:-

• Thailand Game Show
• Anime Expo 2013 in LA
• Culture Japan Con in Penang Malaysia
• Animangaki in KL Malaysia
• Anime Festival Asia Indonesia
• Anime Festival Asia Singapore
• Comic Fiesta 2013 KL Malaysia

• Held Culture Japan Night in the following regions

• Penang Malaysia
• Bangkok
• Los Angeles
• Jakarta
• Singapore
• Seoul
• KL Malaysia

• Other stuff

• Rolled out our first ever convention Culture Japan Con in Penang Malaysia
• Looooong awaited redesign of Culture Japan website
• Move into new place in Tokyo
• Linus joined us in Tokyo
• A load of other stuff which I forgot ><

• Smart Doll

• Read more about my new product at http://smartdoll.jp
• This time last year I had just a 3D sample print out of a body - today we are nearly ready for international rollout ^o^
• 3D Design of Outer Shell and Inner Frame complete
• Slush Casting and Injection Molds complete
• Wig production line complete
• Eye production line complete
• Apparel production line complete
• Shoe production line complete
• Started production on Smart Doll 002 : Kizuna Yumeno
• Mark I & Mark II version of the Automated version complete

And below is a list of some of the things that I want to do with my team in 2014. Its kind of a roadmap without dates on it ^^;
However - most of the stuff that we did in 2013 was not planned at all which came about from meeting and networking with new folks.

• Smart Doll

• Launch Smart Doll Manual Version at events in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, United States.
• Start Rest Of The World online orders.
• Launch Smart Doll 001: Mirai Suenaga in Spring 2014
• Launch Smart Doll 002: Kizuna Yumeno in Summer 2014
• Launch Smart Doll 003: Chitose Shirasawa in Winter 2014
• Increase line of accessories and apparel
• Launch Smart Doll Attributes 001: RoadBike1 (RoadBike for 1/3 scale dolls)
• Launch Assembly lines in various locations worldwide - parts are manufactured in Japan but will most likely be assembled outside of Japan to lower import costs and thus pass on savings to our consumer - similar with what they do with cars.
• Continue to develop Smart Doll Automatic version with aim to release in late 2014 or early 2015.
• Identify distributors in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc

• Events

• Culture Japan booth to attend the following events
• Culture Japan's first Industry Booth at Wonfes Tokyo (Feb)
• Aiming to attend Anime Expo 2014, AFAID (Indonesia), AFA14 (Singapore), CF2014 (Malaysia).
• Also looking to attend events in Bangkok, Hanoi, Manila.
• Roll out Culture Japan Con2 in August (Malaysia)
• Each region that we attend events at will also have a CJ Night the day after.

• Mirai Suenaga & Friends

• Expand Mirai-chan's role as official mascot for Japan Tourism in all regions worldwide.
• Increase collaborations with various governments & corporates worldwide but particularly focusing on Asia
• Publish Mirai Millennium which has already been written by Sato Dai (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Eureka 7, Eden of the East etc)
• Increase variations of Touch n Go cards in Malaysia
• More illustrations by Japanese illustrators including Nishimata Aoi, Ito Noizi and more
• Permanent LINE stickers
• Release icons for Desktop and Android
• Release official Winter and Solar Marine uniforms for cosplayers
• Launch Culture Japan Online Store to accept worldwide orders of Mirai Merchandise
• Setup logistics, storage, order management, quality control etc for online orders.

• Broadcasts

• Film Culture Japan Season 3 from Jan - March and broadcast across asia and US from April (possibly Summer)
• Start regular online live broadcast of Tokyo Teatime
• Start filming Culture Japan Season 4 in Q4
• Launch Moekana 2nd Ver (includes Katakana) in Q1
• Release OTACOOL 5 with Kotobukiya in Q3
• Start pre-orders for Mirai Suenaga Scale Figure in Q3

• Web

• Clean up Mirai's official home page! ><
• Relaunch of Doll.fm
• Relaunch of Figure.fm
• Full Responsive layout of all Mirai Gaia websites

• Other stuff

• Move back into our house (which is now just office) and move our team into larger offices
• Get bigger offices in KL and fill with warm bodies to work on Smart Doll Marketing an Assembly
• Get new passport (no more pages left ><)

I'm going to leave you with a wall of photos in no particular order which cover just some of what we did in 2013.

Before I leave you however, I would like to thank all veterans for your continued support and a big Hello! to all our new comrades who have decided that they want to support what we do by reading my babblings on this site or following me on my various social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LINE, Google+ or my RSS feed.

There is just one more thing I want to leave you with - one of the learnings that I gained in 2013.

"The bigger your goals are, the bigger the hurdles will be and the harder you shall fall."

If you are experiencing constant hurdles such as disappointments, back stabbing and facing a huge void of unknowns - just as long as you get up quickly each time you stumble on a hurdle, you are on your way to reaching your big goal.

Did you fail at something when trying to reach your goal? There is no such thing as "failure" - only "learnings" which you will need to reach your goal.

Experiencing constant disappointments will provoke you to easily throw in the towel and when you do that then that is the moment when you give up on your goal.
Goals that you set for yourself have varying difficulty levels - its up to you to decide whether you want to live a life fulfilling small goals easily or take on bigger goals which demand more from you. Which are you?

I dont usually do boss poses for photos but I was told I needed this photo for some book.

And our Culture Japan/Mirai Millennium characters wish you a happy new year too!

And for the Greeting cards with both Bishojo and Chibi - you need to hunt for them from my social networks that I mentioned above ^^

Seitokai Yakuindomo* [生徒会役員共＊] is the second season of the popular anime series based on the school comedy manga by Ujiee Tozen [氏家 ト全]. It is directed by Kanazawa Hiromitsu [金澤 洪充] (Asa Made Jugyou Chu, Princess Lover) and is written by Nakamura Makoto [中村 誠] (Coppelion, Princess Lover), while GoHands [ゴーハンズ] (Coppelion, K) will be the one producing the animation.

Seitokai Yakuindomo* will begin airing on AT-X at 2014/01/04 20:30JST, on Sun TV [サンテレビジョン] at 2014/01/06 24:30JST, on TOKYO MX at 2014/01/04 01:30JST, on KBS KYOTO [KBS京都] at 2014/01/08 01:30JST, on TV Aichi [テレビ愛知] at 2014/01/07 03:05JST, on BS11 Digital[BS11デジタル] at 2014/01/10 23:30JST, on Chiba TV [チバテレビ] at 2014/01/05 24:00JST, on tvk at 2014/01/05 24:00JST, and on Teletama [テレ玉] at 2014/01/05 24:00JST.

The story revolves around Tsuda Takatoshi and his mostly female friends in the student council of a recently-turned-into-co-ed school. During his first year, he was forced to join the student council as the vice president, and since then he has to keep up with the eccentric student council members as well as the antics of those around him.

Main Characters

• Tsuda Takatoshi [津田タカトシ] voiced by Asanuma Shintarou [浅沼晋太郎]
• Amakusa Shino [天草シノ] voiced by Hikasa Youko [日笠陽子]
• Shichijou Aria [七条アリア] voiced by Satou Satomi [佐藤聡美]
• Hagimura Suzu [萩村スズ] voiced by Yahagi Sayuri [矢作紗友里]
• Tsuda Kotomi [津田コトミ] voiced by Shimoda Asami [下田麻美]
• Yokoshima Naruko [横島ナルコ] voiced by Kobayashi Yuu [小林ゆう]
• Mitsuba Musumi [三葉ムツミ] voiced by Omigawa Chiaki [小見川千明]
• Hata Ranko [畑ランコ] voiced by Arai Satomi [新井里美]
• Igarashi Kaede [五十嵐カエデ] voiced by Katou Emiri [加藤英美里]
• Dejima Sayaka [出島サヤカ] voiced by Tamura Mutsumi [田村睦心]

Visit the official website to view more details about the characters.

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Check out the PVs above. If the videos were eaten, try this search query on YouTube.

The OP is Mirai Night [ミライナイト] by Satou Satomi [佐藤聡美] and is going to be released on 2014/02/26. The ED is Hanasaku Saikyou Legend Days [花咲く☆最強レジェンドDays] by Triple Booking [トリプルブッキング] and is set to release on 2014/01/22.

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Find out more about the Culture Japan girls >>>

Space Dandy [スペース☆ダンディ] is a sci-fi comedy anime produced by BONES [ボンズ] (Eureka Seven, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gosick) and is directed by Natsume Shingo [夏目 真悟] (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo).

Space Dandy will begin airing on TOKYO MX at 2014/01/05 23:00JST, on TV Osaka [テレビ大阪] at 2014/01/08 02:35JST, on TV Aichi [テレビ愛知] at 2014/01/09 02:35JST, on BS Fuji [BSフジ] at 2014/01/12 24:30JST, and on AT-X at 2014/01/16 22:30JST.

The story is set far in the future and revolves around an alien hunter named Dandy, who travels across the galaxy to search for undiscovered alien species along with his buddies Meow, a cat-looking alien and a worn-out robot named QT.

Main Characters

• Dandy [ダンディ] voiced by Suwabe Junichi [諏訪部順一]
• Meow [ミャウ] voiced by Yoshino Hiroyuki [吉野裕行]
• QT voiced by Satake Uki [佐武宇綺]
• Bee [ビー] voiced by Hatakeyama Kousuke [畠山航輔]
• Gel Hakase [ゲル博士] voiced by Ishizuka Unshou [石塚運昇]
• Honey [ハニー] voiced by Yurin [ゆりん]
• Scarlett [スカーレット] voiced by Kuwashima Houko [桑島法子]

Visit the official website to view more details about the characters.

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Check out the PVs above. If the videos were eaten, try this search query on YouTube.

The OP is Viva Namida [ミライナイト] by Okamura Yasuyuki [岡村靖幸], scheduled to be released on 2014/01/29. The ED is Welcome to the X Dimension [X次元へようこそ / 絶対ムッシュ制] by Yakushimaru Etsuko [やくしまるえつこ], scheduled to be released on 2014/01/29.

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Space Dandy has a very nice Cowboy Bebop feel to it - one of my fave animu of all time ^^

The following image is the key visual for the anime.

And this is the magazine scan announcing the Space Dandy anime project.

The image is retrieved from MiniTokyo.

Find out more about the Culture Japan girls >>>

Time to share photos of the Culture Japan booth which we setup at Malaysia's largest and longest standing ACG event - Comic Fiesta 2013.

Took too many photos which captured a load of great moments around our CJ Booth - so much that I've had to split the photos into 2 posts - this post covers the setup and things that went on around the booth - the other post covers what went on during operation hours.

One of the reasons why I make a point of sharing how the booth was setup is so that the photos can serve as a reference for folks who are going to setup our booth in the future.
As mentioned in the 2013 summary, we will be taking the Culture Japan booth to new territories and are always looking for folks to join our team.
If you are interested in helping out then drop a comment below and mention which country/city you can help in and also any events that you think we should be attending.

We have gained much learnings through the setting up and operation of our booths for the past year which you can see in the CJ Booth category.

Each region has its particulars which include language, currency, taxes, import taxes, logistics, storage, vendors and so on but we have the help of local staff who really do save our bacon.

We always try out new stuff - while some things work out - some things don't but we never see it as a failure. We work with the current situation and take that learning to the next level.
There is no failure - only learning!

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

You've seen the booth setup and here are the photos taken during operation hours at Comic Fiesta 2013. It was such an awesome time!

Introducing to you our Comic Fiesta Crimson Force. For each region we setup booth, we form a local Crimson Force unit who help with many aspects of setting up booth including the production of posters, bags, T-shirts and stuff like logistics, equipment procurement etc.

Members are either friend of friends or who have been identified as being trustworthy through their participation from commenting on this site and through attending CJ Night.

Responsibilities include managing till, queues, crowds, corporate imaging (photos & video), security and so on. If you are interested in helping in any of our up n coming regionsthen leave note in the other post!

Before I leave you with the usual wall of photos, I would like to thank everybody who dropped by the booth!
The queues snaked inside and around the back of the booth 5 times before going back down the wall - it was a long queue but I think it was managed better this time. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long ><

If you came by our booth and have any specific feedback good or bad then just leave a note below.

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

You've seen the booth setup and here are the photos taken during operation hours at Comic Fiesta 2013. It was such an awesome time!

Introducing to you our Comic Fiesta Crimson Force. For each region we setup booth, we form a local Crimson Force unit who help with many aspects of setting up booth including the production of posters, bags, T-shirts and stuff like logistics, equipment procurement etc.

Members are either friend of friends or who have been identified as being trustworthy through their participation from commenting on this site and through attending CJ Night.

Responsibilities include managing till, queues, crowds, corporate imaging (photos & video), security and so on. If you are interested in helping in any of our up n coming regionsthen leave note in the other post!

Before I leave you with the usual wall of photos, I would like to thank everybody who dropped by the booth!
The queues snaked inside and around the back of the booth 5 times before going back down the wall - it was a long queue but I think it was managed better this time. Sorry to keep you all waiting for so long ><

If you came by our booth and have any specific feedback good or bad then just leave a note below.

Read more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

Buddy Complex [バディ・コンプレックス] is an action mecha anime produced by Sunrise [株式会社サンライズ] (Accel World, Tiger & Bunny, Valvrave The Liberator) and directed by Tanabe Yasuhiro [田辺 泰裕].

Buddy Complex will begin airing on TOKYO MX at 2014/01/05 24:00JST, on Yomiuri TV [読売テレビ] at 2014/01/06 02:29JST, on TV Aichi [テレビ愛知] at 2014/01/06 01:35JST, and on BS11 Digital [BS11デジタル] at 2014/01/07 00:30JST.

The story follows Watase Aoba, a normal high school student who lives a carefree daily life. On his first day after the summer break, a giant robot suddenly appears out of the sky and starts attacking Aoba. He is rescued by his classmate Yumihara Hina who brings out a robot of her own, but she mysteriously disappears later on, leaving Aoba with a message, "Dio is waiting for you", and Aoba's new life as the Free Treaty Alliance's pilot starts since that fateful day.

Main Characters

• Watase Aoba [渡瀬青葉] voiced by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu [松岡禎丞]
• Yumihara Hina [弓原雛] voiced by Hayami Saori [早見沙織]
• Junyou Dio Weinberg [隼鷹・ディオ・ウェインバーグ] voiced by Uchiyama Kouki [内山昂輝]
• Kuramitsu Gengo [倉光源吾] voiced by Hayami Shou [速水奨]
• Lene Kleinbeck [レーネ・クラインベック] voiced by Fujimura Ayumi [藤村歩]
• Lee Conrad [リー・コンラッド] voiced by Sugita Tomokazu [杉田智和]
• Jarl Duran [ヤール・ドゥラン] voiced by Yoshino Hiroyuki [吉野裕行]
• Elvira Hill [エルヴィラ・ヒル] voiced by Satou Rina [佐藤利奈]
• Nasu Mayuka [奈須まゆか] voiced by Hanazawa Kana [花澤香菜]
• Anessa Rossetti [アネッサ・ロセッティ] voiced by Inoue Marina [井上麻里奈]
• Alfried Gallant [アルフリード・ガラント] voiced by Morikawa Toshiyuki [森川智之]
• Bizon Gerafil [ビゾン・ジェラフィル] voiced by Sakurai Takahiro [櫻井孝宏]
• Tarjim Vasily [タルジム・ヴァシリー] voiced by Shimazaki Nobunaga [島﨑信長]
• Lasha Hakkarainen [ラーシャ・ハッカライネン] voiced by Tamura Mutsumi [田村睦心]
• Margaret O' Keefe [マルガレタ・オキーフ] voiced by Uchiyama Yuumi [内山夕実]

Visit the official website to view more details about the characters.

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Check out the CMs and PVs above. If the videos were eaten, try this search query on YouTube.

The OP is UNISONIA by TRUE and the ED is Ano Sora ni Kaeru Mirai de [あの空に還る未来で] by ChouCho [トリプルブッキング]. Both singles are set to release on 2014/02/26.

This post contains a poll, click here to view.

The above scan was retrieved from Zerochan.

Find out more about Mirai Suenaga >>>

CJ Night KL 2013 was held on the day after Comic Fiesta on the 23rd December 2013 at the Aloft Hotel located in Kuala Lumpur Sentral.
We had a great turnout who came to enjoy the shenanigans. We had free Mirai Water for all, Mirai Macarons made by Kantan Cafe in Penang, Ikkyuu-sensei dropped in and I also managed to do another live demo of the Automatic Version of Smart Doll.

We also had some exclusives on sale - the Chitose Shirasawa poster and CJ Night T-shirt.
The CJ Night T-shirt will only be sold at CJ Nights from now on and is something special to show that one has attended the event.

Thanks to all who came and also a big thank you to Aloft hotel for the most awesome venue!

CJ Night KL 2013 was held on the day after Comic Fiesta on the 23rd December 2013 at the Aloft Hotel located in Kuala Lumpur Sentral.
We had a great turnout who came to enjoy the shenanigans. We had free Mirai Water for all, Mirai Macarons made by Kantan Cafe in Penang, Ikkyuu-sensei dropped in and I also managed to do another live demo of the Automatic Version of Smart Doll.

We also had some exclusives on sale - the Chitose Shirasawa poster and CJ Night T-shirt.
The CJ Night T-shirt will only be sold at CJ Nights from now on and is something special to show that one has attended the event.

Thanks to all who came and also a big thank you to Aloft hotel for the most awesome venue!