Archive for August, 2009

Japanese Anti-Litter PSA

A great anti-littering commercial from TV Saitama:

[hat tip to Watashi to Tokyo]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Spraying crops in Japan with an RC helicopter

YouTuber Talbrech has posted a video clip of an RC helicopter being used to spray crops in Japan:

We woke up this morning to the sound of an RC helicopter spraying what I assume is pesticide on the rice field outside our back window.

With so many farmers using small lots of land in Japan, crop dusting airplanes are out the question. Most small fields are sprayed with devices like these (knapsack sprayers), but I suppose that RC helicopters would come in handy for slightly larger fields.

[via Reddit]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
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Apartment buildings form barrier against fire in Tokyo

A trivia program tells us why the Shirahige apartment complex in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward is set up like a wall (this clip is subtitled in English):

The apartment complex is set up like a 1.5 kilometer wall with the aim of protecting a designated evacuation zone from fires. Back when it was built, the area had many wooden buildings and planners wanted to be sure that residents had a safe area that would be totally free of fires (unlike the evacuation areas that proved useless during the Great Kanto Earthquake and firebombings of Tokyo).

Through Google Maps, we can see the wall from above:

View Larger Map
The closest train station to the apartment complex is Kanegafuchi Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Rickshaw service begins at Haneda Airport

Why walk inside an airport terminal when you can ride a rickshaw instead:

All Nippon Airways Co. began a weeklong service Sunday to carry passengers by rickshaw in a retro atmosphere to departure gates after they go through boarding procedures at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

The man-powered, 1.3-meter wide vehicle will run slowly down about 400 meters of a passage at the airport’s No. 2 terminal to carry passengers chosen by lot.

[hat tip to Shibuya246]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Video: Pig rodeo in Japan

Some video from a pig rodeo held in Ehime Prefecture a few days ago:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Chimpanzee vs. Beetles

Genius chimpanzee Pan-kun helps deliver new beetles to an enclosure at Cuddly Dominion [from last night's episode of "Shimura Zoo"]

Pretty entertaining, except for the part about 2 minutes into the clip when Pan-kun is being tortured by a beetle. It would have been nice for his trainer to remove the beetle instead of just watching Pan-kun writhe around in a state of panic.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)