Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Tokyo Game Show

This is a bloody big leap from Paris and I know I haven’t posted any of the provincial France stuff but hey this is worth it. I’m staying with my good mate Don and his lovely housemates Yumi and Eiko in Ichikawa not far out of central Tokyo. Don just happened to have a spare ticket for me to go to the Tokyo Game Show which is the yearly exhibition of Video Games. Geez it was intense, but so cool. So I’ve posted a few images from it today. Enjoy.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: WTF at TGS

I have absolutely no idea.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Oh so tweet

Why a bird has cat ears is quite beyond me, but it is rather cute.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Booth girl

Believe it or not but this is one of the more tasteful outfits the girls were wearing.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Transforming console

A console that transforms into a cool looking robot. Controller included.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Bomberman & some weird chic

Bomberman is cool, but this weird gal in latex wouldn’t let go of him to let me take bomberman on his own. Way way too much dodgy latex outfits at JGS.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Xbox 360 Big screen

Now playing Mario Kart on this would be fun.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Little Big World

So damn cool, so damn cute. Your character is a little heshian dude who you can customise.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Grow with Mama

The game centers around growing plants in your garden. They also have another Wii game that’s called Cooking with Mama.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Woot woot

Pingu Pingu!

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Sony Booth

Yup. It’s big and wicked. I played MGS online, Grand Turismo 5 and LocoRoco 2. All good fun.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Wii Fro

Nuff said.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Mr Spiral

For a while I wasn’t sure what this one is eather. Turns out its a finger with a spiral on it wearing a hat, go figure. Looks like WTF guy’s brother.

Japan, Tokyo Game Show: Juice of the Day

Qoo, the yummy ice cold juice of an Apple that’s good for your heath.

Architecture, France, Paris: Gardens beside the Louvre

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: Fly ducky fly

This was sitting with a bunch of spoons in a display case. Apparently the wings open up revealing the spoon. Not sure what it would have been used for.

Paris, musée du Louvre: The fantastic staircase

I saw this through the windows in one part of the Louvre, but couldn’t find a way in. Saw one person in there at one point but no entrances. Amazing staircase with wild boars.

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: The grand halls

There are some truely great pieces in the halls. But also a lot of samey french paintings. Not necessarily the tour de force I was expecting in this bit.

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: Great spaces

What was truly impressive in the Louvre was the shear size of some of the exhibition spaces and the great, not flat use of lighting.

Paris, musée du Louvre: Urn

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: Nice swan, nice swan.

Try not to get nipped.

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: A sultan

France, Paris, musée du Louvre: Lion chewing the fat

Rule 1: If you piss off a lion, don’t be naked and facing away from it or this will happen.

France, Montmartre: Montmartre is so nice, but hilly

A little triangle of places to eat and meet in Montmartre

France, Montmartre, Paris: Not the resturant I’d expect in Montmartre

Ah the gentle combination of cultures and themes.

France, Montmartre, Paris: The tops of Montmartre

Some pretty shops and really really nice home-made icecream. I mean this chocolate is so dark and so damn earthy you’d think it was all pure cocoa.

Architecture, France, Montmartre, Paris: Somewhere in Montmartre

France, Paris: Eiffel Tower and the European Union stars

Something you never see in the official photos. The Eiffel is wearing a little EU number with all the stars in a nice yellow ring smack bang in the middle of the tower.

France, Paris: The Eiffel tower from another angle

The elevator-doovy thing going up the tower on an angle.

France, Paris: The Eiffel tower arch

Pretty thing. To think it was only meant to be temporary. The super young french army dudes with their semi-auto weapons are a little odd to see. And the many hawkers selling mini-eiffel towers jingling on huge metal rings as they run away from the police on bicycles. Ha.

Architecture, France, Paris: Musée du Louvre buildings are lovely

It’s such a lovely building and to vast to contemplate. The hundreds of people sitting in all the individual spaces within the Louvre, minding the art must amass to be an army. An army who sit quietly on wooden chairs while tourists gawp at art and art students quietly study and draw.

France, Paris: Another inside the musée du Louvre

So many nice rooms and fast spaces filled with so much art that you couldn’t do any of it the justice of time unless you had spare legs and a couple of weeks up your sleeves.

France, Paris: Inside the Musée du Louvre

The musée du Louvre was huge and not quite what I was expecting, but I’m not really sure what I was expecting. You can take pictures in here, but unlike most of the people I passed I didn’t really see the point taking photos of paintings, so the only shots I took were of sculpture. Needless to say my legs were worn out by the time I’d called it quits.

France, Latin Quarter, Paris: Petanque Colosseum

This was a former roman colosseum that has been converted to a park and pétanque arena.

Architecture, France, Paris: Another Paris cloudy day shot

Have been a wee bit slack with the uloading of photos. So today, while it’s wet and I have a flat tire I’m posting the rest of Paris stuff and some other adventures.

France, Paris: Metro

The ubiquitous metro (one of the above ground stations). Love the metro, deeply wish our train system was more like it.

France, Paris: Sainte-Chapelle

Some stitching here and there. Unfortunately this may be one of the only stitches I upload as this little machine had major headaches trying to process 800MB+ of imagery.

France, Paris: Random Cloudy day in Paris Shot

Uncategorized: The Seine

France, Paris: Houseboats docked to the Seine

Oh to live on the Seine in one of these.

France, Paris: The old lamps by the Seine

France, Paris: Once this was someone

Another shot taken without flash in the catacombs under Paris. Be sure to checkout the last three posts for more bones and skulls.

France, Paris: Skulls

France, Paris: The dome

This was at the end of the catacombs just before the stairs up to the exit.

France, Paris: The Catacombs

This was amazing. The no flash photography was a challenge, but I managed to get a rolls worth that worked.

France, Paris, Port de Vanves: Appartments at night

Opposite our flat. Last night.

France, Paris: Metro entrance

France, Paris: Passage de Panoramas

Just after the suspicious sausage lunch we traipsed down some beautiful old arcades.

Architecture, France, Landscape, Paris: Somewhere in Montmartre

Whilst atop a bus heading out of Montmartre. Just before we ate our suspicious sausage. More about that later.

Uncategorized: Cheesy Comestibles

We traipsed up to the top of Montmartre for a look around the shops and back streets. Just noticed this shop in passing. Have never seen comestibles used in anything outside the Monty Python cheese shop skit.

Architecture, France, Paris: The Louvre on a cloudy day

First real day in Paris. Cloudy and grey but full of amazing buildings and people. This shot was taken from a bus as we passed by. I’ll be making my way back here on foot later.

Uncategorized: Paris Street

Apologies but I’m in the sun at a Colosseum and it’s about to rain so I’m just posting in a hurry.

Architecture, France, Paris: Place del a Concorde

Uncategorized: Le Madeline

A column outside a church that was being restored called Le Madeline.

Melbourne, Studio: Bye studio, bye friends, bye Melbs

Am prepping everything for Sunday. Sunday is aeroplane day. Sunday is the start of my exploration. These little guys will just have to sit pretty collection dust on my desk until I return.