Spotted by Matt Alt in Akihabara: a sign for a bar, using a very recognizable casing.

A friendly reminder that tonight (Monday, November 16) is this month’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 35), the first one in over two months. The official session kicks off at 20:00 at Cafe Pause, but feel free to join us earlier, from 19:00, to have a listen at Tokyo Realtime‘s latest audio tour, covering Akihabara. So far, on the Facebook event page alone, we have 19 attending and 15 “maybes,” so looks like it’ll be a good one.

Wanted to update everyone on what’s happening with PauseTalk Vol. 35. It is not happening tonight (first Monday of the month) because I didn’t want to have one during the design week, and since the cafe is not available the following Monday, the November edition is set to happen on the 16th. This will be the first edition since September, so hope to see many of you there!

Also, we’ll be doing something a bit different. The official start time will still be at 20:00, but from 19:00 we will be playing the recently released Tokyo Realtime Akihabara tour over the speakers, so come early to get a feel for what the tour has to offer. Its creator, Max Hodges, will be on hand as well.

It’s been a long time coming, but White Rabbit Press has finally released the second volume in its Tokyo Realtime audio tour series, this time covering Akihabara. The tour is currently available as a digital download — for $12, with a sample available on the official site — and the full print package will be coming out within the next few weeks.

The tour is hosted by otaku master — and The Otaku Encyclopedia author — Patrick W. Galbraith, and also features contributions by a host of otaku culture-related names you’ll recognize, including Patrick Macias and Danny Choo.

As I wrote for the Kabukicho tour, this is an absolutely terrific way to take in these areas. More than just a voice guiding you through the streets, spots, and stores, each tour features sound and music elements that help put everything in the proper context.