The architects of this tiny pharmacy in downtown Osaka didn’t have much to work with—just a skinny alleyway between two hulking buildings. But the resulting structure is so cool, it almost looks as though it was there first. You’d be surprised how far back it goes, too, so click through for an aerial shot.
     |
My friend, Andrew traveled in Japan last May and he made this 2 minute, beautiful video about his 18 days in Japan.
Enjoy his journey through several Japanese cites including Tokyo, Nagano, Osaka, Kyoto, and Koyasan. You will love it and you will definitely have a sudden urge to travel in Japan!
Fourteen years from now, when Japan’s magnetically levitated, approx. 300MPH/482KPH Chuō Shinkansen comes online, it’ll be among the world’s coolest people movers – maybe even top of the list. And the world’s most fantastic train should have equally fantastic train stations, yeah?
Maybe not.
While the existence of this train is old news, released just last week were Japan Railways’ design proposals for stations on the initial Tokyo to Nagoya route (with eventual extension to Osaka). Suffice it to say, as proposed these supertech trains would be stopping at stations with an aesthetic that aggressively bypasses any notion of post-modern minimalism and instead lands somewhere in the vicinity 1970s Soviet chic. They’re basically elevators, stairs, automated ticket counters, toilets, and tracks.
Those interested can see the plans here & here (PDF; Japanese only).
Train Stations are Not Just Train Stations (in Japan)
For one who’s never traveled here, this might not seem like such a big deal. Because it’s just a train station, for a very fast train at that, so who’s looking to linger? Well, the thing is, in Japan even medium-sized and smallish train stations can be the nuclei of entire neighborhoods or city wards, and they’re often social & economic ecosystems unto themselves; think variably sized multilevel shopping malls where trains happen to stop. This is particularly true in places like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka where rail stations serve literally millions of passengers on a daily basis.
Japan Railways is calling the designs “modern” and “revolutionary,” but here in rapidly aging, often techno-contradictory Japan (yes, the rumors about ongoing fax machine usage are true), dispensing with the niceties and familiarities of strongly analog and strongly full-service rail travel culture might be too tall an order – the natives might revolt… which basically just means they’ll demand that their local municipalities cocoon the stations with restaurants, convenience stores, souvenir shops, coin lockers, and little out of the way cubbys with those stand-up irons to press your pants.
Remains to be seen, but we’ll keep you dialed in as things unfold.
Addendum on Nomenclature:
Oh, by the way, the ultra-utilitarian stations aren’t the only thing that could use a bit more thought: “Chuō Shinkansen” might sound exotic and Japanesey, but it really just means “Central Shinkansen.” And, though the name’s gained a domestic and international cache of high-tech coolness, “shinkansen” just means “new main line.”
Sure, a dead-sexy maglev bullet train is a concept that sells itself, but let’s hope that gets some polish. Because calling this thing the “Central Shinkansen” would be like naming the latest Ferrari “Red Car.”
• • •
Akihabara News Contributor Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com.
Via RocketNews 24 via IT Media (Japanese)
You expect to see robots in Japan, but nowadays even their street performers are animatronic. Now, someone in Osaka has developed his own life-size singing Ray Charles robot. He may have Georgia on his mind, but this Ray lives in Japan.
As cheap, homemade robots go, the likeness is pretty good. The “skin” is made entirely out of paper clay. The robot appears to be playing the keyboard while his mouth moves to the words. However, all of the music comes from a speaker inside the heart of the machine, not the keyboard.
It’s creator made the robot for less than 150,000 yen (~$1,520 USD). That’s not a bad price to spread your love of music to the public – especially if the crowd is in the tipping mood.
[via Rocketnews]
In a bid to bolster its bottom line, Sony’s been selling properties like a desperate monopoly player, and the latest space on the board to go is the Sony City Osaki building for 111.1 billion yen ($1.2 billion). That follows the sale of its NY headquarters for a similar sum, and the move of its mobile HQ from Sweden to Tokyo. The Osaki building has been purchased by a Japanese holding company who will lease the building back to Sony for a period of at least five years, which seems to be the trend for electronics companies lately. The Japanese conglomerate said all the property deals are being made to “transform its business portfolio and reorganize its assets.” Translation? Sony needs the cash, natch.
Source: Sony
Inhabitat is always interested in finding innovative uses for old technology, and this week we saw artists and designers from around the world produce new things from old, unused or outmoded gadgets. In Osaka, a local goldfish club has been transforming old phone booths into gigantic public fish tanks. In another large-scale art installation, Babis Panagiotidis used 18,000 recycled computer keys to make a life-size rocking horse. London artist Leonardo Ulian also makes beautiful, ornate mandalas from bits and pieces of old circuitry. And Benjamin Yates makes his unique coffee tables from recycled circuit boards, old VCRs and computer components.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar panel printer, gold producing bacteria and a life-size of horse made of computer keys originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
