Tokyo Essentials

A globelike screen which featured at the 2005 Aichi Expo, has been moved to the National Science Museum in Tokyo.
The screen is used to show computer-generated scientific video programs.
Further details (Japanese).

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The Tokyo Metropolitan govenrment has outlined plans for future infrastructure upgrades in preparation for its 2016 Olympic bid.
“the metropolitan government predicts the population of Tokyo will continue to increase for some time, reaching a peak of 13 million in 2015.”
Source

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The new Sony PS3 went on sale last weekend. I was at the Yurakucho branch of BicCamera on Sunday night and saw a fairly orderly, but long line of eager customers.
Only a limited number were on sale on the weekend, helping to build a buying frenzy for the new gaming console.

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Tokyo food prices are dropping according to a survey done by the Japanese government. This is not surprising too much, as competition between Japanese fast food restaurants increases.
Household budgets are being stretched as bonuses shrink. One area which families seem to cut back on is dad’s lunch money. One coin lunch places […]

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Tokyo had a power outage after a crane cut a cable shutting down power in parts of Tokyo on Monday.
The outage lasted around 3 hours and brought chaos to the city.
“It was really terrible,” said Naoko Maruyama, a 29-year-old office worker. “I had never experienced anything like it. I had to wait two hours at […]

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A new natural hot spring has opened in Roppongi. It features a restaurant, sauna and bar.
It is located directly opposite Roppongi Hills.
http://zaboo.jp/roppongi/index.html

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Moscow has taken over Tokyo as the world’s most expensive city. Osaka has also slipped from forth place to sixth.
“For many companies, it can now be more expensive to send employees to work in Russia or Korea than places like Japan or Switzerland which are often perceived to be more costly.”
Source

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The “Miraikan” or future museum bill itself as “Dreams for the 21st Century”.
From their webite:
What direction should we take from now on? Considering that, we came up with
themes in 4 different fields, “the Earth Environment and Frontiers,” “Innovation and
the Future,” “Information Science and Technology for Society” and “Life Science” as we
look at science […]

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Tokyo has made their bid official for the 2016 Olympics.
Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara said, “we aim to realize our plan to stage the Olympic Games by beating our rivals at home and abroad”.
Source.

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The NY Times reports on the rise of the popularity of “tachinomiya” or standing-bars.

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