TOKYOMANGO

MangoBot: How to buy figurines in Tokyo

This week on MangoBot, I wrote a guide to figurine shopping in Tokyo with a bunch of photos I took last week on my trip to Akiba. I also did a quick phone interview with blogger Danny Choo to get the deets. Here's an excerpt, and a link to the full article:

In Akiba, fans don't just buy figurines in boxes. A subset of talented geeks pick up kits and then fine tune the products into perfectly painted, customized collectors items that they then resell in little glass windows rented by the hour for about $500/week. Why buy figurines that have been modded by other fans? With kits, you often don't know what you're going to get inside, but this way you can pick and choose what character you're getting. The more skilled fans also add extra super-intricate coloring and detail to the standard finish, enhancing the aesthetic. It's kind of like getting any product customized—cookie cutter factory-made goods transform into one-of-a-kind collectors' items. Radio Kaikan, a famous seven-story department store built in the 60s, used to exclusively sell music components, but as the demand for music players dropped and the demand for figurines soared, the display of stereos have been replaced by rows and rows of figurine-encasing glass windows.

Read How to buy figurines in Tokyo: An Illustrated Guide

DIY portable hot tub kit

We've toyed with the idea of getting a hot tub for a long time, but there's always the problem of where to put it. This neat little build-it-yourself hot tub kit solves that problem. All the wood panels, the heating unit, and the tub itself fold into stackable pieces that can be neatly put away when it's not in use. The unit fits up to four people inside, and you can purchase a detachable bar counter and a faucet.

Product page via Hobby Blog

The new minister of declining birth

Yuko Obuchi is former prime minister Keizo Obuchi's 34 year old daughter. She has an interesting position in Taro Aso's new cabinet. Her title is Minister of Population and Gender Equality in English, but in Japanese, she is the 少子化相 (shoushika-sou), or Minister of Declining Birth.

Call me crazy, but in my slightly feminist mind, gender equality and declining birth are NOT the same thing. The job title "minister of declining birth" is kind of horrendous—it takes a lot of power out of her hands already by defining what her role as the person in charge of gender is. Women don't get to choose their path in life, they just need to have more babies. That's kinda how that title resonates with me.

The fanciest vegetarian restaurant in the world

Last night, I went to a restaurant called Daigo. It's probably the fanciest vegetarian restaurant in the world. I'm a total carnivore, and this was the first time I ever actually felt stuffed from eating vegetables. This was one of the appetizer plates we got. The meal was full of rare Japanese fruits and veggies, like the little red thing in the white lacey cover. I can't remember what it was called.

Suicide prevention train platforms

Newer train lines in Japan have suicide prevention platforms. 5-foot walls span the entire platform, with doors that only open when the train has safely stopped at the station. Jumping in front of a moving train is one of the most common suicide methods in Japan—it was, at least, until people started spreading information on how to gas themselves at home.