Tonight (Jan. 28) until 7pm and tomorrow until 5pm only there’s an excellent set of exhibits showing at Le Deco, on four different floors. The top floor has photos, including works from Tommy Oshima, Funiku Ookami, and Mario Takahashi. When I stopped by, they all three were there and I had a chance to talk with them all. Mario showed me a couple of his handmade trick lenses and even let me play with them.

On another floor you’ll find a installation with some dark, moody 3D work by Tacji Kikuchi (ends today).Other floors have more photos (which I had to rush through because I was running very late) and some CG animation video work.

Highly recommended. Go. I plan on going back again tomorrow, with my daughter.

(Note: This entire post was moblogged direct from keitai.)

The Tokyo International Players (TIP) are performing Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” at the Tokyo American Club — today and tomorrow only. There are matinee performances today (January 28) and tomorrow, and a 7:30 performance tonight.

I went to the opening performance last night and had a great time. I very much like the tragic-comic story behind “The Cherry Orchard”, and it was a great pleasure to see it brought alive by the TIP ensemble cast — every player contributing some truly memorable moments to the performance.

It’s staged in the round within one of the Tokyo American Club ballrooms, with the players entering at different times from all sides. There are some very nice surprises in the direction (by Malcolm Duff) and also in the lighting and music. There’s even one wonderful, crowd-pleasing dance scene that had everybody in the audience clapping along and stomping their feet. And within all that, some moments of real poignancy,

As a big sumo fan, one of the nicest surprises for me personally was seeing Doreen Simmons performing in the role of Firs, the housekeeper. It is the first time I have seen her perform, but I am a huge fan of hers from many years of listening to her color commentary for NHK’s English-language sumo-tournament broadcasts. She’s a brilliant commentator on the sport, and has a obvious love for it that makes listening to her comments during the broadcasts a real joy.

Though she has one of the smaller roles in this play, it’s a role that captures some of the funniest moments in it and also what is perhaps the most poignant moment. She plays the fun parts exhuberantly, giving the performance some of its biggest laughs. And she plays that final moment of poignancy with a genuinely touching sense of warmth and tenderness.

Bravo to everyone in the TIP cast, and to Malcolm Duff and everybody involved in the casting decisions. They’ve put together a performance that’s a pleasure to watch and remember.

Last night, on my way to the Tokyo International Players performance of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” (by the way — more shows at 2:00 and 7:30 today, January 28, and one show tomorrow at 2:00), I stopped off at Photo Gallery PLACE M in Shinjuku 1-Chome to see an exhibit of photographs by SAKUMA Gen, titled 「そこへゆけ」or “Go there”,

PLACE M is a small gallery/workshop, run by a group of photographers, that’s just a two-minute walk from the Marunouchi Shinjuku Gyoenmae station. It’s well worth heading over there to see the exhibit. But go now, because the exhibit ends tomorrow (January 29). For directions, including a QR code you can use to grab a map and directions for carrying/viewing on your mobile phone, see the TAB page for Place M.

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When you try to find a book, what would you do? Drop by the nearest bookshop? Go to a library? Search at Amazon? I have another choice. Go to BOOK OFF!

BOOK OFF is the most popular secondhand bookstore in Japan. It has increased its franchise stores significantly from ’90s, and now there are 845 stores, including 8 stores overseas, Hawaii Ala Moana, New York, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Hartsdale New York, Paris, Vancouver, and Rolling Hills Plaza LA.

There are lots of poketbooks and mangas selling at 100 yen! You can get not only books but also CD, DVD and video game softwares at the cheapest price. Sometimes their greetings “Irasshaimaseeee!!!” “Arigatou gozaimasitaaa!!!” are so noisy, but you can’t help buying something there.

Sajjad Zaidi, gone now from Tokyo, but hardly forgotten, dug up a gem of a list: 250+ Reasons why we still love Tokyo. Though showing its age a bit, (Ryutaro Hashimoto used to be the prime minister, before Obuchi and our current guy, What’s-his-name, with the hair,) the list is still pretty accurate. If you haven’t seen it, go take a look.

Sajjad Zaidi’s Blog

12. Automated taxi doors
13. The most valuable coin in use in the world: �500
34. Great friends
35. Officers of the law can be neutralized by stealing their bicycle pumps
44. �100 shops
45. Tanning salons with names like “Black People”
55. Tell-it-like-it-is cigarette brand names like “Short Hope”
62. The little old lady in Yaesu wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with: “Get It While It’s Hot!”
67. Special high-tech, no-tatami apartments for foreigners for �2 million a month
68. Special low-tech, no-toilet apartments for foreigners for �20,000 a month
91. Slippers in the office
107. Vending machines that take notes of any denomination
115. The adrenaline rush that comes with having a wallet handed back with the month’s rent still inside
159. The sheer number of nationalities, in spite of the failure of the official internationalization policy
176. Seaweed Pizza
193. We can die and never feel we’ve missed anything on TV
194. Statistically, the nearest convenience store is an average 4 minute and a 30 second walk away
199. We never have to rent an Arnold Schwarzenegger video: at least one movie is on TV each week
239. Heated toilet seats
254. The art of reading a newspaper on a crowded train

Ice cream, I scream, you scream, we all scream for icecream, who doesn’t love ice cream?
Yes, I love ice cream. Honestly, I eat ice cream at least once a week in winter, eat 5 times a week in summer. that’s why I am getting on a way to be “fatty (or chubby) Coco”.

In Japan, Baskin Robbins is know as “31 ice cream”. End of the month (they call it “31’s day”), they get you 30% discount for double scoops. Japanese 31 ice cream serve many different kind of flavors from American ones.

Dainagon Azuki: Sweet beans icecream

Ichigo Milk: Strawberry and milk

Of course you can have traditional flavor such as Rocky Road but I feel it tastes like low fat rocky road. Still love it though.

Wow! My favorite manga, Death Note will be made into a film. Do you know that?

The main character, “Right Yagami” is a smart high school boy who found a “death note” one day. The death note is a tool used by a “god of death” from Hell to kill people. “Right” learned how to use it from the god of death “Ryuku” who dropped the death note on purpose just for fun. Right began to kill criminals because he hopes secure and peaceful society but Right’s sanctions gradually escalated. People noticed that someone was killing criminals and began calling him “KIRA”(Japanese pronunciation of killer). Everyone is afraid of him, so the crime rate has gone down. A brainy boy, “L” is a detective who is trying to discover the identity of “KIRA”. Then the battle of genius vs genius began. Please check out this English-language fan site. “Death Note” is serialized in "Shonen Jump" in Japan, but is not in the U.S. version of the magazine. But you may buy the first and the second in Amazon now. I can tell you it’s worth the read.

By the way, regarding to the movie. My friends and I really hoped holloywood would make it, but unfortunately it is Japanese film…orz.  Devilman and Casshern were enough. For 30s and 40s people, both animation were sort of treasures, then those two movie made us upset, it was apathetic rather than angry actually. ha ha ha

According to the news, Tasuya Fujiwa will act as Right. Hmm, okay passable. L (Ryuzaki) is Matuyama Kenichiro. Hmm I want Jun Matsumoto to acts as L!!  I don’t know who will act Ryuku. I think tall man Tomoyasu Hotei will fit.

If Hollywood made this, who would you choose? Edward Fourlong had steal beauty as Right. HAD? Yes he made me disapointed in many way (who are you?) . Ryuku?  My friend said Samuel L Jackson would be nice. Then he drew and sent me his quick art :-p Okay he will be the best. I see how it is!!. Then his choice for Rem made me laughed. It’s him. But it’s not bad actually. If you’ve not read it, check it out.

with multiple counts of under-dressing and one count of being “a bit chubby”.
The Englishman uncovers the real story behind the Livedoor saga.

Probably one of the most active blogs in Japan now is that of Livedoor founder (and now ex-President) Takafumi Horie, currently under arrest (see Mike’s post.
There have been over 15,000 comments placed over the last week, with everone from disgruntled investors to die-hard supporters wanting to have their say. You can see his blog here (only available in Japanese).
Mainichi online has more on this story.
Meanwhile, Horie has been replaced as President by Livedoor VP and former Sony employee Kozo Hiramatsu, also reported by Mainichi.

On Saturday I went snowboarding in Gala Yuzawa with a few friends. I had heard horror stories of 2 hour queues and packed pistes, but I never had to wait longer than a couple of minutes for a lift and the pistes were great.
We had the bonus of a beautiful sunny day, and of course there is plenty of snow: nearly 4 metres deep!
I’d definitely recommend heading up there. It’s 1.5hrs on the Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo or Ueno and Gala Yuzawa station is literally within the same building as the ski lifts.
A day trip (including train, lift pass and lunch) will only set you back 14,000Yen.

For more information, check out the official site and the latest conditions.
The Gala site also has a mobile phone version; go to http://www.gala.co.jp and choose your network.