Robocop Sold Out

Wow, I never knew Robocop stored Japanese cockroach spray in his leg-holster! Looks like he also was a paid spokes-cyborg for UFO instant yakisoba. While I thought he was protecting the poor citizens of Detroit, he was making the big yen over in Japan during the Bubble.

Robocop bug-spray commercial (youtube)

Fairy Toilet

Something about the architecture of this public toilet in a park near Yushima reminds me of fairy tales. Maybe it's the pointed roof. I kind of imagine a stinky version of Pinocchio or Rapunzel living inside of here.

Central Post Office

The Central Post Office in Tokyo was a 1930s structure just across the street from Tokyo Station. It was listed by Docomomo as a historically important Modernist building. Japan Post was slated to build a new tower on the site and preserve only 20% of the original building. Then a politician got involved, made a fuss about getting the site registered as a Cultural Asset, and the plans were revised to "retain more of the building" -- or so the Japan Times said back in March. Even in the Asahi Shimbun, an article stated that Japan Post's plans to demolish the building were "abandoned."

For months the building has been entirely covered up, but on my daily train ride to work, I could see at the rear of the building that demolition was taking place. On Tuesday, though, I noticed that some the screens covering the facade had come down, so I took this photo. It looks like more than just the facade is being preserved (there are actually lights on inside the building), but to me it doesn't look like more than 20% of the original building has been saved. Check out this aerial photo and judge for yourself. Basically, the building was fairly large, as it occupied pretty much most of that site. Sometime after this aerial photo was taken, the middle section of the facade was also demolished, as you can see if you look at the left of my photo. For me, that curved part of the building was most architecturally appealing detail of the post office as it mimicked the flow of the street.

Frappucino Petito

Does Starbucks in the U.S. have these cute samples that look like a miniaturized version of a Frappucino? Or is it only here in Japan? I am pretty sure the contents of my sample (coffee jelly and frozen coffee) is only on the menu in Japan. The Japanese sure do love coffee-flavored jelly! I had never eaten it until I worked at a Japanese public school. JELL-O Brand apparently tried to market coffee-flavored gelatin in North America, but it was discontinued.

Rainbows at Night

All buildings should light up at night like the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills.

Grate Advertising

This is the second floor window of a tatami-maker. Tatami are traditional Japanese straw floormats. I like how metal grillwork over the window has been manipulated to form the kanji character for "tatami."

Two-story Slice

Tokyo's got a lot of wedge-shaped buildings. This one in Meguro is no Flatiron Building, but it's got its own charm.

Waste Not, Want Not

Here we have what is known in Japan as a gomi-yashiki. Basically, that means a house full of garbage. This one is near Jimbocho. You can see that this place is filled to the brim with trash -- so much so that junk is spilling out of the windows. Oh, another thing. This is not an abandoned building. Someone actually lives in here. There used to be a little wooden building in the small lot in front, but it was demolished. I walked past it the day it was being torn down, and I thought that was the end of the gomi-yashiki. I didn't realize until after it was gone that the larger building behind it was also part of this garbage-hording compound! Gomi-yashiki are a somewhat common phenomenon throughout the country, and I often see sensationalist news stories on TV about these places and their mentally-ill owners.

New Sky Building

The New Sky Building in Okubo looks like a battleship in dry dock. Built in 1970, it is no longer new. Rather, it is in a beautiful state of disrepair, with gray paint peeling from the walls and netting covering the facade. But the elevators work, and signs for businesses on some of the apartment doorways suggests that there are still some tenants working and/or living in the 15-story tower -- though how many is another question. This place reminds me of the something out of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil." If only I could see inside the individual units. A bit of urban exploration got me outside to the 14th floor balcony, where the wind was blowing so hard it was as if the building was riding the high seas.

Showa Staircase

This staircase is in a building full of hostess clubs. It has a retro-Showa look that I like. The way the openings in the ceiling line up with the staircase makes it seem as if the staircase is actually an elevator that descended from above. Or maybe I am just crazy.

Ueno

Ueno
Originally uploaded by Braincell Jupiter

This brick building near Ueno Park is probably pre-war. I like the windows. Unfortunately, it's covered with netting as most old buildings here are.

Gone

Gone
Originally uploaded by Braincell Jupiter

A snack bar that once was. This building in Gotanda is no more. Snapped the photo just two weeks before it was torn down.

Just Like Pisa

This ramen sushi shop has its neighbors to thank for supporting it. Literally.