For the Fansub-Loving Geek in All of Us
Anime is truly becoming mainstream. Otaku now have their own travel book:
TOKYO (AP) - Fans of Japanese animation can now plan a vacation around their obsession with the help of a new guide called Cruising the Anime City (Stone Bridge Press) by Patrick Macias and Tomohiro Machiyama.
The paperback, filled with colourful pictures of anime characters and photos of stars, stores and merchandise, is a guide to shopping, hangouts and cafes where visitors can steep themselves in all things anime. The Akihabara Oriental Comic Theater - close to Suehirocho Station on the Ginza Line - screens nothing but anime. A chapter in the book on "cosplay" - which means "costume play" - lists cafes where beautiful actresses portray Sailor Moon and other characters. Or you can gamble your yen away at slot machine and video arcades where the games include dialogue spoken by anime actors.
The book also takes you to some of the real landmarks that appear in cartoons and movies, such as Tokyo Tower, a favourite location for launching (or averting) a movie-made apocalypse. Also on the list of must-sees are the six-storey toy display at the Bandai Museum in the suburb of Matsuo; and Taco che, an emporium for Japanese comics and related media.
The absurdly long link can be found here:
http://travelcanada.sympatico.msn.ca/Home/ContentPosting.aspx?contentid=05309ffe40f74385af21a
28d3f81c061&show=True&number=5&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc
In other news, Mel would like to contribute to
Today's Lesson, that being: when you're about to brush your teeth, make absolutely sure beforehand that the blueish substance on your toothbrush is in fact toothpaste, and not the similar looking, blue-coloured handsoap. Yeah, you only wish I was making this one up....
posted by Phillip at 5:59 AM
