Toyota iWalk (and Captain Commando)

Who said all the prototype transportation vehicles had to have wheels? What if you are disabled and have to go up the stairs or what if you had to carry something really, really heavy? Toyota's iWalk seems to be coming straight from this arcade game I used to play called "Captain Commando" where a little baby and some bad guys were riding these things and using it to lift and throw others :P I think it would be amazing to see this one in action - and no I don't mean throwing bad guys, I mean walking and helping people with movement issues. For all those interested to see it in person - this can be found in Odaiba/お台場 in Toyota's museum.

And for comparison, this is what I was talking about when I mentioned the game - similar no? :)

Some "future vehicles" from Toyota Showcase

Toyota's showcase "museum" in Odaiba (お台場) is a pretty fun place to roam around in and it is free to get in too! They have a whole bunch of cars from actual race cars to current models, hybrids, and of course different models of Lexus including one that costs upwards of $125,000. For me the most enjoyable part was the "future vehicles" section featuring futuristic single person and multi-person vehicles. They even have a demo of one of the individual-ride models which I think deserves its own post so for this one I will just put photos of the others ;)

Yakiniku (焼肉) in Kanagawa (神奈川)

Yesterday we had our annual company BBQ at a small theme park in the Kanagawa called プレジャーフォレスト (which even though is not really written in English, it would be something like "Pleasure Forest"). The theme park is in a very green area about an hour, an hour and a half outside Tokyo by car using the highway. There is also a nice lake that is visible from a few places in the park. Apparently they offer cheap overnight accomodations as well in tents (about 25 bucks a night), log cabins (35 bucks) and deluxe log cabins (45 bucks). There is a swimming pool, a mini rollercoaster, a place for BBQs and picnics among other things but when the weather is as gray and misty it was a yesterday the whole place looks deserted, almost like a ghost town...

When I first heard the term BBQ, I was under the impression that we would have a traditional BBQ - you know, with coal etc and steaks and all. Instead we had these hot plates, with very thin sliced beef and vegetables. You grill the meat in the center, take it out and dip it in yakiniku sauce. This traditional way of preparing food is generally known as Yakiniku or literally grilled meat. The meat cooks pretty quickly and tastes pretty good too. Unfortunately it is a bit tricky to pull off at home.

28 years old today :)

Well, today is my 28th birthday and apart from feeling a tad older I must say I am feeling a little strange as well - this is my first birthday in Japan. My parents, my sister, and my grandmother called but still that's a bit different right? Anyway, here is a snapshot of my cake. The Japanese confectionery stores are just amazing and this is an example of that. The packaging makes sure the cake does not get smeared in the box while they include a little cold-pak to keep the thing from melting... Nice.

The "New" Yurikamome Line (ゆりかもめ線)

I wrote about Tokyo Big Sight before (it's in Odaiba/お台場) and if you remember that, you will remember how to get there may be - it's the Yurikamome line from Shinkawa Station (新川駅). I guess it was put into service pretty recently - so recently that it still keeps the word "new" in its title. The view is why I am writing about the line. See, the last time I went there it was a cloudy day and I was rushing so I did not get a chance to really enjoy the view but this time, well I was there to take my time and enjoy myself so I took my place in the front car and made sure I had a nice view. If you are spending some time in Tokyo you definitely need to check out this line. I mean, you have to visit Odaiba anyway so don't make the mistake of not using this line to get there ;)

Monkey on the run in Shibuya!

It looks like a monkey ran through Shibuya today causing the very busy train service to stop and managed to get away in the end - an amazing feat given the sheer crowdedness of the area (Shibuya is home to the world's busiest pedestrian crossing). This newspiece from CNN explains it in much more detail. It looks like the little guy has been travelling around Japan and may have very well visited more cities than me :P

Here is a little image to make my point about the crowdedness. This is taken as we were crossing the road (which you can't really see because of all the people). Credit for this image goes to my cousin Kenan though since he took the picture. Oh and a little bit of trivia - I am the guy in the blue shirt ;)

Back from Hiatus (with a nice panorama from Roppongi)

My visitors left yesterday and I have tons of images and stories to tell but that was a taxing week with a lot of travelling and I am still recovering. So, what I am going to do today is to post a nice panorama I made while visiting Roppongi Hills with my visitors. This is the view of Tokyo Tower from the side of the Roppongi Hills complex. It is taken from a pretty awkward spot but I think the images came out quite OK. I really like pictures taken at night. The lights make it so much better IMHO...