Choosuk in Korea. A quick trip to see the PARK Clan. Parents, Grandparents, cousins and a cow. 48 hours on the ground in ChungJoo. A great time with some great food. The cow – she works so hard!!
me and the cow sharing a snack
JiYoung in front of the house her father grew up in
a lovely day in tokyo… we walked around town, welcoming the spring weather. JiYoung at the new (and Amazing) National Arts Center.
admiring the art
the inside lobby with a great cafe on the second floor
then we headed over to the palace in Ginza…
A beautiful Sunday afternoon and i headed to Big Site in Odaiba for the 2007 Winter Wonder Festival. I was put onto it by some of the designers that have done great work for Nike like Oka at Medicom toys and Yas who did White Dunk. The event is targeted toward independent and garage modelers, so you get to see a lot of interesting one of a kind models and toys. What i learned was that if you’re a model/toy supplier, it’s just plastic so the range of your product is that of your imagination. This was my first introduction to some of the true Japan Otaku culture and it was a blast. People come in droves – 10′s of thousands and some in costume to pay homage to their favorite characters. Come on my journey…
Their were your typical toys – one of my favorite fighting robots
I also found some quality and kind of edgy looking figures
They even had some funny (and freaky) toys like this pencil sharpener
Down the next aisle, things got a little more interesting… Sold Out?!?!!
And at one point, things just got a little crazy.
I know they’re just figures but damn!!! Some imagination here.
at many times it was a madhouse with photographers and fans trying to push and edge their way in to see their favorite design or art piece… but in typical japanese fashion, much of the group conducted their business in an orderly fashion. This is the line of photographers and fans waiting to snap their shot and be on their way.
and after weeding through much of the crap, i finally found him – GODZILLA!! the man of japan, the master of disaster. I have ton more pictures of him that i won’t bore you with but he made the whole trip worth it. It was definitely an interesting excursion and i can’t wait for the Summer show in August!!
For more pictures from people who had the patience to wait in line, go here.. For more on the people and the CosPlay (constume play), check out Akihabara News. enjoy!!
Me and my new Nike Japan Marketing team…
An intimate Friends of Nike Dinner… really friends of Parker. Illustrious guest include Jim, President of Nike Japan; Fraser, global energy influencer; Yas & Mizusa, one of japan’s leading art and toy sculptor; Hiroshi, god-father of Tokyo plus the founder of Medicom toys and the head of Burton marketing… and of course, Mark Parker – President and CEO of Nike, Inc. Crazy i tell you. Who the hell am I???
February 10th. Nature Day? Tree Day? Not sure what it’s called but it’s a day where we pay homage to mother nature in korea. We plant trees, parade them down the street while cheering and chanting. Hopefully JiYoung and I did a good job and next year will be great for us…
JiYoung strolls down the streets of Nishi-Azabu…
 |