Photographs from a small group of islands
There’s no denying the fondness for fashion in Japan, with appearance a priority. In fact, it could be argued that a large percentage of people are f*ing obsessed with it.
That said, it’s not necessarily always successful, as the merits of this gamer’s mask for example are somewhat moot to say the least.
(click image for magnified masked man)
Twinkling trees and sentimental songs are all well and good, but for Christmas in Japan to be done properly, Pokemon is nothing short of a prerequisite.
Particularly if it’s Pikachu.
Tokyo’s Shibuya district is hardly lacking in interesting sights and sounds, from the area’s famous crossing which is a firm favourite of the foreign media, to the (presumably) last gasp of the much maligned but unusually long lasting ganguro fashion phenomena.
Yet despite this, nothing draws a crowd it seems like a slightly deranged but definitely dextrous game centre drummer.
This poorly shot and painfully short video — a first for Tokyo Times, hence its lousy nature — sadly offers only a teaser of his tricks, although the latter part does briefly capture the taiko master’s ability to play the game while nonchalantly not looking at the screen.
For many of the Tokyo Game Show’s male visitors, it’s a great chance to take pictures of the gamut of goodies on display, allowing them a sneak preview of something that in the near future they’ll be able to view in the privacy of their own homes, where, if it turns out to be as good as they hope, will provide endless hours of joystick fiddling fun.
Plus, if they are really lucky, it may also involve multiplayer action.
But, as well as games galore, the event also boasts a considerable cosplay contingent, sporting all manner of weird and wonderful outfits.
A pastime that whether rightly or wrongly is often derided, with its more vocal detractors claiming that such gatherings are little more than modern day freak shows. Such views however are a little on the harsh side to say the least, as regardless of how colourful and chaotic these get-togethers may be, they are hardly a throwback to the bad old days of bearded ladies.
There would appear to be no looking back for Nintendo as far as the console contest goes, with the Wii outselling Sony’s PlayStation 3 in Japan by a sensational six units to one. And with the machine still in relatively short supply, some retailers have opted to try and cash in on the craze by offering overly priced overseas models instead.
One outlet in Tokyo’s Akihabara district for example is desperately trying to draw in the more determined with a U.S. version of the Wii for the decidedly not discounted price of almost 60,000 yen (500 dollars) — twice the cost of a Japanese model.
The management somewhat unwisely deciding to display the console on top of its even more outrageously priced American PS3.
Which at a whopping 128,000 yen (1,000 dollars) has, perhaps not surprisingly, been unsuccessfully on sale since January.