Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Way to Work
I'd say my quality of life has just been raised a notch by being able to take a 20 min walk to our new office in Hakaniemi every morning.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A340
This is the last post on Japan, so for those who want some chronology I recommend scrolling down a bit.
I actually looked forward to boarding the "new" A340 to Narita and back, but turned out the only one Finnair has at the moment is an old second hand purchase from Virgin Atlantic. The new birds will be delivered starting this summer, apparently. The interior on this one is pretty worn, and today I actually had both a malfunctioning seat back (wouldn't stay upright), and a screen that had a black hole of dead pixels in the middle. Not too impressive.
I actually looked forward to boarding the "new" A340 to Narita and back, but turned out the only one Finnair has at the moment is an old second hand purchase from Virgin Atlantic. The new birds will be delivered starting this summer, apparently. The interior on this one is pretty worn, and today I actually had both a malfunctioning seat back (wouldn't stay upright), and a screen that had a black hole of dead pixels in the middle. Not too impressive.
Station intercom
@Minami Senju
No need to look for station staff in case of an emergency, which can save precious seconds. Wonder if they get many prank calls? Japan being the country it is they probably don't, though.
No need to look for station staff in case of an emergency, which can save precious seconds. Wonder if they get many prank calls? Japan being the country it is they probably don't, though.
Santa's Village Surprise
Aki and Minami had found a Tokyo Metro travel card with a very familiar Rovaniemi view.
A Very Japanese Moment
Fujisan seen from the window of a Shinkansen. Seats on the left hand side (when going towards Tokyo) are a lot more popular than those on the right because of this. Can't blame them, I'm a sucker for that view too.
Cloak Lockers In Red
Self service coin lockers for bags and coats in an Osaka club. At least they made entry and exit smoother.
Still no idea what the club was called, though, but good fun.
Still no idea what the club was called, though, but good fun.
The Future
Sapporo to Tokyo in about 4 hours by train. Currently flight times are about 1,5 hours, but with transfers to and from airports, hassle with security checks and luggage and some people's fear of flying this option can become very popular. I wonder what the construction schedule looks like.
Adapting
Brilliant use of an intuitive shape and user interface of a newer device (moblie phone) applied to an older product (pocket calculator).
Emergency Power
Instant phone chargers for all imaginable models running on standard AA batteries on sale in a 24H convenience store.
Emergency Coin
On a lamppost in Sapporo. Apparently you can take a coin from here if you're in need, and if you have extra you can leave one for someone else. Not an official system in any way, but really nice initiative.
A First
First time to have a train being seriously late in Japan. Apparently there had been some accident on the track between Asahikawa and Sapporo, and nobody really knew when it would get cleared up.
Seemed to be a strange situation for most of the locals as well, and it was actually quite entertaining to watch the station staff try to handle all the questions. In the end I only had to wait half an hour extra, but some people seemed to be in more of a hurry. That's actually a problem in a society that is used to everything running smoothly always; Once things go wrong there's no natural response, but rather insecurity and confusion.
Seemed to be a strange situation for most of the locals as well, and it was actually quite entertaining to watch the station staff try to handle all the questions. In the end I only had to wait half an hour extra, but some people seemed to be in more of a hurry. That's actually a problem in a society that is used to everything running smoothly always; Once things go wrong there's no natural response, but rather insecurity and confusion.
Familiar
Design shop in Asahikawa. Have to admit that it was nice to see Iittala, Marimekko and Artek among the featured brands.
Perspective
Just to make a point of scale: Tokyo has it's own domestic airport (ok, Haneda handles some international flights as well, but anyway), and this departure hall is just half of terminal 1. Then there's still terminal 2.
Resting Place Tokyo
Well, got back from Japan earlier today. Blogging in order not to fall asleep, and avoiding unpacking.
I guess I could have written along the way, but didn't feel like always asking for computer time from friends, so decided not to bother. Since Google bought Blogger direct ShoZu updates have been impossible too.
Anyway. Good trip all in all. My jet lag avoiding strategy sort of worked, as I got the local time within 24 hours of arrival. However, I was in serious zombie mode when we landed, so I can't recommend the method for someone who needs a clear head to navigate. The monorail to Haneda and my flight to Asahikawa offered a brief opportunity to take a nap (after snapping the pic).
I guess I could have written along the way, but didn't feel like always asking for computer time from friends, so decided not to bother. Since Google bought Blogger direct ShoZu updates have been impossible too.
Anyway. Good trip all in all. My jet lag avoiding strategy sort of worked, as I got the local time within 24 hours of arrival. However, I was in serious zombie mode when we landed, so I can't recommend the method for someone who needs a clear head to navigate. The monorail to Haneda and my flight to Asahikawa offered a brief opportunity to take a nap (after snapping the pic).
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Very, Very A.M.
In a moment of inspiration I decided to try to beat the coming jet-lag by settin my alarm at 4:00. That's 10:00 Japanese time. A leisurely run down to the beach and a seriously double espresso woke me up pretty well. Next it's off to work to prepare my stuff for the moving they'll do while I'm away, and then off to the airport in the afternoon.
So, I'll be in Japan for the next two weeks. Asahikawa, Sapporo, Osaka and Tokyo are on the agenda. No idea how well, if at all, I'll get to post here, but there will certainly be stuff to blog about.
So, I'll be in Japan for the next two weeks. Asahikawa, Sapporo, Osaka and Tokyo are on the agenda. No idea how well, if at all, I'll get to post here, but there will certainly be stuff to blog about.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Sushi Robot
And I'm not even in Japan yet. Dropped by Ichiban Sushi on the way home to work, so as to better be able to appreciate the real thing. Flight to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon.
Symbolism
@MoA.
Fabric patterns for different markets. Works as long as the market has a recogniseable statue, I guess.
Fabric patterns for different markets. Works as long as the market has a recogniseable statue, I guess.
Happy Birthday!
First Anniversary of Mobile Observations! Celebrating with a candy and a glass of Schweppes Ginger Fusion.
A year back as well as now the MoA is on, so I went to have a look yesterday. Overall it wasn't all that impressive. The exhibition concentrated more on art and less on design than last year, and generally the quality of the works wasn't as high as I had hoped for. Apart from a few positive expectations in the product design and clothing design departments most looked like very typical student works, which they of course are.
A year back as well as now the MoA is on, so I went to have a look yesterday. Overall it wasn't all that impressive. The exhibition concentrated more on art and less on design than last year, and generally the quality of the works wasn't as high as I had hoped for. Apart from a few positive expectations in the product design and clothing design departments most looked like very typical student works, which they of course are.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Touch Screen Maker Touches Screen
Nice public wall interface which displays Helsinki photo's sent in or gathered from Flickr. Multi-touch supporting, so you can scale and rotate the images decently. The function was a bit jittery, and it was down earlier during the day, so they might still be ironing out some bugs. More about the project.
Teemu's been involved in making a slightly more simple but smoother running touch screen up in Kuusamo for a permanent Hannu Hautala exhibit.
Teemu's been involved in making a slightly more simple but smoother running touch screen up in Kuusamo for a permanent Hannu Hautala exhibit.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Mobile Advertisement
A day of unusual pedal transport.
This one is purely for advertising. The four wheel design should be stable enough, but still might be interesting to run across a strong side wind with that sail.
This one is purely for advertising. The four wheel design should be stable enough, but still might be interesting to run across a strong side wind with that sail.
Rikshaw
Interesting three-wheeler outside the railway station. Wonder if it brings in more in sponsor money than actual fares?
Rinneradio feat. Zarkus Poussa
Got a surprising but nice text last night from Perttu, who was out with Mari (both of them Rovaniemi designers), and we decided to head for Korjaamo. Once there we found ourselves in the middle of the MoA opening party. Lot's of trendy young people listening to trendy music and sipping red wine.We tried hard to fit in.
Monday, May 07, 2007
MoA Again
Masters of Art, which sort of started off this blog a year ago, is back with blue Hokusai waves (though they don't show so well in the picture). Got to make the time for a visit before flying off to Japan next week.
The Saint
Obviously the owner of the friendly neighbourhood parking cave is a big fan of The Saint. This new statuette contains the card reader that allows people to open the gates from the comfort of their new Audi. It used to be in the smashed yellow thing.
Made even more bizarre by the rope around it's neck (probably to keep it upright while the cement base sets).
Made even more bizarre by the rope around it's neck (probably to keep it upright while the cement base sets).
Friday, May 04, 2007
Simple But Hard
Earlier I speculated that cruiser bikes would be on the rise, as they were strongly featured at BikeExpo. However, at the moment a lot more of these stripped down old skool direct drive messenger bikes are out and about. Quite interesting, considering the amount of skill it takes to ride one.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
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