A word of advice - even though your drivers license doesn't need renewing for another few years, mark your calendar as you may forget like I did. Wanted to take the car out one day and realized that it was invalid! "Bollocks" as they say back in ol Blighty.

Went along to the license test center the next morning to see if I could renew my license - turns out that because I was late renewing it, my license became invalid indefinitely. But the process to get another one this time round was not as painful as I initially imagined.

Britain and Japan have some chummy thing going which means that British drivers license holders don't need to take any road tests to get a Japanese drivers license.

All I needed to do was to get my British drivers license translated into Japanese by the Japan Automobile Federation. The JAF then give me a document outlining my drivers license details in Japanese.

I then took this document to the drivers license test center, took an eye examination and was given my license on the same day - pretty painless.

There are services who help foreigners in Japan get or renew a license but I notice how they try to intimidate you by making a big thing out of getting one - thus encouraging you to pay for their services.

I personally would encourage all gaijin to go through the process for themselves - a great learning experience.

Anyhow, I need to get a new license. Up at the cutter machine which cuts out a nice square from my photo - this goes on the application form. 5 mins.

And because I invalidated my drivers license, I need to pay a wee bit more for a new one - 5,800 yen instead of the 2,800 yen-ish.

After paying the money, I'm given some stamps to stick on a form to prove I've paid my dues. Stamp buying process - 2 mins.

Next up is the eye test. In Japan, eye tests are done by showing you a "C" either facing left, right, up or down. You need to reply "ue" (up) if the gap of the "C" is facing up or "migi" (right) if the gap of the "C" is facing right etc.
"Hidari" = Left.
"Shita" = Down/Bottom.
"Shita-pai" = the bottom part of oppai.

This test takes less than 2 mins including lining up.

In many Japanese facilities such as hospitals and ward offices, you will see different colored lines on the floor which guide people to different rooms.

Then its off to take a photo. They be not keen on me smiling too much ^^; Process time = 2 mins.

Some people end up being at these test centers all day long - I think people getting a license from scratch need to spend longer there.

Water disposal unit. I hates these traditional toilets. You often see hard matter resting on the side for those who missed with their photon torpedoes. You often find manga inside toilets too - beware when touching as it may be rigged with skid marks.

While everything was quick n painless, they make folks renewing for the first time take a class which goes over traffic regulations - for 2 hours!

Luckily I had Kagami to keep me company. The class is conducted in Japanese - not sure what sort of services they provide for non Japanese speaking folks. Handed out are various booklets to be used in class. No water or snacks allowed.

While Japan boasts some of the highest Internet speeds in the world, much of Japan remains traditional - check out that projector thingy - used to have these when I was in primary school.

The guy giving the lesson moves around magnetized cars on the board. But before he starts he says that he wont give you a stamp if he catches you sleeping.

To be honest, I'm not sure how I managed to stay awake for the whole two hours.

Then its break time and I wander around to take more photos. These machines are used to read the IC chip in the new drivers license.

Some folks waiting for something or other.

A class that just got emptied.

Then its back to my classroom to watch an incredibly depressing video. The aim of the video is to deter drunk driving. The short dorama was as follows:-

A young married man lives happily with his wife and kids. They live in a nice house which they just bought.
One day, hes out drinking with colleagues but gets a work related call. He's had a few pints of beer but heads to his car and try's to shake off the drowsiness by drinking tea and waiting it out.

He gets another call and decides that he can handle the car. It starts to rain heavily. After driving in the rain for a while, he hits two kids. He panics and drives off.

He later learns that one of the kids dies and the other paralyzed from the waist down for life.

He gives himself into the police after a few days. The young man is sent to jail for 5 years. But He also has to compensate the family of the deceased which ends up being over a billion yen (loadsa money with many trailing zeros).

His wife has to sell the house and she ends up doing arubaito part time jobs to make ends meet. Their children start turning out being affected by the incident. The little girl bites herself while the young boy rips up family photos. The mother cant take life anymore and jumps infront of a train to kill herself.

The young man learns of his wife's death while he is still in prison...

The final message of the story - just a small mistake is enough to ruins ones life forever - and not just ones own life but others too. Dont drink and drive.

I get my ticket stamped after two hours meaning that I can swap it for my new spanking drivers license.

The license collection hall. Many other gaijin getting their bits n pieces done too.

The line moves quickly and I've got my new license just a few mins after entering the hall.

A peek outside the window to see the driving test grounds. This is where Japanese folks typically start to learn how to drive before they are let out onto the roads. Is this the same in your neck of the woods or do you learn from day one out n about on real roads?

Now to test out my new card - I place it at one of these units and touch the screen.

I confirm that my details are correct and I'm done for the day.

The front of the license test center. These centers are run by the police.

These numbers can be seen at every Koban (police box) and show how many people got injured or died in traffic accidents. 166 people were injured yesterday. 4 people have died so far this year and 1675 people have been injured.

A few mins to take in the scenery at the river nearby. If it wasn't for the lesson in class, I would have been out in less than half an hour.

My wife has a US drivers license that she acquired while we we living in Seattle. Unfortunately the "US and Japan" are not as chummy as "Britannia and Japan" and US license holders need to get a Japanese license from scratch (could be different now). She took lessons at a test center and then out on the roads with an instructor. Cant remember how many hours she done but passed first time.

This was very different to what it was like back in the UK. From day one, my lessons where done on real roads with real traffic and people.
Took me many hours before my instructor decided I was ready for a test. He kept insisting that I do a reverse-around-a-corner-and-park move properly. In all my years of driving, I have never had to do that move!

I ended up passing first time round too but was berry berry nervous. Was in tears when the instructor told me "congratulations" ^^;
Whats the driving lesson, license acquisition process like in your neck of the woods?

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

And a look at some of the booklets that I received that day. This map of Japan shows that the most traffic accidents have been happening in the Aichi prefecture.

Drivers in Tokyo are generally well mannered but I was pretty shocked at how people on Osaka drove - even the bus drivers! many of them seemed to have a "I'm first" attitude. Whats the general attitude of drivers in your area?

As with many Japanese instructions and booklets - cute illustrations.

In Japan by law, one *has* to show proof that they have somewhere to park before anybody will sell you a car. We had to show details of our house to prove that there was a space in the front for a car. Anywhere else in the world with similar restrictions?

One of the guides features anime characters in the form of Chibu Maruko-chan. Anybody watch this? Its actually quite funny - usually watch it on Sunday evenings during din dins.

Oji-chan and Maruko's sister teach us the ways of the roads.

Some of the signs to remember.

More signs.

Continue reading more about Tokyo in the A Week In Tokyo weekly series.

Time for Saber to take her driving test.

Saber actually took her test last year and passed with flying colors.
This post is just one of a series of living in Japan guides. More listed up below.

Hope you don't mind but am going to mix a food and meetup details together in the same post ^^; I'll be traveling to Hong Kong next week with Bushiroad to cover the Chara Hobby C3 event that will take place between 11th and 13th of March. The event focuses on Japan's hobby industry which coveres figures, anime, manga and other aspects of pop culture. Chara Hobby is organized by Sotsu which means there will also be a ton of Gundam stuff too.

SKE48, AKB48 and Milky Holmes will also be performing. I'll be lurking around the Bushiroad, Cospa and Sega Sammy booth so do drop by if you are available. I'm also due to speak on the side stage for Animax covering Culture Japan TV. Will be my first time to speak in Cantonese but the only phrase I remember is "Gnor Yat Gyok Tek Say Ney" [我一脚踢死你] which is not incredibly useful as it means "I'll kill you with one kick."

Venue is the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

On the 13th, I'll be meeting up with comrades in Hong Kong and anybody is welcome to come. We will be going for a doll photo shoot and then some din dins. We will hijack another street just like last time. Video of how the hijack started which then developed to this ^^;

Not sure where we will meet on the 13th but most likely at the C3 convention. Please keep your mince pies on my Twitter or Facebook for updates.

And the rest of the photos covers what I'm looking forward to the most - food! Wonton Noodles, Roasted pork n rice and more. These photos taken on my trip last year and you can see more photos listed up below.

There is a poll embedded in this article.

Uploaded a 1 hour digest of Culture Japan season 1 but completely forgot about it ^^; Its actually an hour and 11 mins - below for folks who have time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMvmS5GZPB4

All related Culture Japan posts are listed below. Still got a bunch that I didn't get round to writing up yet.

In episode 1 we covered the Wonder Festival. All Wonfes photo posts listed up below.

In Episode 1 we also covered Japanese festivals too. You can see the photos we took during this shoot in the Matsuri post.

In Episode 2, we went to Nikko Edo Wonderland to train to become a Ninja. All photos taken on the day in the How to Become a Ninja post.

Voice actress Shiori Mikami in the studio - photos in the Culture Japan EP1 & 2 post.

In Episode 4 we went to film at a Cultural Festival - photos in the Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School and Japanese High School Photos posts.

Spent a day filming at Akihabara but only managed to upload a few photos so far - available in the Culture Japan Filming 2010/09/15 post.

In Episode 6 we covered the worlds largest (only?!) Itasha event - the Ita G Festa. Photos from the event listed below.

We also took a look at how Itasha are made - covered in the Mirai Itasha post.

In Episode 6 we also took a look at underground bicycle parking facilities. Have always wanted to cover this since I first saw them a few years ago.

Due to popular demand, we re-ran footage taken at Fujisawa high school with some extras. Photos in the posts below.

Fujisawa also had K-ON music activities too - if you seen the anime then watching it in 3D will be an interesting watch.

In Episode 8 we covered the Japanese art of archery - Kyudo related posts listed up below.

In Episode 8 we went to the offices of Sega Sammy to cover Pachinko culture. We also took a look at the history of Pachinko too. A few photos from the day in the Amusement Girls post.

As part of the visit to Sega Sammy, we also cover the Twin Angel contents too - I love these two girls!

Dakimakura covers can be used in 101 different situations.

Episode 9 was dedicated to the Anime Festival Asia - related photo posts listed up below.

In Episode 10 we went with Elly Otoguro to do a tour of Shibuya. Photos from the day in the Shibuya Tour post.

In Episode 11 we went to Production IG to see how anime is made. Photos from the day in the posts below.

In Episode 12, we went to the Obitsu factory to see how dolls are made - still owe you photos from the day.

In Episode 12 we also took a look at how plastic food samples are made - a fascinating process! More photos that I owe you ToT

Real food is used to make the moulds!

In Episode 12 we also take a look at Japanese Ryokan Inns.

It was Sabers first time to the hot springs.

Throughout the series we had the AmiAmi Top 10 Ranking.

The final episode of season 1 was the first time we saw Mirai brought to life ^o^

We visited the Good Smile Company offices to see how figures are made - photos in the Good Smile Company Offices post.

We also featured throughout the season some of your content - cosplays, room and event videos.

Miho from vividlaze sings the ending tune of Culture Japan.

SCANDAL reminds us what TV show we are watching ^o^

Season 2 was going to start next month but I don't think I could manage the schedule! Thus we will start this July and will be broadcast on Tokyo MX TV and Animax Asia. Currently working on more broadcast locations around the globe and will keep you updated.
For the next season, I want to have a regular corner to some readers around the world where you feature Japanese Pop Culture in your neck of the woods. Keep you updated on this soon too.

Looks like Animax are doing more promotions of Culture Japan while I'm over there at Chara Hobby C3. See you there if you are coming along! Which reminds me I'd better start to pack ^^;

At Ikaho hot springs in Gunma, there is a shrine called Ikaho Jinja [伊香保神社] at the top of the Ishidan steps. We went on a weekday so not many other folks around. Felt like I stepped back in time.

Beside the shrine is a small shop in the form of a stand which has various charms/amulets for sale. This box contains Omikuji - place 100 yen in the slotted compartment and take a dip from the hole to pick out a fortune.
If it says something good then you can be happy. If it says something like "your hands will smell like banana skin for the rest of your life" then you need to tie it to a fence to make sure it does not come true. Unless you like bananas.

Here we have stuff that folks can actually buy. There are some charms/amulets together with Ema which are the tiles of wood. Most of the items here are 500 yen each.

Unmanned shops (which are called Mujin Hanbaisho [無人販売所]) can mostly be found in rural areas where it doesn't make too much sense to have somebody around watching over the goods all the time. This search query shows you more of these unmanned shops - most of them selling veggies.

At these unmanned shops, there is usually a box where folks can slot money into. The awesome thing about this shop however is not only is it unmanned, but the money is actually placed in a box like this so that folks can take change too - behind the cardboard at the bottom of the tin is a load of notes which amount to over 10,000 yen.
If there was just a box with a slot then folks need to have exact change before they bought something.

The honesty of folks over here is something I just love about Japan. Its not like we don't have folks stealing stuff over here - its just that the rate is much lower than what I've experienced in other parts of the world. I'm wondering if money left out in the open at a shop like this would/does work where you are?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

I buy an Ema [絵馬] for 500 yen. I am granted a wish which I write on the back - I then hang the Ema in the shine grounds. After a while, the Ema are burnt along with all the other Ema full of wishes and dreams.

I'll show you what I wrote if it comes true ^^;
Writing on this Ema is just a token of one of my dreams but I'm not going to rely solely on this gesture if I really want it to become true.

We all have dreams but they will always remain just a dream unless we set out to make them a reality. Doing nothing always leads to nothing. Doing something will always lead to something regardless of the outcome.
Many folks fear that the outcome will be failure but there is no such thing. Failure = a new learning which is a step closer to realizing ones dream.

There is only one person in this lifetime that's going to fulfill your dreams. Many folks have always known who it is but are too afraid to come out of the comfort zone. No matter what happens, you will always find a way because that's how evolution and life works.

Up for pre-order now is Hatsune Miku Append Ver which is also the 100th figma. She comes with a few facial expressions which all look fab.
Shes due out this August and will retail for 3,000 yen. More details at Good Smile.

If you are looking to pre-order then you can do so from one of the recommended online retailers below.
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/
http://www.amiami.jp/shop/?set=english
http://toylet.net
http://hlj.com
http://archonia.com
http://hobbystock.jp
http://kidnemo.fm
http://jlist.com

Day 1 in Hong Kong. This time I'm over here working with Bushiroad on this n that and also doing some Culture Japan promotional work with Animax Asia.
TCG (Trading Card Game) and recently anime contents company (Milky Holmes, Vanguard) Bushiroad is attending C3 Chara Hobby together with a load of other Japanese companies such as Good Smile Company, Alter, Kotobukiya, Cospa, Sega Sammy, Bandai, Kadokawa, Toranoana and a load more.

Got two passes. The Contractor one means "if you get killed by one of the big machines while setting up then its the organizers fault" and the Exhibitor pass means "if you get killed while setting up then its your fault for not having a Contractor pass."

It's been a great learning watching/setting up other booths at various anime events worldwide and it looks like I'll be setting my own booths up once all the "stuff" is ready to launch ^^;

A Japanese Pop Culture event is not complete without Engrish.

At about 2PM, setting up of the Bushiroad booth starts. The local distributor comes over with a van with a load of boxes filled with card games and posters.

Posters slowly start to fill the booth walls.

The counter tables arrive.

And by 8PM everything is all setup ready for action tomorrow. The tables are for folks to play the trading card games. Hope I'll have time tomorrow to play a few rounds of Weiss Schwarz.

The event starts on the 11th but I'll be filming with the Milky Holmes girls all day around Hong Kong on that day. On the 12th, I'll mostly be at the Bushiroad booth at A-20 which is right in front of the main stage. If I'm not there then I'll either be doing some wheelings n dealings with other comrades at their booths or on stage for Animax.
Do drop by to say hi - I only bite if your hands smell of bananas.

When you exchange business cards with an employee of Bushiroad, you will find that their card does not fit in a conventional sized card holder because their business cards are the same size as their TCG's ^^;

A load of Milky goodies.

Stealing some of the goodies that will go on sale at the booth.

Never been to an event where the main stage is right in the middle of the hall. AFA and Anime Expo have their stage areas separate from the main halls. Will be interesting to see how this works with all the AKB fans running around ^^;

Engrish fixed for the booth sign.

Zooming back in time a few hours - was outside carrying boxes with the rest of the team.

Japanese style fans are called Sensu [扇子] and these Milky Holmes ones will be given away during the event.

Filling up with some Oolong tea. Speaking of Oolong, how many of you are old enough to remember the character Oolong from the game Yie Ar Kung Fu?

Popular titles with the locals are placed towards the outside of the walls.

Milky Holmes. Green, Yellow, Pink and Blue. One color seems to be missing at the moment.

Posted a few more photos of the Bushiroad booth over at the official English site.

This is the hall much earlier on in the day.

Volks and Animate are here too.

The outside of the Cospa booth.

A huge booth dedicated to Aquarion.

Kadokawa have a large presence too. I'm just bursting to talk about what Kadokawa and I are working on! But cant because I signed that NDA. Will announce in time for the Anime Contents Expo taking place at the end of this month in Makuhari Messe Tokyo.

The stage earlier on in the day.

You can take all of them home with you - buy buying stuff from their booth.

Been working with Sega Sammy of late too.

I love this font! Whats it called?

First time I heard about this company but the whole booth was filled with Zeon goodies. Those bikes looked rather nice too.

Twin Angel! Love em to pieces.

The Cospa booth in the middle of setting up.

Kotobukiya have a nice corner with a load of their goodies up for grabs - in exchange for monies.

Toranoana. I'm sure you will be seeing more of them somehow.

I like the look of these small suitcase thingies - need to make some with Mirai-chan.

Snapped near the end of the day. I don't think they would have Dollfies on display and would probably concentrate on their kits.

I'll be at the mini stage to make sure I don't get on every bodies nerves ^^;

The Kadokawa booth with have a load of localized books/manga for sale. Will probably pick some up for my Chinese/Cantonese study.

Alter, Goodsmile and Max Factory booths nearly ready.

The first thing I saw at this booth was the maid and her yokopai.

Main stage schedule.

Other events I'm due attend this year so far is Anime Expo - nothing fixed for anything else so far. What anime/Japan related events do you plan on attending this year?

A huge earthquake hit Japan this afternoon. I've got a headache thinking about the safety of my friends. To be honest I would rather be back in Japan at a time like this - my own safety is the last thing on my mind.

Latest reports is that it was a Magnitude 8.9. A tsunami came along after and it looks like Sendai is for the most part underwater. I'll update you with any info I have from comrades back in Japan but for now you can watch a clean stream live on NHK at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/foxtokimekitonight

Update: TBS have a live stream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tbstv

As I write this, you can see the Tsunami moving across the land eating up everything in its way, there are fires and cars trying to escape from the wave. I just cant believe what I'm seeing. All I can do is share as much info as I can.

Live TV : Ustream

http://twitpic.com/48edb1

http://hkdmz.tumblr.com/post/3781440892/ishida
http://www.jiji.com/jc/d4?d=d4_topics&p=eqa200-jlp10575297
Tip of Tokyo Tower bent.

http://twitpic.com/48emow

http://twitpic.com/48dazv

Somebody buying eroge during the aftershocks.
http://twitpic.com/48f0h4

Just arrived back in Tokyo. Right up until we got on the plane, had to deal with a barrage of calls from parents/relatives asking us not to go back to Japan. They talk as if everybody in Japan is going to die. How on earth is everything being reported like in your neck of the woods? So much media seems to be sensationalizing everything which maybe increasing their viewer ratings and page views but not helping the situation over here and worrying the crap out of everybody who has family in Japan.

But after I discovered Japanese culture many moons ago, I not only decided that I wanted to live and work in Japan, I also decided that Japan was where I wanted to kick the bucket too. Just sitting watching from the outside was painful - I had to come back to Japan.

We took the ANA (All Nippon Airways) flight from Hong Kong to Haneda which took only just over 3 hours. There are 2 airports serving Tokyo - Narita and Haneda. Narita is far away from Tokyo and I hear that its difficult for some folks getting back into Tokyo from Narita due to lack or no transportation available. If you are traveling to Tokyo try to get a flight in to Haneda which is actually located in Tokyo.

All these photos taken from about 19:00 on 2011/03/15.

Not a full flight but quite a few folks flying back.

Was my first flight into Haneda International Airport. Haneda's International wing opened just recently and smells of fresh carpet. Managed to get to the luggage pickup after immigration in less than 15 mins after landing.

After a smooth customs, we head to catch a train into Tokyo - only took about 20 mins after landing.

The reduced amount of electricity due to the damaged nuclear power plants meant that rolling blackouts were planned. But because citizens worked together to reduce electricity consumption, the rolling blackouts didn't take place on the first day.
And then guess what? Folks complained that the blackouts didn't take place saying that they were highly inconvenienced!

I'm wondering whether it was because of these complaints that the rolling blackouts eventually started to take place in some parts in and around Tokyo. Its like "You complaining that we didn't turn off the electricity for you? OK - we'll turn it off then."

Planned rolling blackouts meant that train services are disrupted but still running on a reduced service. The Keikyu line from Haneda was only running to Shinagawa - but Shinagawa is on the JR Yamanote line which is one of the most convenient lines available as it circles around Tokyo.

Even though the service is "reduced," as you can see from the train times here - its still more frequent that I've seen in many other parts of the world.
The first day of the quake hit East Japan hard - Tokyo was crippled and many simply could not get home as all the trains stopped.

This is the Keikyu line heading to Shinagawa.

Everything seems back to normal on the trains.

Shinagawa station heading to the Yamanote line.

Getting onto the Yamanote line. Trains are frequent and not crowded in particular.

Yamanote line carriage.

Got off at Gotanda station. Everything seems a bit more quiet than usual here for a few reasons:-
1. Companies are saving electricity.
2. Many companies are taking the week off.
3. Many employees cant get into work as they live far away from the center.

I heard that the roads were going to be packed and that taxis were going to be difficult to get but 6 days after the quake, taxis are available everywhere.
Will be heading to Akihabara for a meeting this evening so will update you more on the transport situation.
But my observation so far is that everything seems to be working albeit on a reduced service - even still - trains are so regular that it doesn't seem reduced at all.
I will however be taking my rollerblades out with me today in the event that the trains should stop for whatever reason.
Folks may want to follow http://twitter.com/#!/JorudanLive for updates on what lines are in service.

Got more posts lined up regarding aftershocks, food, supplies, damage, radiation etc coming up in a mo.

Will be pooling earthquake info under the tag "earthquake201103".

After the earthquake, I heard that food supplies were getting dangerously low in Tokyo. The possibility of a mag 7 Earthquake to hit Tokyo is still 40% (reduced from 70%). Many people are worried and started to panic buy staple foods such as bread, rice and instant noodles. Never thought I would see people line up for batteries, toilet paper and rice in modern day Japan.
Evil dealers were even buying up batteries who tried to sell them for extortionate prices on Amazon Japan before they got reported.

After checking to see if our house was still in one piece, we headed to our local shopping area in Musashikoyama in Meguro Tokyo. At the Family Mart convenience store all bread and cakes were gone.

These photos taken on 2011/03/15 at about 21:00.

Earlier on in the evening on the way home - first signs that things are not completely normal. Some vending machines turned off due to the rolling blackouts.

Shops at the stations seemed to operate as normal filled with drinks and snacks.

Cafes are operating as normal too.

Udon noodles available for noms at the station.

Back in Family Mart. While the bread shelves were empty, there is food to eat and is restocked everyday. Folks do not need to worry about starving in Tokyo - unless you just have to eat convenience store bread everyday.

Instant soup type foods available for noms.

Plenty of drinks but no milk. Milk, bread, rice, noodles, gasoline, batteries, toilet paper are the main items that folks are buying tons of. Most supermarkets do refill stock in the morning and there is a limit on how many of these items one can buy. Folks should go to the supermarkets early to get these items and expect to queue up for a bit.

Patches of empty shelves but still stuff available to eat.

The most important food for young boys is of the health type and there is plenty available.

Plenty of vegetable and fruits available.

Dinner for the night is Okura and Tororo on soba noodles - 400 yen.

Fujisoba running with minimal lights to save electricity.

Was about 21:30 in the evening. The burger place in business as usual.

Ringerhut also operating business with reduced lights. This is the Nagasaki Chanpon noodle place.

Doutor is the coffee place. Never go in there though as the sandwiches they sell taste of tobacco - they allow customers to smoke where the food is being prepared.

Tenya is the tempura place still operating as usual.

Mc Donalds operating business with a reduced menu due to the lack of stock.

Dont know why but I felt like some Mc Dees this afternoon. Wifey is insisting that I wear that mask while outdoors ^^;

Other folks enjoying their Mc Dees in the afternoon.

Lots of folks have been buying much more rice than they need which is resulting in the lack of rice everywhere. We spotted a queue of folks queuing up leading us to find a small place selling rice - this shop seemed to have plenty of it! Its located in a small road leading off the Palm shopping arcade in Musashikoyama.

But there was quite a bit of queuing to get the rice.

Bread is available but by lunch time not much left.

By lunch time, all toilet paper is gone.

All toilet paper gone from this pharmacy too. Never thought I'd see the day where people would panic buy toilet paper. But the most notable thing was that dispute the current situation in Japan - there was no looting anywhere. But I guess trying to buy everything up is kinda as bad as looting in a way ^^;

Despite the current news of something very bad happening at the nuclear plants happening up North, folks are going about in a orderly manner trying to get back into the rhythm of a normal life.

More posts regarding the quake listed up below.

Continuing the earthquake coverage which is all being tagged "earthquake201103." I knew from speaking to folks like Steve Nagata in Tokyo that the place was going to be a mess when we got back to Japan. Steve's place was in a mess and even furniture moved around.

While I wasn't in Tokyo when the quake happened, in the 12 years that I've been living in Japan, I've only had about 1 figure fall over in a quake - and it probably wasn't even standing properly.

I'm not complaining or sad about any of the damage in our house though - considering the damage and deaths up North, I have no right to complain.

The 3rd floor on our house. As expected, a load of figures n boxes all over the place.

This is the 3rd floor when we left Japan.

And this is what it was like when we got back.

The following video taken by somebody in their room during the quake. Made me jump half way though.

Black Rock Shooter bites the dust. This is what she looked like before the quake.

Kitchen was a mess but I caused the most damage - by opening a cupboard. A glass fell out and smashed in the sink. Lesson learned - open cupboards slowly after a quake.

London destroyed.

Small bits of paint and parts all over the floor on second lounge.

My lovely Char Rhouseman looses her head.

The first floor had the least damage - presuming because the upper floors usually sway more during a quake.

Have no idea how these guys fell down so clean together like that - its as if they stepped down and lay down together @.@ One would think that they would fall forwards head first...

I always sit or lay my girls down when I leave the house in the event of a quake. They are unhurt but they've been in shock ever since and haven't spoken a word since we got back.

No damage on this side.

I thought these plants and all the gravel were going to be a gonner.

I was also expecting the worse for the tables and imagined them to have slid off the wooden legs and smashed into the floor together with all the macs ^^;

Black Rock Shooter Nendoroid Puchi also bites the dust.

Nanael fell but no damage.

I was very surprised that all of these didn't fall. Alter Mugi and Alter Yoko don't have stands either.

Bumblebee and Hotrod bite the dust.

Everything in the cupboard seems to be fine.

Figures waiting to undergo surgery. How many of you have experienced an earthquake and did anything around you break?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
More posts regarding the quake listed up below.

Photos taken last night in Akihabara - 6 days after the magnitude 9 Earthquake hit East Japan. There were less folks out n about but that was mainly due to all the shops trying their best to save electricity by closing early - most were open for business as usual during the day. Hordes of folks are *not* running away from Tokyo.

At Musashikoyama station. The board tells passengers that lines are running at 80% capacity. Even still that's every few minutes at this time of night. I love Japan.

At Meguro station changing for the Yamanote line. Pollen count is high over the past few days which is why folks are wearing masks.

Arrival at Akihabara station. Everybody trying their best to get back into the rhythm of a normal life despite the tense situation with the nuclear reactors.

Many folks are out n about.

Akihabara station Electric Town Exit. Many shops are starting to close and others have signboards turned off to save electricity.

Radio Kaikan already closed.

The Gamers corner open for business.

As you can see the roads are not packed with cars filled with folks who are supposedly trying to escape.

Food places were also open as usual.

Many shoppers seeking otaku goodies.

Lammtarra - the one stop for health food.

Many shops around Akiba closed early for the day.

And this is where my meeting is - on the 8th floor of the Toranoana building. Toranoana do a load of doujin and character goodies.

New game from August - Aiyoku no Eustia was due out on the 25th of March but postponed to the 28th of April due to the quake. Lots of cuties in the game.

Many events have been canceled too like the Tokyo Anime Fair, Anime Contents Expo and Ita G Festa has been postponed.

Animate is a shop that you don't want to miss when visiting - full of anime goodies - figures at highly discounted prices too. More about what sort of goodies can be found at Akihabara listed up below.

In the Toranoana elevator which is plastered with cuties.

Tohou goodies.

Meeting up with the boss of Toranoana and some other folks including Endo-san from Ascii Media Works.

Meeting > Dinner > Head back to Akihabara station.

11 in the evening. I'm hardly ever out at this time of night ^^;

Yodobashi Akiba - the everything-under-one-roof place.

Train services typically stop at around midnight. If you miss the trains then the only way to get home would be a taxi. Be careful when taking taxi at night as some of the taxi's can charge 30% more than usual.

Despite the current situation with the nuclear reactors up North in Fukushima, folks in Tokyo are remaining calm and doing their best to just get on with life. As I write this, Japans Self Defense Forces are about to go into the reactors to try to cool down the pool of rods with some fire engines.
Being in Tokyo, the best I can do right now is to just get on with things and keep you up to date with whats going on. Most of my updates however go to my Twitter or Facebook account.

My thoughts are with the folks up North and the ones working at the plants trying to fix the situation who are sacrificing their lives to save Japan.

More photo posts regarding the quake listed up below.

Media around the world continues to go on about how everybody is leaving Tokyo and that its a ghost town. These photos were taken a few hours a go in one of the busiest shopping/restaurant districts in Tokyo called Shibuya.

While there are folks leaving Tokyo, most of them seem to be foreigners - but that's only a small percentage compared to the amount of gaijin who decided to stay. As for me - I'm staying put as this is and always will be home for me.

On the way to Shibuya.

Pollen levels are extremely high today which is the main reason why a load of folks were out n about wearing surgical masks. Me currently suffering bad from hay fever too ToT. The main reasons why folks wear masks are:-

• They are sick and don't want their evil germs to infect others.
  
• They have hay fever and don't want the evil pollen to affect them.
  
• They are not sick but don't want to catch any evil germs from others.
  
• They have a tooth missing and want to cover it up.
  
• Their breath smells like a fart and want to diffuse the smell.
  
• They have no mouth and don't want people to know that they are from Mars.
  
• They have three tongues.
  
• They carry a nendoroid in their mouth and don't want people to know.

Shibuya station south exit.

As you can see from these photos - people are not panicking or trying to flee Tokyo.

The 3 large screens were turned off to conserve electricity.

Shibuya 109.

At Center Gai.

Lunch time noms at my fave restaurant - Negishi. The G's Festival comes with a dakimakura cover of Mayuzumi Yukie.

Whenever in Japan, look for Negishi. The food here tastes so good that its probably the only thing I eat when in Shibuya ^^;

Lunch time in Shibuya. Things are back to normal.

With Steve Nagata playing around with the AR Drone.

Shibuya crossing busy as always.

Apart from the Apple Store, pretty much all teh shops were open for business.

Quite liked the Expendables.

A bunch of lovely ladies at Starbucks enjoying each others company.

While Tokyo didn't suffer anywhere near the damage up North, I can tell you that all folks in Japan were deeply distressed and hurt by the natural disaster. The quake affected pretty much the whole of the East of Japan in some way or another. A week later, folks in Tokyo are doing their best to contribute to the restoration of Japan by getting on with things as usual.

Playing around with Steve's Nintendo 3DS - wasn't too impressed the first time I saw it but now that I've played around with it for a bit, it does look rather cool. The 3D engine looks great too. But! It does seem to put a strain on the eyes. How many of you own one?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Shibuya many moons ago which you can read about in the History of Shibuya.

Many folks collecting donations for folks up North. Many fraudsters are out n about making use of this situation which has recently become a problem. If you are donating money, please try to confirm the authenticity of the group you are donating to.

The Hachiko waiting area.

The Moai statue at the South exit of Shibuya station.

JR are looking for part timers to work for them. Pay starts at 1,100 yen an hour.

Many places are in the conserve-electricity mode while they work on restoring full capacity to Tokyo. If you are traveling to Tokyo and the address has "Tokyo" on it then you need not worry about rolling blackouts which have not taken place in inner Tokyo.

Yamanote lines running as usual with the usual passengers.

Musashikoyama station with a few ticket barriers closed to conserve energy.

Schools are open as usual too.

I didn't have bad hayfever until I moved to Japan. There is a type of tree called "Sugi" [杉] which does not exist in the UK - does wonders in making me cry and sneeze all day ToT

More photo posts regarding the quake listed up below.

Update : Thanks for all the feedback about how the situation is being reported in your neck of the woods. Here are a collection of just some of it.

While there are some folks leaving Tokyo (who mostly seem to be foreigners with children), there is no "mass exodus from Tokyo" as you can see in the title of this page over at the Sun.

I read a few of your comments so far and have seen media calling Japan "empire of death" and also reports having folks to believe that the whole of Japan is washed away.
I you got more feedback or sources then please leave em in this post.

Via Japan Probe.

The Sun at it again in their "Starving in a City of Ghosts" article.

The same article with a member of their staff that they got to make out that folks are trying to hitchhike out of Tokyo.

Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet reports "In Deaths Kingdom." They also reporting that drinking water is radioactive.

Japan Nuke Disaster...

Speechless...
(Source)

Malaysian newspapers Tsunami cartoon...

Fox's report on Shibuyaeggman nuclear power plant...
(source)

And news like this has fueled the urge for foreigners to leave Tokyo...

While all my Japanese comrade bloggers like Foo Bar Baz, Akiba Hobby, Cut A News and more are getting back into to the rhythm of a normal blogging schedule, I'm as always late.

Today we are going to take a gander at the shenanigans that took place over the 3 day C3 HK event that was held in Hong Kong last week. C3 is where a load of Japanese companies come together to share n sell their pop culture goodies. Companies like Sunrise, Bandai, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, Alter, Cospa, Sega Sammy, Toranoana and Bushiroad were just some of the companies that attended the event.

There also be a load of cosplay, events and guests from Japan including AKB48, SKE48, Milky Holmes and more.

First up we take a gander at the Bushiroad booth that you previously saw being set up. The booth had much more players than I anticipated and was often swamped with folks trying to get their grubby mitts on the latest decks or waiting to have a few rounds with comrades.

Mmmmm. I be needing more boxes for my collection.

Kirino is such a cutie.

At the Volks booth.

Mmmm. Nice Kimi Kiss poster.

At the Kotobukiya booth.

Wish I had more time to get back into Gunpla.

Some mascots for Akihabara. Who's your fave?

At the Cospa booth.

The Toranoana booth.

AKB48 goodies.

Good Smile Company booth.

Kadokawa booth.

Stage schedule. Was super tough for all performers but everybody gave cheers to support the artists and Japan.

Met the folks who make Aquarion and Macross Frontier and will be invading their Tokyo offices next week or so.

Twin Angel goodies.

Anybody recognize this man?

Owners of these otaku rooms got off lightly compared to Northern Japan after the earthquake. I don't think anybody is complaining about the damage to their rooms and neither am I.
It is said that the most vulnerable rooms in the event of an earthquake is no doubt the otaku room and these photos seem to prove it.
You can see more otaku room earthquake damage photos at the following sources.
http://gengeiken.blog80.fc2.com/blog-entry-1301.html
http://alfalfalfa.com/archives/2588984.html
http://blog.livedoor.jp/akino2011/archives/51713592.html
http://apricotcomplex.com/archives/51683516.html
http://blog.livedoor.jp/urisurematometoka/archives/51208612.html
http://michaelsan.livedoor.biz/archives/51585749.html
http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2130015459348797501

And the little damage around my house is pictured in this post.

All earthquake related posts listed up below.

Was in Hong Kong earlier this month for C3HK traveling with Bushiroad and the Milky Holmes girls. Schedule was tight but managed to get a few hours to look around town for a bit. Mmmmm. Better try not to spend too much time with them as I'm getting very attached to them - they are just lovely and bubbly!

Meeting up in the hotel lounge to go over the days schedule.

Big boss of Bushiroad Takaaki Kidani-san.

Suzuko-san and Izumi-san doing the keitai thing.

Off to explore!

We split up into two taxis and I'm with Suzuko-san and Izumi-san.

I think (?) my Cantonese improves over the few days that I spend in Hong Kong and then gets worse after I leave until I next visit - hardly use Cantonese in Japan. Any Cantonese speakers in Tokyo who would like to get together for dindins now and then?
Actually I think I'm slowly forgetting my English too as most of the dialog I use in Japan everyday for work is Japanese ToT.

Arrival at a temple somewhere - completely forgot what this place is called. Anybody know?

集合写真タイム！

そらさんのほっぺかわいい♪

I love these swirly incense hanging from the ceiling.

Our lovely Suzuko-san.

Its Sora-sans turn at the incense.

Mikoi-san makes a wish for...

One of the things I love about Hong Kong are these huge steps.

After walking for a bit we ended up in an area filled with accessories and antiques.

Suzuko-san kawaiiiiiiiiiiiii!
And yes - shes even cuter in person.

Izumi-san finds some goodies.

Pika....Chu.....?

Again - need somebody to tell us where this was as I cant remember. Was filled with a load of interesting knick knacks and dollfie sized stuff which I forgot to pick up.

it says something like:-
If folks don't harm us, we don't harm folks.
If folks harm us, then we must harm folks.
or something along those lines ^^;

Love the poster art.

Looks like our Milky girls have found something.

What is it?!

Mikoi: "Show me!"

Mikoi: "Show meeeee!"

Suzuko-san and Sora-san walked away with a new time piece. Mao waves his hand on each second.

I used to have one that looked like a star that I would wear on my beanie ^^;

Spotted lots of business opportunities in Hong Kong and hope to be back very soon to follow up.

I always stand in awe when looking at the mass of tall buildings in Hong Kong.

Time to look for some food.

Took the Milky girls to my fave Dim Sum place at Admiral in the United Center. Was actually here for Brekkie too ^^;

Place is usually packed but has a quick turnover due to the amount of tables they have.

Yummy food carts are here!

Siew Mai. Om nom nom.

Izumi-san pulls a sweet face for us. Kawaiiiiiiiiii!

Izumi-san is actually known as the queen of Gyoza [餃子] (fried dumplings) and practically lives on Gyoza.

Last piece of Siew yook!

Will be giving away some personally signed goodies from the Milky girls soon. Which reminds me I need to announce winners of the Eri Kitamura signed shikishi this week.

Other related Milky Holmes posts below.

Apart from donating 10,000,000 yen to the relief efforts up North, Good Smile Company have come up with a Hatsune Miku cheerleeder version [応援Ver] - she costs 3,000 yen and for each order, Good Smile will donate an additional 1,000 yen to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

This Miku comes with a new face and accessories to cheer on the folks who are trying their best to come through the disaster.
Orders for folks in Japan will start tomorrow. Folks outside of Japan will be able to pre-order directly from Good Smile on the 8th of April. Keep your mince pies on the Good Smile English site.

Few more photos at Mikatan Blog.

We previously took a look at some of Plus Kareha's work but this time he's outdone himself with this fantastic Aegis - 95% of which is made completely out of paper - fully poseable and comes with a load of accessories. Bits which are not paper are the ribbon, chain and armband.
He sent these photos to me a while ago and you can see a wee bit more at his burogu.

About a week ago, shelves in supermarkets across Tokyo were looking pretty much like this - nekkid. One of the reasons brought up in the foreign press was that many folks were hoarding by buying up as much as they could which was true. But another reason why shelves were empty was because many factories and suppliers had their infrastructure and logistics affected by the quake meaning that stuff just was not able to get to its destination.

Milk, tissue paper, nappies, bread, instant noodles were among some of the supplies that there was a shortage of. One of the reasons why there was a shortage of milk was that two of the factories that manufactured milk cartons were also damaged in the earthquake.

Following photos taken about a week ago.

Many shops restricted items to one per person.

Our local pharmacy.

Was a huge shortage of baby products.

Another notice reminding customers that they will only sell one item per *family* as folks would go in couples trying to get two items each.

All the toilet paper and tissure gone here. Am wondering if this is the reason why the Multi Purpose Mirai Suenaga Microfiber Towel has been selling so well lately ^^;

Photo taken this morning. While there is still the "one item per person" restriction on milk in this supermarket, most other supplies like bread, yogurt, toilet paper and tissue seem to be back to regular levels. The speed and diligence of Japanese folks working to get things back to normal is incredible.

This photo taken last week - this is actually a line of cars waiting to fill up at a gasoline station. Due to unnecessary panic, many folks started to fill up their cars with gasoline - which was another reason why supplies were short. The huge demand of gasoline meant that there wasn't enough to go around which stranded many trucks which were filled with supplies waiting to head out to their drop off points.

Photo snapped yesterday - the same gasoline station that everybody was lining up for hours to get some gas. No more queues as infrastructure reverts to normal mode.
Price of gasoline was affected which jumped up about 50 yen. Has dropped about 20 yen since last week and will probably drop more next week.

Seems like folks who panic end up stabbing themselves in the foot. I bet that many of the folks who panicked filled their car which they hardly used - and ended up paying more for gas.

Also, folks who panicked and decided to flee the country were probably exposed to more radiation on the flight than they would have done by staying in Tokyo. I also hear that radiation levels are by default higher in places like London and Paris so folks who fled to those countries would have really exposed themselves to much more radiation than needed.

Another gasoline stand - no queues here either.
Have you experienced any national disasters in your lifetime? How did it affect life and infrastructure? Anybody here in Hong Kong during the SARS period?

Other posts related to the earthquake listed up below.

Its been 2 weeks since the Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake hit Japan and today we'll take a look at whats been happening in Tokyo since then.
First photo taken in a small street near our station - we've got a load of streets around here full of personality.

Arrival back in Tokyo a few days after the quake. While folks recommended that we stay away, I just could not bare to watch from the outside and do nothing but hide. Dying is the last thing I'm afraid of - the thing I'm afraid of the most is dying without living my passion and Japan is where my passion has been since I discovered it. The write up and photos of our arrival in Tokyo and post-earthquake transportation situation in this post.

Arrival back at home in Meguro and first thing is first - let Saber out for some fresh air ^^;

The third floor was where most of the damage was. Damage report and photos in the "Post Earthquake Tokyo - Damage" write up.

Over at our neighbors house to listen to their account of the quake and current situation in Tokyo. Their TV was strapped down to prevent it from falling over as there were constant aftershocks.

One of the rescue workers who managed to save a 75 year old lady.

The earthquake was bad - Tsunami was worse and to top everything off, A few reactors at the nuclear power plants at Fukushima were damaged by the tsunami which released radioactive materials into the air.

Due to the nuclear plants being out of action, not enough electricity is being generated so the government put into effect rolling blackouts in the Kanto region (Tokyo is in Kanto). Most of Eastern Japan is now saving electricity as much as possible and thanks to this, the rolling blackouts were put off for a few days. The interesting thing was that many folks complained that the blackouts didn't happen as scheduled!

West Japan was hardly affected by the quake and are not subject to any scheduled blackouts. The reason why they cant just channel electricity from West to East Japan is because both sides run on different electric frequencies. East is 50Hz while West is 60Hz.
The reason why things ended up like this is because during the Meiji period, Tokyo imported its power generators from Germany while Osaka got its generators from the US.
Many electrical appliances would just break if the wrong frequency of electricity was used.

Radiation levels around Japan have been higher than normal and they've found traces in spinach and milk. The levels however are not high enough to cause damage - one of the statistics I saw was that unless one drunk more than 50,000 cups of milk then one would be fine. This chart should put everything into perspective and this article at the BBC may help folks who are still worried.

Coverage of the damage at ground zero.

On the night we arrived there was a large earthquake where the epicenter was Shizuoka which we also felt in Tokyo - me never seen Strike Gundam sway so much from the ceiling! Many folks started to worry that the icing on the cake would be the eruption of Mt Fuji which is located in Shizuoka.

While we didn't really have any trouble getting hold of food that we wanted to eat, supermarkets and pharmacies had empty shelves like this. Readily edible foods like bread and milk were hard to get hold of depending on the time of day one went shopping. The Supplies Shortage Tokyo post explains some of the reasons why shelves were like this.

Many stores like the electrical appliance store LAOX have been closing early of late to save electricity. LAOX also has a notice of how logistics have affected the stocking up of new items.

The lights in our local arcade usually turn off around 9PM. What with the shops closing earlier than normal, the Palm shopping arcade was quieter than usual but pretty much back to normal during the day.

Akihabara was back in business soon after the quake but in power conservation mode meaning that many shops closed early - more photos from Akihabara in the Post Earthquake Tokyo - Akihabara write up.

Samurai Champloo gets the Pachislot treatment.

The ramen place around the corner which we've been going to quite a bit of late.

And this is why - their Shio Ramen tastes great! Many ramen places have a stack of Manga for folks to read - this one all about golf.

Sushi for dindins.

On the way to Gakugei Daigaku for dindins.

We got rabbits sleeping in the shade at our local station.

Singapore laksa for dindins at home.

A notice from a local pachinko parlor informing us of how they are continuing business but with many lights turned off to conserve electricity.
The word Jishuku [自粛] means "self imposed control" and is an important keyword used in this disaster. Many companies are refraining from their normal marketing and advertising activities which is one of the reason why most of the ads on TV are public service ones.

For the first few days after the quake, most TV was just news. As TV started to get back to a normal schedule, the first few days had disaster related information at the top and side of whatever was being aired.

Our local bookstore back to normal.

Evening dinner meeting with Toranoana and Ascii Media Works - some rather good Chinese food near Akihabara.

Foreign media press was reporting that people were starving in Tokyo and that it was a ghost town. A day in Shibuya proves otherwise.

Neighbors bring over some yummy Chirashi over for noms.

Something going on at the other end of the room...

Little people larking around the lounge ^^;

Dinner for the evening.

One end of the lounge has turned into a diving area all of a sudden.

After dindin noms.

Our Mirai-chan was the mascot for an event hosted by the Agency of Cultural Affairs at Keio University. The sign comes complete with Engrish.

Walking around Keio Mita campus during a break. This room had many university students who went ahead to celebrate their graduations together - many schools ended up canceling the graduation ceremonies due to the quake. The writing on the board says "Chun's Prom."

Catching up on some mail while nomming on a bento provided by the organizers.

T'was a public holiday today so hardly any students around.

I spoke on a panel with other fellow gaijins from the US, Korea, China and Iran - Sahel Rosa is a model and celebrity who does a load of stuff in Japan. You can see some of her in action below.

Noticed many Mac users in the audience.

Also noticed a member from Evangelion in the audience too.

Quite a few meetings out n about town means a lot of travel on the metro.

The latest from the metro manner posters. Had to look at this one closely before I worked out where the girls were supposed to be standing.

Off to the next meeting at Edogawa Bashi.

There was an earthquake in the morning and when that happens, many trains stop to make sure everything is safe before letting the trains run again. Me waiting by the river as my counterpart got stuck on the trains.

Heading towards the King Records offices.

Been working with King Records for a while now and after launching a few of their English sites like Onii-chan, we will be launching their English portal next. And I've not forgotten about your Eri Kitamura signatures - will get to it as soon as I can!

View from the King Records offices.

Cherry Blossom season upon us very soon. The board on right is a familiar sight during election time - numbers are slowly filled up with posters of political type folks. Vans will be driving up and down the streets with politicians shouting out their names soon too.

Edogawa Park will be lined with a load of cherry blossoms soon. A day before they are in full bloom, folks will typically put out blue mats under the trees as the tradition is to drink, eat and be merry while admiring the cherry blossoms. Photos from last years Cherry Blossom season posted here.

The dogs over here are smart because they carry plastic bags and scoop up their own poo.

Changing from the Yurakucho to the Nanboku line.

Our Palm Shopping arcade pretty much back into the rhythm of things.

Urusei Yatsura gets the pachinko treatment.

Pharmacies are mostly back to normal with supplies of toilet and tissue paper.

A poster issued by the police department. This one warns of the problem where folks are tricked into transferring money into a bad mans account.

Working on the 3rd floor with good company. This photo taken a few days ago when the news reported how traces of radiation was found in Tokyo water. Within minutes, folks ran out to buy as much mineral water as possible despite the levels being very low.
As for me - the first thing that went though my head was "its now or never" to try my first cup of PG Radiated Tips - tasted good!

Our Mirai Itasha still standing strong against the sun and is due to do so for the next 2.5 years. Regarding stickers for car owners overseas - am meeting Nakamura-san next Tuesday to go over costs and logistics.

Time to mow the lawn.

Reminds me that its also time for my girls to get their hair cut too.

Meeting with folks at Ascii Media Works. Your Ascii doll photos need to get Volks approval before they are published - will keep you posted.

Palm early in the evening - a wee bit darker than usual due to electric conservation. Looks like we all need to do our bit to save electricity throughout the Summer too.

Saber gets to go out for a change.

Noms at Imon - the Chinese restaurant where we do all our dinner meetings.

Have been doing a few bits n bobs for the Japanese government since last year - folks from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry over to discuss the next project.

One of my fave Japanese dishes - Ton Katsu.

Cakes made with your fave anime character. Which would you choose?

Heading back to the office after lunch.

Yoso Guy giving away free gowns and towels with new Softbank mobile subscriptions.

Local supermarket Tokyu informs customers that they are also continuing business with reduced electricity consumption.

A lot of my work involves using Skype which enables me to collaborate with folks in various locations around the world. The screen sharing functionality is a lifesaver. Would be quite lost without it ^^

Sometimes I would be working on the first floor...

...and sometimes up on the third floor.

Love this figure of Yui Inaba from Flyable Heart.

Shelves cleaned up after the quake but not going to be displaying any figures here this time round ^^;

Folks have been wondering where all the figures go - some are kept and then others are gifts to folks who visit the office.

Hmmm. Whats all this then?

Getting round to tidying up the books after the quake.

Fave character in Valkyria Chronicles 3 at the moment is Clarissa Calagham. Sweet face, voice and lovely eyes - you can see some of her in the character roll below.

My fave figma Yui has an accident - been carrying her around for over a year now ;-;

Anyway, now that you have seen what life is like in Tokyo now, does it change any decisions you've made about coming to Japan? If you was planning to come over to shop and do some sightseeing then your schedule will be unaffected - some shops will close an hour early and you may have trouble getting hold of batteries but that's about it.

As for the radiation levels - Japan's standards are so stringent anyway that even if levels are above normal for Japan, its still way below the levels in many cities worldwide - Google should provide you with more info.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Previous editions of A Week in Tokyo listed below.

And a photo from the A Week in Tokyo 52 this time last year - find out whats going on in this photo.