w00kie's ramblings

Tag: japan

  • Half-assed features on Softbank iPhone

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    w00kie
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    I’m getting reports from my friends with iPhones here in Japan, since I still haven’t gone crazy and taken one as a second phone. Some features have been completely borked by Softbank: There’s no + for international calls. Apparently, Softbank’s network does not support the + (country code) (your number) that is industry standard on…

  • Special rules for Gaijin buying an iPhone

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    w00kie
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    If you’re planning on buying an iPhone (it’s a little too late now since they’re already out of stock everywhere in Kanto) and you’re a foreigner, there’s a couple of things you need to be aware of before you head out to the Softbank shop: Bring your Gaikokujin Torokusho (Alien Card) + Passport. It seems…

  • iPhone in Japan: it’s the new Wii

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    w00kie
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    So people have been lined up in front of the flagship Softbank shop in Omotesando since Monday, all reservations that were taken in the first days after announcement have been canceled and now my friend Jon tells me that he called the main Softbank shop in Kumagaya, Saitama-ken and they are having a raffle for…

  • Otaku rush on the new Fukutoshin

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    w00kie
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    Last Saturday morning I was leaving a party at 5 A.M. in Shibuya and decided it would be nice to come back home to Shiki with the new Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin line which was opening the very day and interfaces with my usual Tobu Tojo line for an almost direct trip to and from Shibuya…

  • iPhone will be mine on July 11th

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    w00kie
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    I missed the Keynote because I’m sick like a dog (went rafting/canyoning this weekend in a 7ºC mountain river) and couldn’t bear to stay up until 3 A.M., but today I’m telling my boss I’m taking a day off on July 11th. Update: link to the official Softbank press release.

  • iPhone on Softbank

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    w00kie
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    やった！ 「iPhone」について 2008年6月4日 – ソフトバンクモバイル株式会社 この度、ソフトバンクモバイル株式会社は、今年中に日本国内において「iPhone」を発売することにつきまして、アップル社と契約を締結したことを発表いたします。 SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple® to bring the iPhone™ to Japan later this year. Why am I so happy? Because my corporate phone is a Softbank, so I should legally be able to change my crappy Sharp phone whose battery cannot hold…

  • Contact Juggling

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    w00kie
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    Found this video on Digg, looks like Yoyogi Park. This guy is a million times more impressive than all those stupid jugglers and beanbag fanatics you find in such parks. Yes, there’s only one crowd I despise more than beanbaggers, it’s the drum players. That’s probably the main reason why I never hang out at…

  • Airport Aerobic

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    Taken from the Korean Air lounge at Narita Airport on my way to Thailand earlier this month.

  • Let’s leave 20 teeth at age 80!

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    w00kie
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    More cool Dental Health info from my Japanese health insurance society. Coming back from Golden Week vacation, I find the following letter on my desk at work: Information for Dental Checkup and Treatment: Announcing the “Let’s leave 20 teeth at age 80” campaign Aren’t your decayed teeth or pyorrhea getting worse while you are unaware…

  • Welcome to my crib!

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    I’m not sure if they have Cribs on MTV Japan, but this guy would have a spot on the show for sure. From left to right: a Maserati Quattroporte, a Lamborghini Gallardo and an unknown Ferrari… More pics here and here.

  • Hanami 2008

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    w00kie
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    3rd year in Japan and each year I was on a busines trip somewhere for early April: the time of the 花見 parties. This time I was home and got to drink myself silly on a tarp under the cherry blossoms. On the border of the 目黒川, I got to take some nice photos with…

  • Hiroshima-ben senbei

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    w00kie
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    2 weeks ago I went to Hiroshima for the weekend with my girlfriend. We had dinner (and innumerable drinks) with a friend of hers on Saturday night in the 本通 area at what must be the restaurant with the most perfect レバー焼き鳥 I’ve ever tasted. Anyways, I received as omiyage the following which made me…

  • Deep Purple on the shamisen

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    Shamelessly stolen from Japan Probe, but it’s too mind-blowing not to spread the word about it.

  • Sand storm

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    w00kie
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    Last Saturday in the early afternoon, we had a huge dust storm all over the 関東 area. It started out as a very nice day, sunny 15°C, I went for grocery shopping in just a light sweater. Then around 2PM, the sky suddenly became dark, great gusts of wind started whistling around the corners of…

  • Omotesando Sunday

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    Walked around 表参道 yesterday visiting interior design shops, looking for cool lamps. Nice shops to check out: The brand new MoMA store in the Gyre building (from which I took the photo) with lots of funny gadgets. hhstyle just down the road from there with very very nice and very very expensive furniture.