- je veux ton amour -

Madventures Nippon - Lovedoll

Came across this thing called “Dutch wife” in Gintama, so I thought I’d do some research on it…

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“Dutch wives” are life-sized female dolls made to fulfill the lust of men (therefore they are also called “sex dolls”), and their bodies are usually made of expensive silica. The term used to be popular, but currently it’s obsolete. In the past, these dolls were made of plastic and looked merely like toys (well uh.. they still do now, in a more adult-y meaning ;P ). Now, a more realistic type of Dutch wife is in the market, and they’re distinguished by a different name – the Lovedolls.

The Lovedolls look very real, and their partners provide them with underwear, clothing, cosmetics and such, things that a typical real women would want or need. These dolls generally weigh 20 - 35 kg, and each of them costs around 600,000 yen (about 6,200 US dollars…? ). Recently, there are companies which rent out these dolls to those who need them.

Also, usually these dolls are “female”, but there are “male” and “children” versions too.

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Ningyou wo Aisuru Otoko-tachi: Men Who Love Dolls

Masa is a 42-year-old Japanese “doll-er” (someone who’s a doll maniac?) who lived with 4 lovedolls when the video above was made (apparently, he currently has 10). He sees them as his wife and daughters. From left: Mayu, a reliable and caring eldest daughter; Alice, his 2nd daughter who’s a little pampered and shy in front of strangers; Ai, his most pampered youngest daughter; and Yui, his obedient and reliable wife.

Speaking of “wife”, it wouldn’t be surprising if he really held a wedding ceremony with Yui (legally or not, who knows), since one of our seniors in the university held a ceremony with his girlfriend from the 2D world (a game character, if I’m not mistaken). And he was serious about it.

And of course, you’re not allowed to sexually harass the “dolls”, like what the staff did in the video, touching Yui’s breast. Because to Masa, she’s his wife.

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Le Trung's fembot, Aiko

Inventor spends Christmas with his perfect woman - a £30,000 custom-made fembot

Inventor Le Trung spent Christmas Day with the most important woman in his life - his robot Aiko. The science genius enjoyed a festive dinner with his mum, dad and his £30,000 fembot which he designed and built by hand.

Le, 34, from Brampton, Ontario, Canada, even bought gifts for his dream girl, who is so lifelike she speaks fluent English and Japanese, helped cook the turkey and hang up decorations.

'Aiko is like any woman, she enjoys getting new clothes,' he said.

'I loved buying them for her too.'

Le, who built his first robot when he was four, has dedicated his life to creating the perfect humanoid and his success so far with Aiko has won him worldwide attention.

Aiko, whose name is Japanese for 'love-child' has an amazing artificial intelligence and can speak 13,000 different sentences in two languages  

'Aiko can recognise faces and says hello to anyone she has met,' he said.

'She helps me pick what to have for dinner and knows what drinks I like.'

………

Read more HERE on Dailymail.

** Le Trung is a Vietnamese Canadian. Why do some people think he’s Korean…? You could easily guess from his name that he’s not…

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Well, I guess people have found a solution to not being able to get a dream girl (or boy). But only if you’re rich!

 

 

Hmm…… How long have I not touched this blog?

- Sunday Ikebukuro Sunshine: The Sea -

Just a supplementary explanation to the previous post: I did NOT make a mistake when I posted the sunfish in the Zoo-Zoo Plaza section. The sunfish aquarium WAS outdoor, right next to the ponies and ducks and fennecs.

Photographs from the “Wilderness of the Sea” Floor and the “Nature in Every Respect” Floor ↓

Japanese Sardines. Yum yum.

Moray Eels. Some of them are said to be venomous.

Baikal Seal 「どや？2828」. Omgwtfbbq I love this picture.

The “Diamond Aquarium”..?

Bigfin Reef Squid. They’re so tiny <3

Ewww jellyfish……

Japanese pun ;D

Description:

“Ei!”  --- (i) Stingray; (ii) The sound one makes when he throws something.

“Koi!” --- (i) Name of the fish; (ii) Word used when one’s all prepared to receive something.

The stingray’s throwing a baseball at the Koi fish.

Boa-sama!!! I love Boa Hancock (which has got nothing to do with this snake here).

I want one of these as a pet. Seriously.

I just realised I don’t have enough undersea pictures..

Who are you.

Poison Dart Frog… I think.

The Mexican Salamander a.k.a Wooper Looper. What a gap in the names.

That was the end of our journey. But of course, I’ve only posted pictures of a small portion of the animals in the aquarium/zoo, so those who want to see more of them, just visit them at the top floor of Sunshine City at Ikebukuro! Besides, there are lots of things to do at Ikebukuro, like sweets buffet and Shakey’s buffet, karaoke, movies, comics and internet cafe, Animate, shopping… and get annoyed by the pamphlet distributors on the streets. Oh yes they stuff them into your arms, forcefully, whether you like it or not.

But all you have to do is stare back at them expressionlessly. Don’t surrender.

Unless you desperately want some tissues to blow your nose.

Speaking of zoos and aquariums… I don’t really know a lot of these places in Japan, but apart from Sunshine International Aquarium, I’ve been to the Ueno Zoo (Ueno, Tokyo), Inogashira Nature and Zoo Park (Kichijouji, Tokyo), Asahiyama Zoo (Hokkaido), and Kaiyuukan (Osaka). Ueno and Inogashira Zoos are fun if you’re interested in small animals and want to play with them – at Ueno, you can also visit the museums, the Ueno Park, and the Ame-yoko (Ameya Street) which are just nearby; as for Inogashira, you can also visit the Inogashira Park which is a great place for sakura-viewing in Spring, and also the Kichijouji shopping streets as well as the Ghibli Museum, if you’re interested in Hayao Miyazaki’s anime. Asahiyama is one of the most famous zoos in Japan – a must-go if you want to visit a zoo here in Japan. And Kaiyuukan is the biggest aquarium in Japan (one of the largest in the world too), but I went there when I was really small so I don’t really remember how was it...

Nasu Animal Kingdom sounds interesting too, but we always forget about it (or short of time) when we go to Nasu (Tochigi Prefecture).. Been to Nasu Garden Outlet for shopping though ;P    Also, there’s a Ichihara Zou no Kuni (Ichihara Elephant Kingdom) in Chiba, but I figured it would be much cheaper if we see the elephants when we visit Thai. Which hasn’t come true.

- Sunday Ikebukuro Sunshine: The Land -

It’s.. “On a bright Sunday noon, my friend and I met up at Ikebukuro, and we went to Sunshine City. We started off by visiting land animals at Sunshine International Aquarium on the top floor.” In short.

Visiting..? Hmm.. Never mind. Anyway, that was my first time going to the aquarium in a very very… very long while. The previous time was probably 20 years ago. (Umm.. Did I just expose my age..?)

Photographs from the Zoo-Zoo Plaza (the name of the land animal section, apparently) ↓

The Sea Lion Show.

Baby Fennec Fox. Aren’t they just adorable?

Mr. Parrot. He talks only when he’s in a good mood.

Hedgehog or sea-urchin?

Ring-tailed Lemur. It was running around in the house freely.

Little Squirrel Monkey.

Ducks. What else can they be. But they look cute... Should have cropped this photo a little.

Sunfish! They’re called “mambo” in Japanese. ;D

Moving on to the marine animals section in the next post!

- winter wonderland -

Greetings!

Happy New Year!

And long time no see, bloggie!

It finally snowed in Tokyo. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me when I was walking in the silver snow, sometime around midnight in the university. Anyways the sight of our campus covered with snow was a perfect stress reliever. Well, at least, to me it was. We were chewing our fingers off in the drawing room, NOT drawing or doing anything related to design projects, but preparing for a 3-credit test held the next morning which decides our fate – failing it would mean that we have to retake it in our fourth year, and failing it again in the fourth year would mean no graduation. Touch wood.

There were excited students running in the field, screaming and laughing and throwing snowballs at each other as if they were little kids.

While staring out of the windows, we saw roofs of the houses and laboratories covered with thin layers of snow, and under the grey snowy sky they looked like dark chocolate cakes topped with powdered sugar.

OK I’m definitely hungry.

Great day to have oden, or even shabushabu!

- i'm alive -

so there you go, left 4 dead.





i like this "hokkien-version" series.
started with LoTR and Titanic, and now this.
there's a "cantonese-version" series too ;D

- of sweets and snacks -

of chips...

i love Karamucho, by Koikeya.
the "normal" Karamucho.
its name comes from Japanese adjective "karai (辛い)" which means "spicy/hot", and Spanish word "mucho" which means "a lot of/much".

there's a limited edition called Karamucho Stick 5-times Spicier Hot Chili Flavor (カラムーチョスティック 辛さ5倍ホットチリ味), which you can find in nearby convenience stores and supermarkets, but personally i still prefer the "normal" flavor :p
first of all, it wasn't as spicy as i thought.
(although, Japanese might wanna read 辛さ as "tsurasa", which means "painful/unbearable/tough", because according to the Japanese standard it IS unbearably hot.)

and i like them in big chunks, not tiny sticks.
same rule applies to french fries and Pocky sticks ;)

but i love Jagariko too, even though they're sticks.
it's a kind of fried potato snack by Calbee which comes in a paper cup.
and apparently, if you dip it in boiled water, it'll turn into mashed potato.
hmm, makes sense.

also, don't forget Pizza Potato, again by Calbee.
basically it's pizza-flavored potato chips topped with cheese.
pity it doesn't come in large packets like Karamucho.

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of chocolate...

by the way, there's been a huge dispute debate among the Japanese community, over which kind of snack is better - Kinoko no Yama, or Takenoko no Sato.
and it takes forever to resolve.
they're both chocolate-topped snacks, both made by Meiji.
and they both look wrong.
the only different in appearance is that...
Kinoko no Yama, literally "mountain of mushrooms (きのこの山)", takes the shape of a mushroom; whereas Takenoko no Sato, literally "village of bamboo shoot (たけのこの里)", the shape of a bamboo shoot.

which do you prefer?

by the way, i like Karamucho (LOL).
if it has to be a chocolate flavored snack, i'd pick Koala no March.
'nuff said.

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of ice-creams...

hello price rise.
goodbye Häagen-Dazs.
it was 248 yen. or maybe cheaper.
and it's now 284 yen.
mainly due to the rise in price of milk and crude oil.
waiting for someone to treat me ;D

there's a price rise for Baskin-Robbins too.
first time in 18 years.
but don't worry Very Berry Strawberry, i still love you.

speaking of which, i had Romancing the Cheesecake the other day.
at Cold Stone Creamery.
yes, Cold Stone, not Cold Storage.
waffle cone, size: love it.
that's 670 yen, which is equivalent to a full meal at Gusto.
it's really nice, though. cheesecake flavoured ice-cream topped with strawberries and chocolate syrup. crispy waffle cone. and of course, nice weather ;D

what makes it different from B-R is that, B-R ice-creams are ready-made, but at Cold Stone, they're mixed right in front of you. i'm not an expert in ice-cream so it doesn't really matter if it's freshly made or not but.. it's supposed to be like bread? freshly baked = hot and yum. not so fresh = bleh?

oh, and you can choose to make your very own flavor by picking the ingredients you like. on top of that, the employees sing for you. i'm not sure what's their purpose of doing it, maybe to make the mood in the store livelier? still i don't understand why do they have to sing in English when almost none of them can pronounce it properly. i know it's an American chain. but they way they sing it, it's nowhere near USA. LoLs.

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of doughnuts...

there's hiyashi tantanmen in Mister Donuts again, yayyyyy!!!
i know i know. that's not a doughnut.
i love Misdo's seasonal menu.
and i miss the Yumcha Set dumplings :
why aren't they sold anymore? refer to this.

on the other hand, we discovered a new doughnut chains.
well not exactly new. but i've been eating at Mister Donuts (and a bit of Dunkin Donuts) all my life.

Doughnut Plant.
there're only a few of them, and they're all distributed in/around Tokyo.
heard it's nice. but i haven't tried this one.

Krispy Kreme.
said to be better than Mister Donuts, but i'm not really sure about this.
because i've only tried the Original Glazed. lots of them though.
they're really nice and sweet.
and you get FREE doughnuts when you queue up at the Shinjuku Southern Terrace store.

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of traditional Japanese cakes...

taiyaki. yum.
"tai" in Japanese, is a kind of fish (according to the dictionary, it's sea bream). but this Japanese cake has nothing to do with fish apart from its appearance.
usually it's filled with sweet red bean paste.
and it's often featured in Japanese drama and anime.

again, there's been a huge debate over which side to eat first - the head or the tail.

i'm a person who saves the best for the last. so i eat from the tail. because sometimes, the tail isn't filled with red bean paste (when it's supposed to be filled everywhere if it's a "perfect" taiyaki!!!! i dunno, it's just my opinion :p).

try out different flavors of taiyaki at one of the most famous taiyaki stores in Japan, Gin no An (銀のあん)! apart from red beans, there are also maccha (green tea), custard, black honey and warabi, sweet chestnut, black sesame with walnut, and so on.

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tired... -.-
just typing this out makes me feel fat.

i once had a debate with my teacher regarding "saving the best for the last", when we were eating Häagen-Dazs. his opinion was "Eat fast! Get to the best part immediately! You wouldn't know when will the world end!!" in fact he finished his freezing cold strawberry cup in a minute.

note:
hiyashi tantanmen - cold tantanmen, a kind of Chinese noodle.

- rules are meant to be broken -

「規則は破るためにある」。

それとも、単に自分が反抗的なだけかな。
小学生の頃、よくカンニングしてました（笑）
しかも一人や二人とかじゃなく、クラス単位で ^p^
そういえばクラス単位でネトゲー中毒になったことが・・
あるような、ないような。

そんなこんなで、こんなモン見つけました。
日本に住む（あるいは旅行に来ている）外国人のためのフリーペーパー『att.JAPAN』。
それの7月/8月号に載っている「温泉入浴方法」です。
これはさすがに守らなきゃダメですな　^p^

or is it simply because i'm rebellious?
i used to cheat in exams when i was in primary school LOL
and it wasn't just one or two of us, it's the entre class :p
not sure if it's true or it's just my imagination,
but i think there was a time when the entire class was addicted to internet games.

anyways, i found this.
on issue 47 of "att.JAPAN",
a free magazine for foreign residents and visitors in Japan,
there's an article regarding "how to bathe in an Onsen".
obviously, you wouldn't wanna break these rules :p

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How to Bathe in an Onsen

1. First of all you will have to completely undress... Other than you birthday suit, you may bring one small towel or wash-cloth to the bathing area for washing with. Do not make the mistake of changing into and going in your bathing suit!
↑ i actually paused for a moment when i saw "birthday suit", then i finally got what it means. oh dear, i not speeek engrish D:

2. Once in the bathing area, rinse off with hot water before getting into the onsen... Hot water is drawn from the tub or tap and poured over the entire body to rinse thoroughly. This is considered one of the most important points of onsen manners.

3. After you have completely rinsed, it's time to get into the hot tub. Get in slowly up to your knees, then up to your waist, followed by the chest, then neck. In doing so your body will slowly get used to the water temperature. Do not put the towel into the water. You may see people fold and put it on their heads, now you know why - it doesn't belong in the water.
↑ yes we did it once when we went to an onsen in Nagano, and we were scolded by the old ladies. you've only washed your body, not your towel. it's just common sense not to put something dirty into the onsen, where everyone's enjoying the bath - even if the towel is new and unused and you think it's "clean".

4. One dip is usually no more than 10 minutes. As there are mineral elements in the water, longer exposure is not only relaxing, but allows the body to soak up more of those minerals. Getting at least 2 to 3 times a day is reasonable.
↑ you'll faint if you dip yourself for too long due to the heat of the water. i always fainted or puked in onsen when i was a kid, now i think i know why. or is it true that kids are not allowed in onsen?

5. Where tap and washing stalls are available, switching from wash stall to tub and back is up to you... Never bring the soap or suds into the tub!

6. Some hot springs provide more than one tub, such as the rotenburo (outdoor onsen). Switching from bath to bath may also be done freely.

7. When your body is hot and your are totally relaxed, taking a shower is entirely up to you, although may be a waste of the onsen's mineral healing properties. Leaving them to soak in may be better for your skin.

8. Once out of the onsen, dry off with a towel. Taking a nap is effective; bathing in a hotspring takes quite some physical energy.

[extracted from att.JAPAN issue 47, pg.25]

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these links might help too ;D

・Onsen, the Japanese Bath - pure inside out
↑ details on bathing in an Onsen. also, benefits of the Onsen.
・What to wear inside Oedo Onsen? - JapanForum.com
↑ your birthday suit ;D
・Onsen Japanese vs American Spa for Skin Care - Free Online Library
・Types of Onsen and Their Effectiveness - Nara: A Journey to the Ancient City


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hmm, i couldn't think of a good word/phrase for "さすがに".
it's "memant patut sekali" in Malay, in this context.

oh, and i'm going to Kansai later this month. Kobe: for shopping and tabehoudai. Kyoto, Nara, Shiga: visiting temples and shrines, more tabehoudai. Osaka: visiting CJLC at Osaka U, and Semba Curry at Kitasenri! i just can't wait to see my bank savings drop to 5 digit -.-