Go to this page at the AICN site and scroll down to see the new posters for the Sofia Coppola directed LOST IN TRANSLATION, that takes place in Tokyo. I really like the second poster, the one with Scarlett Johansson. On that same page is also the new KILL BILL poster for Japan. Glad to see that KILL BILL is being released here in October also.

Lil’s adventures continue with some new galleries. Read more at her blog. Looks like she’s having an interesting time there, if not always smooth, and I can’t say that I’m really surprised about the “difficulties” she’s encountered in Russia. I’ve never been there, but it’s definitely the image I had of the place (from reading).

So you wanna wear the same watches that all the cool Tokyo kids have? Well then this site is just for you.

You can listen to samples of all the tracks from the upcoming Stereolab EP, INSTANT 0 IN THE UNIVERSE, in the discography section of their site (via Patrick).

I’d forgotten about the onedotzero_nippon digital film festival taking place this weekend in Tokyo, and I see that I can still catch the main shorts program, WOW + FLUTTER, tonight at 5 at the Spiral Building in Aoyama. Just now I tried to get some tickets from the Pia website, but they’re not selling them anymore, so I’ll give a call later today and see if there are still tickets available.

This week’s cover story at METROPOLIS is a feature on Tadao Ando.

And here’s why I found it so hot yesterday when I exited the airport at Narita (from Japan Today):

Temperatures rose to their highest level this year in Tokyo and other parts of the Japanese archipelago Saturday, after a long spell of cold weather.

In Tokyo, it was 34.1 C just before noon, the hottest this year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo, and Gifu, central Japan, both marked 36.6 C, while Kyoto registered 36.0 C. (Kyodo News)

Today was mostly packing as we get ready to head back to Tokyo. We leave tomorrow afternoon (or later today actually), and then it’s going to be a long journey that will bring me back on Saturday (we’re losing a day somewhere in there). I’ll give signs of life when I’m on the other side, probably through the moblog (if the battery on my phone is still kicking).

There’s a new interview with Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa at the Midnight Eye site, as well as some reviews of his movies, including his latest one, BRIGHT FUTURE, starring Tadanobu Asano (ICHI THE KILLER).

Kristen McQuillin has launched a really cool site called Yamanote29. It’s “a collection of photos, essays, video, and audio about the Yamanote line, its stations and neighborhoods.” I use the Yamanote line every single day, so I’ll probably try sending in some stuff to the site.

I like to look at these every once in a while, and so here are the top search strings that lead here during the first 2-3 weeks of August.

1. juon 2 – There can’t be a lot of info online for this film if my site is turning up on searches.

2. battle royale cosplay – No, I do not partake in any form of cosplay. Really.

3. jean snow – Nice to know that some people are actually looking for ME.

4. lupin the 3rd pics – Lupin is cool. Lupin’s theme song is cool. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, pick up one of the 3 remix albums produced by Yasuharu Konishi called PUNCH THE MONKEY! The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra version has always been one of my favorites.

5. bibimbap – Regarding the discussion we had about the proper spelling of it, I guess this must be the right one if many people are searching for it.

6. woori bank – Oh my, I hope my diss doesn’t turn off people looking to open an account there.

7. happatai – Still can’t believe they performed on the KIMMEL LIVE show. That was surreal.

8. bob sapp – Always a popular search string. I read in the news yesterday that after a fight at a K-1 tournament in the US, Mike Tyson jumped on stage and challenged him to a fight, which he accepted. That should bring in huge ratings in Japan.

9. rah xephon – I downloaded the whole series, but I still haven’t had time to watch it.

10. ju-on 2 – Comes out this month in Japan. Supposed to be even scarier than the first one.

11. last exile pictures – Very good anime series. Only a few more episodes left.

12. sapp time – No, please don’t tell me that people are searching for info on this dreadful Bob Sapp single. Please.

13. steamboy – Definitely one of the things I am most looking forward to seeing in 2004. Katsuhiro Otomo is responsible for bringing me into the world of Japanese manga.

14. yumiko kayukawa – Great artist, and glad I can help put the word out.

15. last exile bittorrent – Searching for a series’ name and bittorrent on Google never works. Trust me.

16. penis festival – Yes, I am the master of the penis festival.

17. last exile – Like I said, great series. It’s getting released on DVD in North America in November I think.

18. kano sisters – I hate them so.

19. oh! mikey – Looking forward to seeing the 3rd DVD of the series. Patrick, did you buy it yet?

20. sketch show tronica – This was an interesting EP, well worth picking up. If you don’t know this band, pick their full length album instead.

Nadine over at Tokyo Shoes is letting people contribute to the site as guest bloggers right now. Tokyo fashions through the eyes of many is good. Good ol’ Jesper makes an appearance with, of course, some BAPE goodness.

Drool. I cannot wait for this.

While in Canada I’ve been picking up THE GLOBE AND MAIL (one of Canada’s national newspapers) on Saturdays, and this past weekend the book section had a big review of 3 Japanese novels that have just been translated and released in North America through a new publisher, Vertical, that was started by a Japanese man who wants to bring popular Japanese fiction to the American masses. The 3 releases reviewed were Koji Suzuki’s RING (the movie was based on this novel), Kenzo Kitakata’s ASHES (a hard-boiled portrait of a gangster) and TWINKLE TWINKLE by Kaori Ekuni (who is compared to Banana Yoshimoto). It’s nice to see this, and I look forward to future releases from Vertical (check the site for info on lots of promising reads).

Momus’ site is online again, but at a new address: imomus.com.