Archive for the 'Japan' Category
PICS: Wacky Japanese signs
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) January 16th, 2008 on mikemcguff.com blogVIDEO: The last stop in Kyoto
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) December 6th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogKyoto is much smaller than Tokyo coming in around 1.5 million residents. It is in central Japan and has a lot of older tourist sites. This video was taped at the Kiyomizu-dera or Kiyomizudera which is a very famous Buddhist temple.
And yes, that is the mysterious wife I mention on this blog. I coaxed her to come out of hiding and onto YouTube. She did a great job! There was no way I was pronouncing that.
See my new Japan section.
My photos from Japan.
Mike McGuff rides a bullet…train
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) December 5th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogVIDEO: Buying embarrassing gifts in Tokyo
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) December 4th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogWe went shopping in the Harajuku district and you won’t believe some of the items we bought. Especially the last one. Talk about blushing. Hey, when in Rome…right?
I had to edit down the part about my Guns N’ Roses Japan purchases. I was napping before I shot this so I started rambling about the Hollywood Rose and LA Guns association. You probably didn’t want to hear that anyway.
Click on a photo to enlarge it:



VIDEO: The ubiquitous Tokyo drink machines
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) December 3rd, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogYou really can’t walk down the streets of Tokyo, Japan and not find a drink machine. They are everywhere. If you don’t like one set of drinks, walk another block. Most drinks cost 120 Yen.
The machines sell a bunch of green tea, coke products and juices. I really enjoyed the apple juice that had both red and green apple juice supposedly. It did not taste as synthetic as US drinks at least.
Now as Margaret pointed out the in the comments, there are beer vending machines too. This video was shot in the Roppongi district by the way where you can get a lot of beer if you so desire.
Here is a picture of one of those machines (click on images to enlarge):

Since we’re talking drinks, check out what I found on the side of a Dr. Pepper can! Murdock must be drooling. They don’t make them like that in Texas! Not even in Dublin, TX.

And to round out the vending machine talk, I had to snap a picture of these ice cream treats. Maybe odd looking but very good.

I promised these little reports would not be typical and I think I have succeeded with this one.
See my new Japan section.
My photos from Japan. [JUST UPDATED with descriptions]
PIC: What’s going on here?
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) December 3rd, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogVIDEO: Sony Rolly demo
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) November 30th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogWhen I went to the Sony Store in Tokyo, Japan, I didn’t know what to expect. Here is the Sony Rolly demo video I shot. The Rolly is an mp3 player that dances to music. It appears to only be available in Japan at this point. I’m not sure if it would take off in America or not. Would you buy one?
Share your Tokyo and Japan stories in the comments section. I would love to hear them.
See my new Japan section.
My photos from Japan.



Sushi USB thumb drives
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) November 30th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogFor the geeks in the audience, I present a sushi USB thumb drive. They don’t call these 1 gig drives SushiDisk for nothing. I know I wanted to take chopsticks and insert this flash drive into the nearest USB connection I could find!

I should have taken a picture of the USB flash drive that makes it look like a dog is humping your computer. That was interesting.
VIDEO: Tokyo subways mean the party is over
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) November 30th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogI am not an early riser, so I thought I was dreaming as we were up at 6am to do the tourist thing in Japan and there were young people all about on the subway. These weren’t the people going to work. That was evident by the dude who ralphed all over the floor behind us.
Some Tokyo clubs and bars stay open until 5 or 7am! These people know how to party. In one bar we went to about 3am, there was a guy passed out at a table. I wanted to join him after sake, Yebisu Beer and whatever else we all sampled that night. What can I say? In the US I don’t drink that much, I just blog. You probably already knew that though.
Check out my Japan pictures which are continually being added to.
See my Japan blog section.
VIDEO: Mike McGuff in Tokyo, Japan
Closed Published by mike@mikemcguff.com (mikemcguff) November 29th, 2007 on mikemcguff.com blogIf you can’t see the video, click here
The MikeMcGuff.com is hitting the streets of Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan for the next few days believe it or not. I’ll have short videos showing off the different and cool stuff that I find. The Tokyo area has a population of around 35 million people! It’s a very clean and proper city full of nice and gracious residents. Plus you’ll find lots of English signs.
This video was shot in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. It’s the place that looks like Times Square in Manhattan. Except Shinjuku is Times Square on steroids. It also hasn’t lost the adult themed activities that Times Square used to be known for. The things they were offering us tourists might make you blush. Don’t worry we weren’t tempted and headed to the Hyatt Regency Tokyo where the movie Lost in Translation was shot. There is a cool club at the top called the New York Bar on the 52nd floor.
Take a look at these pictures I took of the bright lights, big city.



Share your Tokyo and Japan stories in the comments section. I would love to hear them.
See my new Japan section.
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