Been working with Lucy Pop on making the official school uniform for Mirai Suenaga. Lucy Pop specialize in making Japanese school girl uniforms and first up they be working on Mirai-chan's Summer uniform.

Asanon is doing the voice of Mirai-chan and we have already recorded her first single which I'm planning to use as the opening for the second season of Culture Japan. Today Asanon has come to Lucy Pop in Musashikoyama for the second fitting.

Japanese school girl skirts are designed in a way to allow them to be rolled up at the waist - Mirai-chan's skirt also has this feature built in ^^;

Asanon adjusting the waist to make it a better fit.

The boss Kamiyama-san sticks in some pins and will make the final version to Asanon's specs.

The bit O paper on the shoulder is where the logo will go. We've decided to go for an embroidered version rather than a plain print.

The armpits will have some extra material to allow the arms to swing up n down and also enable one to swing from monkey bars.

Extremely pleased with the quality! If I was a girl or Hideyoshi, I'd certainly wear this but will settle for Eiji Seiun cosplay instead.
The logo on the chest will be embroidered too. The ribbon will be styled a bit so that the ends are longer and cut in a slight V shape.

For some strange reason, I have a feeling that we will see maid cafes where all the maids are wearing Mirai-chan summer school uniforms ^^;
The uniforms will be on sale later this year online. I'll ask Kamiyama-san about different sizes (should be available in S M L) but for now roughly what size would you be?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Folks who prefer to make their own cosplay kit should refer to the illustrations in this post or have a lookie at other cosplayers in Mirai's page.

Other Mirai Suenaga related posts listed up below.

Mirai and Co look so adorable that you could just about eat them along with the sushi too! How often so you eat Sushi? We have it about once a week in the Palm shopping arcade at Musashikoyama.

す (su) for "sushi"

Following on from the previous hiragana in this Moekana series which was し, today we learn "す" (su). Today's word is "すし” [寿司] (pronounced "sushi") which is mostly a slice of raw fish rested on vinegar rice. There are other types of Sushi including egg which I used to choose all the time just after arriving in Japan - wasn't used to eating raw fish. I only started to eat Sushi *with* wasabi after I heard how good it was for ones health ^^

The katakana equivalent of "す" is "ス".
Today's models are Mirai Suenaga, Haruka Suenaga and Kanata Hoshikawa illustrated by Ikkyu-san.

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Omae no iki wa sushi kusai zo
お前の息はすし臭いぞ
Your breath smells like sushi

You can say this to the person who is interviewing you for a job who will think you are brave for saying such a thing and hire you immediately.

Exercise

Write out "す” 50 times while being interviewed on the table and say "す" just after being asked each question.

All Hiragana in the Moekana series are tagged "hiragana"

We've seen a load of comparison photos of pre/post earthquake Japan but Bostom.com has posted an incredible set of photos showing Japan 3 months after the quake.
One of the greatest things about Japanese culture is the diligence, speed and patience that the Japanese have and you can see through these photos just how much work they have done in such a short time to get things back to normal.
Other Kanto Tohoku quake related photo posts below.

Was back in the UK last year after being away for 5 years. T'was a time to reflect on the past while looking at how London has changed over time. This photo taken at St Pancras where we used the Eurostar to travel between Paris and London - we ended up taking the Eurostar 4 times due to the volcano.

T'was my first time on the Eurostar and was rather shocked that it looked nothing like what I saw in Mission Impossible ^^; Probably because we were in Economy class? ^^;

Arrival at St Pancras station.

Picking up some tickets to get a bus back to mums place in Hackney.
Before I continue to babble, folks who have not done so already may want to read the "How Discovering Japan Changed My Life" post to understand and relate to photos and stuff in this post.

They didn't have these Oyster card thingies when I was living in the UK. The naming "Oyster" kinds sounded strange as I've heard "Oyster" being used to describe other things ^^; The Oyster is a card which you can charge with money that enables you to use the transport system. Cant remember if you can use it to buy other stuff like Suica or Pasmo in Japan.

The lady here is trying to convince the man that she lost her oyster and wants another one.

Mum has no Internets so I need to buy some in the form of these USB modem thingies from the O2 shop in Angel.

Never in my life have I seen a sight like this at Dalston Junction - bicycles instead of cars. Since I left London, they introduced a congestion charge which means that folks who want to travel into central London need to pay extra. Over time, many folks started to bike it to work like these folks.

I only learned how to ride a bicycle after I got to Japan - would love to cycle the streets of London one day.

The weather was gorgeous for pretty much the whole duration of our stay which made me think that the weather improved over the years from being cloudy most of the time ^^;

One thing that didn't change over the past 10 years however are the roadworks which were not being worked on. In the past I saw workmen filling holes in the road with newspaper and dumping tar on top which is probably of the reasons why there are so many sudden pits in the roads.

Been mostly living with mum after I got out of those foster homes and usually stay with her when we go back to London.
This is the computer that we bought while I was a student - bought it with a loan and was the best investment we've ever made that helped me pick up computing skills which I needed to built my career which you recently read about.
This machine had a 4GB drive and was on dailup at 56 or 256k ^^; What was the spec of your first ever PC or Mac?

I did have a Commodore 64 before this but didn't do much on it apart from play games like The Last Ninja - we loaded games via a cassette tape back then!

The quickest way to digitize old photos was to take a photo of them - stuck a bit of blu-tac at the back and stuck them on the wall to take photos - had been preparing that post since last year.
I love that beer mug tea cup which I forgot to bring back with me ToT

Entrance of mums house - all the Nishida Hikaru posters have gone walkies.

Looks messy but mums English brekkie tastes fab.

Was nice to see that the council came around to do up the kitchen - they left it for years and everything was falling apart.

Photos of the kitchen when I was living here can be seen in this slide.

Crumpets and Crunchy Nut! We don't get either of them in Japan.

My room which used to look like this and previously like this (!) many moons ago.

Been digging around the little belongings that I have left in the UK. Learned a lot of Japanese from that Furai no Shiren game.

I used to make sure that there was always water for this guy in that cup. On many occasions after I left the house, I would run back in and upstairs to make sure he had his water which he would drink (or evaporate) over a few days.

I was brought up on Argos and remember always looking forward to looking at the toys section when a new catalog came out. I see that its now tripled in size over the past 10 years!

Setting up my mobile O2 device which enabled me to work from Mums place. Fairly decent speeds but the connection would often drop.

The Millennium bridge popped up within the past 5 years - the first time I saw it was in Harry Potter.

Was out n about London in armor and you can see photos taken on the day in the Tokyo Trooper in London post.
I never carry the blaster around anymore as police have asked about it in the past before.

Made a load of comrades on the way!

Used to spend a lot of time at the River Thames thinking about my goal of living and working in Japan.

At my fave place in China Town about to nom on some Char Siew Rice.

I love British Food! Unfortunately there aren't that many places in Tokyo (not that I know of anyway) that do decent UK food. All the food photos are in the British Food post.

In the countryside on a gorgeous evening.

The more traditional side of the UK.

My neck of the woods - Hackney Town Hall.

Retracing the past by visiting places where I used to commute through. This is Dalston where I used to work part time for my dad.

Kingsland Road.

Out n about near Bond Street station. Used to work near here in a Japanese restaurant called Ikeda part time. My memories of working here are running for a bus in the rain close to midnight ^^;

A visit to some friends outside of London.

Friends who I used to work with part time at the Benihana restaurant went on to set up their own Asian ethnic restaurant called MoMo Cafe.

Had the pleasure of paying a visit to the university that I graduated from - SOAS where I also gave a talk. More photos from the day in the SOAS post.

Radio interview.

Thanks to everybody who came! I spy my Korean teacher Yeon Sonseng Nim.

The traditional technical hitches - not my fault!

Its always great to be able to meet readers in person.

Out in Stoke Newington for some Kebab in the evening.

Looks like there is more recycling going on in the UK. Wifey and I used to practice recycling when we were living in the UK but she got a shock when she saw the garbage folks just mix the brown and green bottles upon collection ^^;

Hackney Mare Street. The London College of Fashion (previously Cordwainers) is located here which my dad attended.

Fancy drinking from a dolphin?
Erm, I meant fancy a drink *at* the dolphin?

The badge man is still walking around after all these years.

At Bethnal Green station about to hop onto the central line.

Everything suddenly seems so small.

The central line trains haven't changed a bit and are still in good condition.

Rollerblades in Japan cost an arm and a leg. Out near Marble Arch looking for a decent pair.

Wanted this one but was way too expensive!

At dads studio mingling with the staff.

These are called "Lasts" which come in many different shapes n sizes.

A last named after Chun. Me in the middle of designing the Black Rock Shoe.

Leather galore. I just love the smell of it!

Making myself a wallet as I lost the previous one in Singapore ToT

Lovely architecture of this church turned into living apartments.

Walk in Hyde Park.

Mare street runs through Hackney where I was brought up. This is what it used to look like many many moons ago.

Mare Street today.

At St Pancras about to take the Eurostar back to Paris.

These kids we so sweet!

And before we knew it, we were back in the UK because...

...of the Volcano that erupted which stranded most flights around Europe. We were in France at the time and just before we got on the plane, they told us that the flight was cancelled.

We were needlessly paying to live in a hotel near Paris having absolutely no idea when we were going to go home. Decided to head back London to stay at Mums.

Back in London. Looks like transport staff have been having a hard time.

The Sun newspaper hasn't changed reporting breaking news as usual.

Another sight that I'm not used to - bicycles parked everywhere.

At Oxford street with Mirai-chan.

Oxford street.

Found something for the girls to wear at home.

More photos of London's West End.

The Japan Center moved to this side alley near Regent Street.

Cant remember where this is - Victoria Station?

Mum said that I went to this school before lived in the foster homes. No matter how long I stood there I couldn't remember life here at all.

At Victoria Park for a stroll with wifey and mum.

I love looking at vast areas of water. Inspiring for some reason. Ever changing.

These guys were so cute.

Lauriston Road was the first place we lived.

Still walking around the Victoria Park area.

Lovely weather throughout our stay.

Back near our place to pack our bags and head back to Japan.
Just out of interest, how many of you are from the UK or have UK roots?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

All other London related photo posts listed up below.

The clock that will make you hungry every time you look at it - continuing the shenanigans from yesterday, we have a look at a clock made out of sushi.

But if it was made of real sushi then it would probably rot and there would be maggots everywhere crawling up your nose and bottom. Visited a factory for Culture Japan (Season 1 Episode 12) filming which makes plastic food samples - the kind that you would have seen in shop windows everywhere in Japan.

The lady here actually has experience making Gunpla - here we see her spraying on some top coat to keep the paint in.

I have a go at making something else and completely fail ^^; More photos from the Maizuru factory soon.

There is a poll embedded in this article.

This year I'm pleased to announce that Jacob and I will be having a meet n greet *inside* Anime Expo - we got WS1 on Sunday 3rd July from 11AM to 2:45PM and I've been told that the room can hold a few hundred people.
BTW, the 2560px x 1600px wallpaper of Momoka and Mirai lives here. Momoka-chan is Jacob's mascot who has recently made friends with Mirai thanks to illustrator Amano-san.

To the outside world its called "Fakku x Culture Japan Meet n Greet" but we all know that its actually "Los Angeles CGM Night 2" even though it takes place in the day ^^;

Jacob runs a health care portal site called FAKKU which stands for Feel Awesome Karma while Keeping it Up which is another way of saying "Stay Healthy!"

Jacob is an entrepreneur who has been working in the CGM (Consumer Generated Media) for many moons and leads on and offline communities of like-minded folks. Jacob also specializes in e-commerce where he builds his own systems and sells his own products like the HenTie.

We worked together in the past on the Fakku.net Aquisition and last year on Los Angeles CGM Night. We are currently working on a web project together which will be released later on this year.

Photo taken with some of the folks who stayed behind at Los Angeles CGM Night last year. Last year we were outside the Expo at ESPN Zone but had no idea how many would turn up - ended up being in the hundreds ^^; We got kicked out after a while and continued in the streets until evening where Nabeshin joined us later.

Just like last year, folks can come along to mingle with not only Jacob and myself but most importantly with a load of other like-minded folks too who love Japanese Pop Culture. If you really want Jacob and I to vandalize your personal belongings by writing on them then just bring em along - I'll sign anything just as long as its not a used Tenga.
The meetup is for all ages for don't hesitate to bring your sons or daughters. Come along in cosplay, have fun and leave with new comrades! Absolutely everybody is invited. If any of the other guests are still around then I'll bring them along too. It costs nothing to join and you go home with something money cant buy - new like-minded friends!

Just like last time, folks need not worry about any trouble makers sneaking in as they will have seven shades of crap kicked out of them by the undercover precrime folks.

Apart from the Fakku x Culture Japan Meet n Greet, Jacob and I will be having our own panels.

Jacob's Panels

Hentai Worth Watching
Date: 2011-07-01
Time: 22:30:00 - 23:30:00
Room: LP 3

Visual Novels and Eroge
Date: 2011-07-02
Time: 20:30:00 - 21:30:00
Room: LP 2

FAKKU Q&A
Date: 2011-07-04
Time: 16:30:00 - 17:30:00
Room: LP 2

Jacob will also have a booth in the exhibit hall.

Danny's Panel

Date: 2011-07-01
Time: 20:00:00 - 21:30:00
Room: LP 1

Danny's full schedule

I've got a load on my plate this year and will be speaking/MC for the following events.

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 4

Nearly forgot to mention that I need somebody to loan their DD musume (large bust) who will be displayed at the AAA Anime booth in a glass cabinet. Your musume will be cosplaying as Mirai and there will be a label saying who their parent is (your handle name and website url). I need 3 girls.

I've printed 600 name cards which I'll be handing out at my panel and the meetup. You don't need to be running a business to have your own name card - a name card is a way for you to connect with others and is something that absolutely everybody should have to build relations in life. Many of my comrades in Japan make their own at home and as long as you have a printer then you should be able to do so too.

You don't have to have your real name either - a pen name + email is enough. Recommend you to have your Twitter or Facebook account on it too. Include your website and an indication of your interests through text or an image of some sort. If you are coming along to the meet n greet then I recommend that you have your name card as you will meet a lot of people.

Leaving you with photos taken at last years meet n greet. Jacob and I are looking forward to meet you!

All other Anime Expo related stuff below.

I need to hop onto a plane in a mo that will start my trip from Tokyo > France (Nice) > Frankfurt > LA > Tokyo and am in the middle of writing up a bunch of posts as I probably wont get that much time to do so later. I cant even remember how many I wrote today ^^;

My first stop is Nice where I'm speaking for Dentsu at the International Advertising Festival about anime - I've been given the green light to announce Mirai-chan's first anime appearance during my talk on the 23rd June. The TV anime will air this Summer.
I'll then be in Frankfurt for a few days for meetings before flying onto Los Angeles for Anime Expo. Apart from Anime Expo, I don't think I'll get time to meetup in France or Germany ToT

Most of my updates while traveling will be over at my Twitter or Facebook account.

As I was prepping more posts however, I came across this one of Shibuya Crossing which I had been meaning to release last January ^^; Better lot let it go to waste so decided to release it now.
Just after new years day, Wifey and I went to Shibuya to look for a new TV and bicycle. Not got the bicycle yet and the TV ended up falling from the ceiling ^^;

I love Shibuya and it was one of my inspirations when I visited Japan for the first time many moons ago - I recorded the sounds of the crossing onto a mini disc which I would play back to myself back in the UK as I studied Japanese.
Shibuya is just round the corner from where I live and usually go there to dance, shop and for meetings. Quite a few IT companies in this neck of the woods including Amazon.

The world busiest crossing is said to be the one in Shibuya where 45000 people cross every 30 mins - the video below captures a moment for a few seconds when there is absolutely nobody around.

Whats your fave place in Tokyo and why?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Other places to visit listed up below.

Ikkyu-san is just incredible. Today we see Mirai Suenaga and Kanata Hoshikawa relaxing in a "Sento" or "Public Bath". Kanata seems to be envious of the size of Mirai's assets...

せ (se) for "sento"

Following on from the previous hiragana in this Moekana series which was す, today we learn "せ" (se). Today's word is "せんとう” [銭湯] (pronounced "sentoh") which means "public baths". Took a bunch of photos when filming at a public bath and will post....sometime I guess ^^;
The katakana equivalent of "せ" is "セ".

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Sento de senaka aratte ageru yo
せんとうで背中洗ってあげるよ
I'll wash your back at the public baths.

You can say this to your boss as a way for asking for a pay rise. Do you have a good looking boss?

Exercise

Write out out "せ” 50 times on a bank note and try to use it to buy something later.

There is a poll embedded in this article.

All Hiragana in the Moekana series are tagged "hiragana"

Today we see Kanata digging into some soba buckwheat noodles after school. After that she'll get changed into her Solar Marine uniform before heading off for target practice in her Retrograde suit - illustrated as usual by Ikkyu-san

そ (so) for "soba"

Following on from the previous hiragana in this Moekana series which was せ, today we learn "そ" (so). Today's word is "そば” [蕎麦] (pronounced "sawbah") which means "soba noodles".
The katakana equivalent of "そ" is "ソ".

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Uchi no soba wo kutta nowa dare da!
うちのそばを食ったのは誰だ！
Who ate my soba noodles!

Exercise

Make the shape of "そ" on the table when eating noodles next time - do this to impress a boy/girl on your first date.

All Hiragana in the Moekana series are tagged "hiragana"

Continuing to work with Skan Srisuwan who worked as the lead designer at Square Enix for Front Mission. He came up with the Mirai Millennium uniform and mecha designs and he continues to work on Eiji Seiun's Solar Marine Shell.
Here we have preliminary sketches of what the full kit would look like. He wields the Sonic Naginata which we will work on a bit more.

I'm a fan of the helmet-goes-whoosh-zbeem-and-opens-up-like-ironman which is why we have one here too. Wonder how I'm going to make this suit ^^;

Rehearsing for the Hatsune Miku concert to take place in Los Angeles at Anime Expo. Here I'm with Danceroid members Ikura and Aikawa Kozue together with Fukuoka-san from Tokyo Kawaii Magazine who organized the whole concert.

See all the members of Danceroid in action below.

A huge warehouse was rented near Tokyo Disney land which was kitted out with a load of lighting and audio equipment. Bands usually rehearse here before a gig.

And here is the set. The green light behind is where Miku is projected. Was the first time seeing her in action was quite stunning indeed! There is also a live band too who sit on either side. I'll be opening the concert and maybe if I recognize you then I drag you up on stage to meet miku?

Got a prezzie from Ikura - Aoi-chan now looks after it.

As announced on the official Twin Angel website, Mirai Suenaga fans (like myself) will be pleased to hear that she will be making a guest appearance in the up n coming TV anime title Twin Angel ^o^ Twin Angel is just the first of a series of guest appearances for our Mirai-chan and I cant wait to announce the others - have been trying to keep my mouth shut about Mirai in Twin Angel since last December ^^;;;

JC staff sent through the roughs which give you the idea of what shes going to look like.

Mirai will be a waitress in one of the family restaurants that appears in episode 4-ish. The uniform is actually Mirai-chan's maid dress designed by Chun and myself ^^;
Mirai-chan will also appear as a guest in the Twin Angel manga that's running in Comp Ace - you will see her in the August edition.
You will also hear the term "Solar Marine" dotted throughout the TV and manga series.

Been planning the 2011 April Fools since last December too but it got cancelled due to circumstances - which is why this years April Fools was kinda half baked ToT

The April Fools was to be a "Mirai Suenaga joins the Twin Angels as Orange Angel!" Thanks to Amano-san for helping out with the artwork.

Have been working with Kadokawa and Sega Sammy on the Twin Angel project for a while now ( we also do their official TV site) and cant want to see the series air July 4th!

I love this illustration so much - perfect for a T-shirt! Here we see Mirai playing Taiko no Tatsujin during her lunch break. Illustrated by Ikkyu-san.

た (ta) for "taiko"

Following on from the previous hiragana in this Moekana series which was そ, today we learn "た" (ta). Today's word is "たいこ” [太鼓] which means "taiko drum".
The katakana equivalent of "た" is "タ".

Example

You can use this in a sentence like:-
Watashi no gojyukkiro no Taiko wo hakondekureba ichien ageru yo
私の50キロのたいこを運んでくれば1円あげるよ。
If you carry my 50 kilo taiko drum for me, I'll give you 1 yen.

Use this sentence when you are feeling generous.

Exercise

Write out "た" using cigarette ash on your best friends carpet while shouting out "た" as loud as you can.

All Hiragana in the Moekana series are tagged "hiragana"

A load of guests that are heading over to Anime Expo from Japan have been asking me what places I recommend to visit while in LA. This year will be our third time in LA and I recommend somewhere we go every time - Santa Monica. These photos taken last year which I never got round to posting.
Our usual routine is shopping/strolling > lunch > shopping/strolling >beach >dinner at Bubba Gump and will probably do the same this time too.

What places do you recommend to visit around the LA area? Whats the nearest natural park?

Heading out to Santa Monica.

Looks like somebody hit somebody...

The main shopping avenue in Santa Monica.

Aldo used to make nice square toe shoes but don't anymore ToT

Free WiFi here n there.

That splatter you see on the floor is coke - which the waitress poured over us THREE times. She didn't apologize either and only said "fcuk!"

Dessert was nice though.

Squeak.

Somebody needs to come up with a Moe Monopoly.

Ah the good ol times.

There is a poll embedded in this article.

Wonder if the new MacBook Air will be out while I'm in the US?

One thing that I didn't get used to while living in America are the huge gaps in the toilets. All I want to do is pee or poo in peace!

Still use this today - BookArc.

Heading to the beach.

On the pier.

Manual version of Human Clone?

Dos Amigos.

Dollfie sized surf boards?

Marry a fish.

Bubba Gump time.

I was shocked when the waiter told us that Forest Gump wasn't a true story.

Radioactive Bubba.

That windbreaker from my times at Microsoft.

Taxi back to the hotel.

Nao Shirahane (formerly known as DMYO) is another artist who I have admired the works of for many moons and was most pleased indeed when she said that she would do a doodle of our Mirai-chan.

Shirahane-sensei has been an active illustrator for many years now and is currently working with many media companies in Tokyo such as Konami, Gainax, Ascii Media works and more. A project she has been working on of late is the up n coming eroge Sucre. Apart from the work in this post, Shirahane-sensei and I are working together on illustrations for an electronics company which hopefully I can talk about at AX.

One of the most sweetest Mirai's renditions I've clapped eyes on so far!

And some more of the extra layers that sensei done for us.

A look at some of her doujins of late.

Shirahane-sensei loves White Album. Yuki looks gorgeous here.

"Snow Ring" is the name of the site and circle that she runs.

Some of her latest collaboration work with Nishimata Aoi.

Kyubey and Mami together.

Sensei's Tohou work.

Yuki kawaiii!

Yuki has nice eyes.

Sensei said she likes to draw shoulders and bums ^^;

Some of her oreimo illustrations.

This illustration was on the cover of one of the Dengeki mags. Cant remember which one though.

And you can get all the wallpapers below from Flickr - you need to use the Action menu and choose "All Sizes" to grab the largest 2560px x 1600px version. If you get a complaint from Flickr saying that you need to log in then lemme know.

Once Mirai-chan's website is up, I'll distribute the Photoshop files for you to play around with.
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Leaving you with progress shots of the Mirai-chan she doodled for me on a Shikishi.

Shirahane-sensei is another example of somebody who focused on her passion to illustrate and came over to Japan from Korea to start her career. Shes only been in Japan for a few years but speaks pretty much perfect Japanese.

Its great to be able to work with so many international artists from around the world who have been influenced by Japanese Pop Culture.

My first stop after leaving Tokyo earlier this week was Nice in France - first job was to speak for Dentsu at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Am currently in Germany as I write this though ^^;

I haven't gotten round to prepping my presentation for Anime Expo in Los Angeles next week so don't have time right now to go through each of these photos in depth.
First up is the Yamanote line on the way to Nippori.

Getting tickets for the New Skyliner.

New Skyliner bound for Narita Airport.

If you are traveling to Japan, you can get a rental 3G device which will provide you with WiFi for roughly 1,500 yen per day. You can use your laptop/iPhone/iPad with it and if you have Skype then you can use that to call land or mobile phones which would be the cheaper solution.
This corner at Narita Airport is where you should stop off to get it - its near the station ticket counters.

Folks in Japan heading overseas can also get one too but iPhone users on Softbank are better off with the flat roaming plan where we get to use as much data as we want for about 1,400 yen per day. Shame our iPhones cant tether though.

What do you do for data communications when you travel to Japan or other countries abroad?

Today we are taking Swiss Air. When we travel business it means that somebody else is covering the ticket - all other times its economy ^^;

Our schedule for the next few weeks.

Getting some grub in the business lounge at Narita.

Don't think I've traveled so far on a small plane before - I used to think it was only the jumbo's that could hold enough fuel to make the trip.

Looks cramped but is well spacious because...

...there is a ton of leg room. These seats are much better than other business class airlines that I've traveled in (Malaysian Airlines, All Nippon Airways) because these lay out completely flat - the other airline business class seats kind of slope at an angle. I hope the Lufthansa flight to the US lays completely flat too ^^;

Finding some time to think about this n that while looking out at the clouds.

The interesting thing about business class is that they always come around with a table cloth and serve everything on crockery.

Main course nom nom.

Lots of buttons to press when feeling bored.

TV screens are iPad size.

Working on Mirai Millennium scenario.

Cant sleep!

Zurich in sight.

Zurich touchdown.

Will be here for an hour before catching another flight to Nice.

Zurich business lounge. WiFi not free ToT

Arrival in Nice. Many folks who tweeted me didn't know that Nice is a place in France and thought that I was talking about how nice France is ^^;

Very warm!

Dentsu arranged for a pick up at the airport.

Heading towards Cannes.

The event that I was to speak at had posters everywhere!

Hotel reception.

Our home for the next few days.

View from our balcony.

This is where cake is made.

A mysterious girl on the bed.

Heading out to look for grub and water.

Lots of interesting cars in Nice.

Lovely scenery.

Found a supermarket to pick up some water - we never drink hotel water as it usually costs 5 times more than normal.

Quick stroll on the beach.

Back at the hotel to prepare for the next few days of rehearsals.

Have been hypnotized by photos of Yuki Morikawa posted over at the figure and doll community figure.fm and also at doll.fm - have wanted her ever since! However, for many moons she had not been available anywhere at all.
Then one day I was surrounded by a few Yuki's at Shanghai CGM Night - could not take anymore! Initiated mission Seek and Obtain and about a week later managed to get hold of her.

Yuki is a very pretty girl indeed with a bright face. In many of these photos she wears a T-shirt kindly made for me by doll seamstress ddotark on my last visit to the UK.
In some of these photos she transformed into Peach Pai or Large Bust but I think she looks better in Medium. I'm having problems deciding whether I like her or Saber the most though ^^;
There is a poll embedded in this article.

There is a poll embedded in this article.

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

I was teased when younger for wearing glasses but it wasn't until recently when I discovered the benefits of wearing them.
For starters, I get to see more because I've got 4 eyes - kinda like an insect.

Another benefit is that I get to come up with a creative way of decorating ones glasses thanks to the figma Mirai Suenaga. Stuck on with a bit of blu-tac - which you can also use behind Mirai's face if it keeps falling off.
And if you are wondering - yes I was walking around like that all day ^^;

How many of you is being wearing glasses?
There is a poll embedded in this article.

Tastes like pichi pichi strawberries.

Speaking of glasses, for folks who have always wanted to have big bouncy anime (optical) eyes, now is your chance. J-List will be giving away these anime glasses to enable you to make that transformation without any Minority Report style eye transplant surgery.

To get your grubby mitts on them, all you need to do is to pop along to the J-List booth at the Anime Expo exhibition hall and spend some moolah on anything. Or you can go along to the J-List panel on Sat July 2nd where they will give em out for free - check the schedule for the room number.

If you cant go to AX then they will send you a free random pair with any purchase from J-List.

Pics of some of the J-List staff after surgery-free anime eye treatment.

This lady tells me that I nearly forgot to mention that J-List have just launched their Points system, which means all products get points added to one's account on each purchase. Some products, such as bento boxes, kitchen items, DVDs/Blu-ray discs and eroge get 2x points while they celebrate the launch of the new system. Points can be used on the next purchase with no limitations, but customers can also store 5000 points for an upgrade to $10 worth, and 12000 points for an upgrade to $25 worth of points - more info here.

Anime Expo Day 0 - Photos of the afternoon snapped at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This is the first time I've set up booth and was able to do so with the help of many comrades such as Jun, Kisuka, Kid Nemo, AAA Anime. Wolf and Quyen.
My booth is at 1510 under "Culture Japan" - do pop on by!

And before I forget - my schedule pasted below.

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 4

LACC - many folks going to get their badges.

Jacob from Fakku!

Artwork by Refeia sensei.

Huge banners! Slightly smaller ones on sale at the Kid Nemo booth.

Thanks to Wolf and Quyen on this one.

Kid Nemo is doing a load of stuff this year.
1. If you order figma Mirai Suenaga, you will get another figma of your choice at half price.
2. Any cosplayer gets a $5 discount on all scale figures - not including nendo or figma.
3. Any purchase at the Kid Nemo booth will give you a chance to take a lucky draw and win one of these K-ON or Miku RQ Version.
4. Kid Nemo will be selling Mirai-Tshirts and huge banners too.

I'll be at their booth from time to time so see you at 631!

Mirai-chan T-shirt available at J-List - booth 819.

Mirai Millennium Cospa shirt available at Kid Nemo!

Also check out Jacob's booth at 918.

Mirai-chan health posters available at Sanshee - 918! Illustration by Piromizu sensei.

Hope I make it back to Japan alive after this schedule ToT

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Culture Japan TV Season 1 will be broadcast across America from tonight on the MNET America channel from 9:30PM ET/PT!
You can check out this list to see which channels carry Mnet.

Season 2 will be broadcast from October which is the same time as the Japan broadcast. Animax Asia will air Season 2 too.

Got a load of posts to catch up on so am going to just leave you with photos of TV presenter and model Yvonne Lu and the rest of the Mnet gang.