Touched down in Tokyo today after being away for 3 weeks. First stop after Tokyo was France followed by Frankfurt with Los Angeles after that. Came back to Tokyo with a load of new comrades and wonderful experiences - it really has been an incredible 3 weeks which have given me more insight - especially into how I should be running the business.
Speaking at the Cannes Festival of Creativity and MC'ing for the Hatsune Miku concert were two biggies for me and am humbled that I was asked to fulfill the roles.
This photo taken this afternoon in my neck of the woods at Musashikoyama.
Zooming back in time - about 10pm-ish at Los Angeles International airport.
Didn't expect LAX to be so busy at night.
Checking in.
Time for some grub.
Sushi Boy! We make sure not to eat Japanese food while we are abroad as we eat it everyday over here anyway.
Our last meal in America is some burrito thingies.
Anybody been on the A380 yet? Whats it like?
Saying goodbye to some very good comrades. Jun is my Associate Producer for all things Culture Japan in the US and is also the man who made the US broadcast of Culture Japan on Mnet happen. Being able to meet so many folks from around the world is the best thing about this job.
Nice business lounge at LAX - free WiFi available unlike the lounges in Europe ToT
Managed to do a wee bit of work before boarding.
Flight was at 1AM-ish.
As it was late, the flight attendants just let us sleep instead of entertaining everybody with food for the first 3 hours. Unlike the lovely Swiss Air business class seats which lay completely flat, the ANA seats slant at an angle which is incredibly uncomfy! I tried to sleep on the floor instead for a while before an attendant asked me to return to my seat ^^;
Somehow did manage to get some sleep on the plane and woke up in time for brekkie.
Doing work on the iPad is much more convenient than lugging a laptop around back n forth about the cabin - it really saved my bacon for Anime Expo as I only had time to prepare my talk on the plane over from Germany to LA.
I think I only managed to fit in a total of 45 mins of Metal Gear Solid on the PSP over the 3 weeks of traveling ^^;
Land of the Rising Sun in sight. Original res here > http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6022/5931807798_9d95b8c4f3_o.jpg
Mount Fuji towards the top left of the photo.
Tokyo Touchdown.
Today we arrive at Haneda International Airport.
Weather in LA was nice - got quite hot during the day but was cool at night. As soon as we landed in Tokyo we felt the humid heat hit us as soon as the plane door opened.
Got out in about 15 mins after landing - I love and missed Japanese service!
Sendai is right next to the most damaged areas after the quake. This year they decided to go ahead with the Tanabata Festival - an annual event that has been taking place since the early Edo period (1603).
Many folks thought that it was not appropriate to have such a festivity after the terrible disaster but it was thought necessary to continue the event to bring business into the area which will contribute to the recovery effort for the locals.
Unlike Narita, Haneda Airport is in Tokyo and is located near where we live so taking a taxi back home does not cost a few limbs.
Our taxi driver spent a year in California piloting helicopters and is now a part time taxi driver and detective.
Tis about 5AM as we head back to Meguro.
We has aubergines growing in our garden ^o^
Time to unpack and un-mami our Yuki-chan.
Daughters look so much better with their heads on.
Some snacks and a handkerchief which the illustrator gave me.
Various passes used over the past few weeks.
Picked these up from Rite Aid for my girls.
Didn't end up using this as I just walked off the stage to my seat ^^; How many of you attended the Miku concert?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
Picked up this Kensington clicker for my talks. The USB receiver is also a 2GB drive which is rather useful. Had a Logitec one before but didn't work with a Mac - this one works out of the box with my MacBook Pro.
Unpacking my girls case of clothes.
Looks like I'll be collecting the 2012 AX staff badge too ^o^
Found these in Little Osaka - the shop next to the Bobba tea place in LA - nice fit for my girls.
A gift from the AX folks - orange Daruma!
All the girls back together again. Some of them nekkid after loaning their gear for the other girls at Anime Expo.
Managed to pick up some German beer mugs from nearby the Rhine. Hope they last long as I'll be using em everyday for tea ^^;
New pair of footwheels from Germany.
Saber sits in a gift from Greg Penny - perfect fit!
Absolutely gorgeous.
Picked up a 16GB PNY drive from an Apple Store in LA.
Also picked up a iPad HDMI cable from the Apple store which mirrors what ever is on the iPad.
Lovely quality output.
My new meeting bag - just needed something that can fit an iPad.
A load of gift artwork from comrades at AX.
Not sure when I'll get time to go through this pile of business cards - mostly from AX.
Eiji Seiun fanart? ^^;
Mirai in the AX brochure.
The Hatsune Miku official concert guide. How many of you picked on up? I heard many folks didn't even know there was one.
The concert guide comes with some papercraft Miku.
Leaflet for my talk with Dentsu at Cannes.
Going through stuff that came in the post.
The 6 pack Mirai T-shirt is from J-List and the Mirai Millennium full color T-Shirt from Cospa which you should be able to pre-order from one of the following stores.
http://www.1999.co.jp/search.asp?Typ1_c=101&scope=0&scope2=0&itkey=%83%7E%83%8C%83j%83A%83%80
http://ow.ly/5BYqc (amiami)
http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist?Word=mirai+millennium&x=0&y=0&Dae=All&Series=All&Dis=2
http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/view/hby-apr-00001709
http://www.toylet.net/
http://www.kidnemo.fm/
The Madoka bag is by Cospa from Toylet.
These huge banners that you saw at Anime Expo are available at Kid Nemo who ship worldwide.
After cleaning up in the morning, its time to go and grab some lunch. Its very very hot!
Ramen for lunch at Seiya.
Nommed.
Our local Palm shopping arcade. Summer festivity decorations are up.
Picking up some groceries.
This girl has something to tell you.
Catch of the day.
Still much to clean up. Too many banners in that corner make the room look smaller/darker.
The hole in the ceiling not yet fixed - a load of goodies fall through it ^^; Which of these tickle your fancy the most?
There is a poll embedded in this article.
Office tidy and time to catch up on a load of mails and work.
Left two banners up in this corner. I had no idea I would be hanging them up here - if I knew then I would have designed lighter backgrounds instead ^^;
Ryomo is still rather nekkid after taking her clothes to AX.
Beer mug loaded with some PG Tips. Managed to get one for the girls too ^^
Reimu keeps the new chair warm.
I just love Nao-sensei's work! Banner available for purchase at Kid Nemo. Its made of a kind of coated cloth - you see them outside shops from time to time.
There were a few earthquakes while we were away but no damage on this end.
More from the Tokyo Arrival series listed up below.
