Thursday, July 30, 2009

Not For Sale


Not For Sale, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Spotted in an Outdoor store in Akihabara, selling Messner branded tents (didn't know such existed): A dedicated autograph by Reinhold Messner himself. Priceless item.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tiny Four-Wheeler


Tiny Four-Wheeler, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Yoyogi Park


Yoyogi Park, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

No pumpkin headed hay-figure in jeans overalls here. Each culture makes it's own image.

Frequencies Searched


Frequencies Searched, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

@ICC. Moving yourself and thus your shadow sideways in a room let's you tune in to various random broadcasts floating around. Cool.

Track Record


Track Record, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

@ICC. Tiny speaker cars running on tracks made of old vinyls, making random noise.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Random Tokyo View


Random Tokyo View, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

From the HMV store in Shinjuku.

Blending In


Blending In, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Construction site fence doing a good job of being inconspicious. Near Yoyogi koen.

Tokyo Stickers


Tokyo Stickers, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Help


Help, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

A common sign at train stations, which speaks for itself: Let the staff take care of objects that fall down onto the tracks. Somehow the look brings the 50's or 60's to mind. Could it be such an old design?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

(Warm) Greetings From Tokyo


(Warm) Greetings From Tokyo, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

That's around 19:00 in the evening. It was hotter when I got here.

Greetings From the Sky


Greetings From the Sky, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Good Flying weather today.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Down Underground


Down Underground, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

All this time hanging around in Hokkaido, and only today I got to know there's a really cool limestone cave here in the neighbourhood.

Tomorrow it's again time for the hop to Haneda, and about a week in Tokyo trying to figure out what makes the place tick. Hopefully it'll rain less there than here.

Eye to Eye With Food


Eye to Eye With Food, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

It was the chefs recommendation. Delicious, even I left choice bits like eyes and stuff for those in the company who appreciated them more.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Midnight Shopping


Midnight Shopping, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Checking out the local discount mall when it is at it's best, and has the most interesting clientele.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

How Many Cute Furry Pandas In This Shot?

Pick Your Ride


Pick Your Ride, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Japanese train drivers know how to stop in the same place every time, so it's easy to know where the wagon and door you want to get in will stop along the platform. Just follow the signs. Why can't the trains back home do this too?

Big


Big, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Building going up.

Home Made Style Record Presentation

The trade mark of Tower Records stores over here. Others try a bit as well, but Tower makes the biggest effort usually.

Coffe Can Goes Sapporo


Coffe Can Goes Sapporo, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

And me with it. Productive day in the big city done.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Drive Home


Drive Home, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

The home away from home, that is.

Finally getting some blue skies over here after a wet spell. Going to Sapporo tomorrow to have a look around, and weather permitting, climbing Asahidake on wednesday or thursday.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Trash Collection Calendar


Trash Collection Calendar, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Neatly illustrated and colour coded. There's no excuse if the neigbours catch you dumping the wrong stuff at the wrong time.

Lazy Morning


Lazy Morning, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Staying in the room with the familiar view in Asahikawa. Catching up on work-relevent blogs in bed. The office is anywhere there's connectivity.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Not Really


Not Really, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Serious overstatement at Nagoya-Chubu airport. Got a few millimeters of red bar in the Wi-Fi search, so no way to use that. Top points still go to Kansai for free airport Wi-Fi.

A330 Seats Run Linux


A330 Seats Run Linux, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Now we know. Even a system boot left my screen hooked up showing Anthony Bourdains smiling face. Good there's an analogue off switch for the thing. Maybe I'll catch Watchmen on the flight back.

Enhanced Experience


Enhanced Experience, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Personal in-flight entertainment held lot's of amusement, so it's maybe good that my screen froze around three hours into the flight, and I had to sleep through the rest.

A330 Interior


A330 Interior, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

The new Finnair A330-300 was really an improvement on my previous flights to Japan. Perhaps the weather was favourable, but it was also a noticeably smooth flight this time.

DIY's the Way to Go


DIY's the Way to Go, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

We got to the airport early, after hearing much about the congested check in during the summer (what recession?). True there was a line stretching way over to the other departures hall, but the DIY kiosks and luggage drop desk were almost deserted. Took us all of about five minutes to get boarding passes and get rid or our bags, which of course created a problem of killing quite a lot of time...

Maybe flying is seen as a valuable enough investment that many people arent willing to trust it's success on a machine. Public transport seems to have a much higher rate of dealing with ticket vending and charging machines, which are essentially the same thing; Just the monetary value and commitment to schedule varies a bit.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Cables Go Japan


Cables Go Japan, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

And us with them, hopefully.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Bagful of Authority


Bagful of Authority, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Off to Japan again on monday, so took a brief look around for stuff that could make the trip nicer. Didn't find anything, though.

Ever since the stupid 1L plastic bag rule I've used standard fare Minigrip bags you can get in any supermarket. However, with these dedicated zip-lock bags (sold in 5-packs for 2€!) I'm sure I could proudly starte down nasty security persons at any airport. Oh, wait, they're the same bags...

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Sticker Road Rage


Sticker Road Rage, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Red Carpet Treatment


Red Carpet Treatment, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Recently these red bike lanes were added to busy Runeberginkatu in the neighbourhood of my old cave. It's not along any frequented path for me anymore, but will be interesting to see how it's received, and if we'll see more of the same. Personaly I prefer bike lanes up on the sidewalk. Pedestrians (even in high tourist season) are still less annoying and dangerous than the all too frequent blind and crazy people driving around here.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

30's Style


30's Style, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Dudes putting up scaffolding outside Espoo railway station tried to imitate old 1930's pictures of skyscraper builders. No safety gear in sight.

Chillin'


Chillin', originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Last night on a cliff overlooking a lake just outside the national park (in the park you can camp only in designated areas). The water was swimable, though a bit cool. Food plentiful and good as always.

A Hikers Best Friend


A Hikers Best Friend, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

The waters this far south aren't that good to drink, especially in the midst of a heat wave; Better pump it through the Katadyn's coal and ceramic filters first. Takes a little effort, but still beats boiling hands down.

Ruuhijärvi


Ruuhijärvi, originally uploaded by Rollofunk.

Passing by. Good memories from here of long ago summers. Wonder if the wreck of a rowing boat we snorkeled around still lies in the bay on the opposite shore?