At least that’s what it looks like. Softbank has announced a few coming updates for iPhone users in Japan.
From November 4, iPhone users get free wi-fi public access through Yahoo!BB.
A 1-Seg tuner is set to come out in December, and it will also act as a battery charger (something I’ve wanted). It should cost around 10,000 yen.
They will be adding emoticon functionality by the end of the year through an update.
They’re still not addressing my only major problem with the iPhone, that you can’t get a sound or vibe alert when getting email (unless you use MobileMe, and even then it’s one short beep).
Yokai Attack gets some nice coverage in this piece from the Washington Post. You also get to see Matt and Hiroko talk about the book in a video report.
From Roppongi to everywhere. Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada) gave a performance at last night’s United Bamboo party (at Zel Cafe in Roppongi), and I was quite thrilled to have my picture taken with him (thanks, Ian).
It does look like one of us is happier than the other.
Well, this is certainly annoying. I just tried logging into my Facebook account, and I’m getting a message that my account has been disabled. Can’t for the life of me understand why. I hope it’s just a mistake on their part, because I don’t really want to have to go through the process of rebuilding my contact list.
Update: Looks like I’m not alone in my Facebook problems, with at least two other people I know who have encountered the same thing this morning. Anyone else?
Update 2: I still have access to my account through the Facebook iPhone app, so doesn’t look like the account has been deleted. Must be a glitch in their system, as it seems to be affecting a lot of people.
Update 3: Two days later, and still no change. It does appear that all people affected are on the Japan network. I still haven’t heard anything elsewhere about this, and haven’t heard anything from Facebook — I emailed them as soon as I noticed the problem.
Update 4: My account is back, and I think the same goes for most people who had it disabled.
I had to miss the opening reception last week, but I went down to La Galerie des Nakamura this past Sunday to have a look at Audrey’s “Le musée des histoires” exhibition. I went while they were doing the “Le petit musée” workshop, which is what you’re seeing in the photos with children. The show runs until November 3.
Yes, Tokyo Design Week is just around the corner — I give a quick overview in today’s “On Design” column for The Japan Times — and although I don’t have time to give a detailed guide to what you should see, I do want to point out a few events.
First up, “PROTOTYPE02,” the bigger and better follow-up exhibition to last year’s outing, this time featuring 29 participating Japanese and Japan-based designers. The show is being held at Gotanda Sonic from October 30 to November 3. Even better, go to the opening party tomorrow night (October 29, 19:00-22:00).
You’ll also want to check out Generate’s “Limited Editions by Design’s Rising Stars” at WUT in Aoyama (across the street from HP Deco), from October 30 to November 3. The opening party will be held Thursday night (October 30, from 19:00).
And on Monday, November 3, the Tokyomade-produced “Fragment” happens at SuperDeluxe, from 15:00 until 21:00 (1,000 yen at the door). The event is a gathering of creators from all mediums, showing off their works, mixed with performances and more. Details here, including a look at the flyer.
And what better way to finish the week than with Monday night’s (November 3, 20:00) edition of PauseTalk!
Had a great time at yesterday’s Tokyolife talkshow at Tsutaya in Roppongi, especially for the chance to meet Mika Ninagawa. Big thanks to Ian for asking me to do it. Pictured above on the panel (from left): Marie (our translator), Ninagawa-san, Ian Luna (editor and contributor to the book), and me.
Some great news on the anime front: Starting January 10, NHK will begin airing The Beast Player, a series based on novels by Nahoko Uehashi, author of the Moribito novels. I absolutely loved the Seirei no Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit) series, and so quite happy to find out about this. The new series is produced by Production I.G.
Also, Scholastic Books is publishing Uehashi’s original Moribito novels in English — the anime series covers only the first one, I believe. Via Anime News Network.
Tokyo Art Beat’s 2008 Tokyo Collection of t-shirts expands, with two new models joining the previously released bunch. The new designs come courtesy of Paramodel (left) and So+Ba. Priced at 3,500 yen each — and lovingly printed by Sweatshop Union — best to order quick before they sell out.
Apologies for being so late on this — blame the Tokyo Game Show — but I’d like to thank everyone who came down to PauseTalk Vol. 25 earlier this month. We started as a rather small group, but it swelled up throughout the evening, and in the end we had a good bunch of people to share ideas with. Below is an incomplete list of the participants — if you’re missing, please let me know and I’ll add you right away.
Please note that November’s edition (Vol. 26) is just over a week away (Monday, November 3), which should be a good time to decompress from all of next week’s design festivities.
Jean Snow is a daily contributor to Wired magazine's game blog, Game|Life, covering game news from Japan and beyond.
Arcade Mania is currently on sale through Amazon Japan, with the same edition available for pre-order on Amazon US (to be released January, 2009).
Tokyolife: Art and Design covers Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives. Jean Snow provided coordination assistance.
The Superfuture Superguides are a series of PDF travel guides to some of your favorites cities, updated monthly, and obsessively compiling the best places to shop, eat, and drink. The Tokyo guide is edited by Jean Snow.
He is also the design/culture editor at Neojaponisme, a web journal covering social and cultural aspects of Japan. Read the manifesto, by founder and chief editor W. David Marx, here.
PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition happens December 1.
He writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the fourth Tuesday of every month, in both the print edition and online.
He also contributes a weekly round-up covering the latest product and interior design happenings from Tokyo and Japan for MoCo Loco. It gets posted on Wednesdays, and you can find links to previous posts here.
He writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for 
He also contributes a weekly round-up covering the latest product and interior design happenings from Tokyo and Japan for 
