Hukuho surpases Asashoryu

Last autumn I saw Hakuho take the sumo title in Ryogoku. It appears this Mongolian's star is on the rise, according to Japan Times. The above pic is of defending champion Asashoryu on the left fending off Kotomitsuki. Can't wait till the Tokyo tournament in May.

A little too slick?

Spotted today in Daikanyama.
I know the wet-look is back but isn't this taking it too far?

Bizarre detection methods

Ichihashi
by takatosh2

It's now been two years since Lyndsay Ann Hawker's murder and police have yet to catch the main suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi. A new officer is now in charge of the case and has decided to put five life-size cardboard cut outs of Ichihashi out on the streets around Chiba. If you press the button on his chest, you can even hear his voice. It's good they're trying to do something but I think the killer will be far from Chiba by now. This guy looks seriously scary and I think he's going to freak quite a few people out. Of course if the police hadn't allowed him to give them the slip in the first place... via Japan Probe.

Manner mode pen

Tokyo Mango posted this awesome interview with consultant Morinosuke Kawaguchi who explains the function of the manner mode pen. Manner mode is when you turn the volume down on something so it doesn't disturb other people. The pen was created by a female pen designer who was driven mad by the noise of engineers clicking their pens in meetings. Kawaguchi thinks the creation of the pen is a sign of Japanese society maturing. Personally I think everyone has gone manner mad lately in Japan. Manner as a Japanised English word means social etiquette and the campaign for better manners on public transport has intensified lately. I guess the picture below means 'don't dive into the train' but it's a pretty random way of putting the message across. As an inveterate pen clicker myself I must say that the noise is part of the satisfaction. Don't take it away!

Fashion bot's clenched catwalk strut

Pink Tentacle reports on the debut of this gorgeous fashion robot. Designed to model clothes, the robot has a face capable of showing a wide range of expressions from anger to surprise. Though I thought her arm movements were very graceful, her odd walking style is rather reminiscent of somebody trying to hold in a big poop.

Fun ski toilet

This from Colorbus: Georgia coffee have decorated toilets in ski resorts to look like the top of a ski run. Only the loo paper displays an advertising message: "Seriously kick-ass intensely sweet for the real coffee super zinging unstoppable Max! Taste-explosion!"

Hurry up cherry blossoms!

I can't wait to get pissed under the cherry trees at the end of this month. This lovely tinted picture by turn of the (previous) century photographer Enami is part of a lovely collection up on Flicker by Okinawa Soba. This shot is of the Edogawa river before its banks were smothered in concrete.