Google's dutiful camera vans have finished canvassing Tokyo, which means today you can now tour some of the world's most geek-friendly real estate in "electric town" Akihabara without the 14 hour plane flight. The folks at Mars Mag have put together a tour of some of their favourite Linux Maid Cafes, Dream PC builders, arcade palaces and electronics megastores that call Akihabara home.

Read More »

Beware the next time your ride an escalator at the mall folks. It appears that they are beginning to stage an organised revolt against their passengers. First an escalator chewed up this poor bastard, then one dished out some payback after some tool disrespected it with a joyride. But that was just a warm up because the escalators appear to be getting bolder. Most recently, a rogue escalator took out 20 passengers in a Tokyo convention centre when it inexplicably started going in reverse.

Read More »

Hobbymedia spotted this gigantic Ultraman at the Tokyo Toy Show 2008. It's a gigantic Ultraman that's made up of tiny little Ultramen. Or mans. The whole thing looks to be about the size of 10 average Japanese attendees if you stacked them up correctly. What's also interesting about Tokyo Toy Show is that they've got three separate bathroom categories, men, women, and defecating toddlers. [Hobby Media]

Read More »

For those of us not lucky enough to be at this year's Tokyo Game Show, here's a quick highlight video running through some of the more interesting products. Our favourite has to be the AeroSpider by Takara Tomy. It's an R/C car that can burn donuts on 90-degree surfaces (like walls) and then top off the act by driving completely inverted on the ceiling. We're sure that parents will just love it. [CScoutJapan via bbGadgets]

Read More »

There's a new super-skyscraper going up, and for once it's not in Dubai. The new Tokyo Sky Tree will stand a whopping 2000 feet (610 meters) over Tokyo, making it by far the tallest building in Japan and perhaps the second tallest building in the world.

Read More »

Japan loves Astro Boy even more than we love Mickey Mouse, so it's not too surprising that the little robot boy's visage is still everywhere, even though his show and manga series ended decades ago. The most recent Astro Boy art installation is a 10 by 7 foot mural that consists of 138,000 recycled Tokyo Metro tickets. The pixel art, made to mark the opening of Tokyo's new Fukutoshin subway line, depicts Astro Boy, Uran, Professor Ochanomizu and Higeoyaji traipsing around Shinjuku along with the new Fukutoshin train. Created by volunteers from around the area, the mural can be found at the Shinjuku Takashimaya Department Store. [Pink Tentacle]

Read More »

Designed for the XXIst Century Man exhibition in Tokyo, this monocycle by Ben Wilson is pretty damn cool. While not as ornate as last year's steampunk monocycle, Wilson's one-wheel wonder is stunning in its simplicity, like many of the other product designs on his website. The Brit, who has several other bike designs under his belt, claims to be a fan of propulsion "ever since cycling for the first time without stabilisers." The XXIst Century Man exhibition, curated by Issey Miyake, is in Tokyo at 21_21 Design Sight until July 6. [Dezeen and Ben Wilson Design]

Read More »

The Multi-level bicycle park at Tokyo's Kasai Station might sound like a crazy overblown way to tidy up the streets, but the woeful lack of available parking spaces at most Japanese train stations is a real problem. In some places legal parks are impossible to find and private security guards are known for performing periodic sweeps where bicycles are tossed in the back of a truck and impounded. At 100 Yen (about $1) per day or 1,800 Yen (about $18) for a month, a multi-level parking spot is a lot cheaper than the impound fee. Here's hoping that they proliferate. [Japan Probe]

Read More »

Straight out of sci-fi and into reality, this pair of "cyber goggles," invented at the University of Tokyo, records everything you see as you wander through the day, then tells you where to find stuff later.

Read More »

The movie "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" has prompted one hell of a publicity stunt in Tokyo Bay. The extremely cool effect illustrated above is achieved using a large water screen and some very well timed water fountains. In order to get the full effect, check out the video after the break. Seriously, I can't understand a thing that is being said, but I want to see this movie. Marketing magic!

Read More »