Held at the Tokyo Big Site, on Odaiba Island, the Tokyo Nail Expo featured some of the most amazing fingernail artworks.

Apparently, the nail industry is really big in Japan right now, so it’s no wonder they’ve actually organized an exposition where nail artists could showcase their latest masterpieces. The Japanese nail industry has grown to 200 million yen, so it’s no wonder this year’s event drew in a crowd of approximately 50,000.

I’m not a big fan of painted, long nails, but I have to admit the nail artworks presented at the Tokyo Nail Expo 2009 were pretty impressive.

Photos by Junko Kimura/GETTY IMAGES

via 923NOW

Read More »

The PL Peace Tower in Tondabayashi, a town close to Osaka, Japan is by far one of the most “bizarre yet cool” buildings I have ever seen.

One of the many structures located in the PL Holy Land, the PL Peace Tower was built back in 1970, using the newest construction technique at the time. It belongs to the Perfect Liberty Church, a religious movement founded in 1924 that teaches its followers that “Life is Art” and they should express themselves in everuthing they do.

The shape of the PL Peace Tower, resembling a single finger pointing at the sky, symbolizes one of the church founder’s revelation that ” the truth is one”. It’s also an international symbol of world peace. Inside the Peace Tower you’ll find an unlimited list of people who lost their lives because of human wars.

The PL Peace Tower is 180 meters high and thanks to a low center of gravity (only 12 meters above ground), it can tilt up to 45 degrees and swing back to its original position. This makes it extremely resistant to earthquakes. Its strange but fascinating shape was achieved through the use of shotcrete, spaying concrete onto wire netting.

Photos via Juergen Specht

Read More »

I really don’t get why Hello Kitty is so popular these days, I really don’t, but people keep coming up with various Hello Kitty-themed stuff.

The latest Hello Kitty project comes from designer Jason Mecier, who recreated the popular Japanese character from various Hello Kitty items. Toys, clothes and tons of other accessories come together to form a hideously pink, giant Hello Kitty. Disgusting, but I’m sure there are plenty of girls out there who love it.

via If it’s hip it’s here

Read More »

KidZania is a chain of theme-parks where children can decide what they want to be when they grow up, by actually doing the job.

Do you remember, as a kid, when someone asked you “what do you want to be when you grow up”? And you would say things like astronaut, fireman, doctor without actually knowing what those jobs actually implied. Well, at KidZania, children have the opportunity to experience all kinds of jobs and decide if they really like them.

Luis Javier Laresgoiti, a true theme-park innovator, was the one who came up with the concept of Kidzania and was further developed by Xavier López Ancona, a Mexican entrepreneur. The first career-building theme park was opened in 1999, in Mexico City and there are now 6 Kidzania parks around the world (Tokyo, Monterrey, Jakarta, Koshien and Lisbon).

At Kidzania, children can try popular jobs like firefighting, driving planes, being a doctor, as well as well as being a mechanic or flipping burgers at a diner. The point is for kids to have fun and learn the value of money and work, at a young age. Parents are allowed to watch the kids as they perform the jobs, but they are not allowed to help them.

At the end of the day, the young workers are paid in KidZos (official currency of KidZania).

Photos by GETTY IMAGES via Telegraph.co.uk

Read More »

At the Sidney International Food Festival, the flags of participating countries were recreated using  popular foods of each nation. I tell you, I’d love to eat my way through Switzerland, but France doesn’t look half bad either, if you’re ok with stinky cheese. And, for desert, Vietnam is tasty and healthy at the same time.

Which ones are your favorites?

via Toxel

ITALY

Read More »

I know of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel, but I had no idea they also had their eye on Hasbro, owner of the Transformers franchise.

Meet the adorable Donald Duck, like you’ve never seen him before. Takara Tomy, a famous Japanese toy manufacturer has decided to give the popular Disney character a radical makeover and turned him into a Transformer. Donald now turns from a skateboarder into a buggy-driving duck in seconds and might just steal Bumblebee‘s part in the new Transformers movie.

via Cool Buzz

Read More »

Actually, I’m not just talking about one, but hundreds of small “doctor fish” treating serious skin conditions like psoriasis.

Garra Rufa Obtusa, also referred to as Doctor Fish, is a special species of fish, found in northern and central parts of the Middle East. In countries like Turkey, people have started breading them artificially, in giant basins, and use them to treat severe skin diseases.

The small fish can survive in waters as hot as 43 degrees Celsius and love to fed on dead tissue. The little miracle workers aren’t fed, so when patients dip their sick limbs into the water, they act like a pack of gentle piranhas, nibbling with their gummy mouths.

Doctor Fish aren’t recognized as a cure for Psoriasis, although there have been cases of complete healing following a treatment at a Doctor Fish Spa, but they do help improve the condition of the patients, at least temporarily. The fish eat away the red, scaly spots on the patients’ bodies and the mineral water helps the healing process. Thousands of patients travel to Doctor Fish Spas, like the one in Kangal, Turkey, and spend 21 days being eaten alive by the Garra Rufa Obtusa, in two daily four-hour sessions.

Doctor Fish cosmetic facilities have become very popular recently, and you can find them in countries like Japan, Malaysia or China.  After all, Doctor Fish are a lot healthier than a chemical exfoliation.

Photos by Xianhua/Reuters, via People.com.cn

The smartest autonomous robots in the world prepare for one of the most important robot competitions in the world, the World Cup of RoboCup.

Brilliant minds from all round the globe build soccer-playing-robots and compete in the RoboCup, to promote the development of artificial intelligence. This year, the weekend-long contest was held in the Austrian city of Graz and the protagonists tried to put on a show worth watching.

The Soccer World Cup for robots is not as young an event as you might think. It dates back to 1993 and, across the years, it took place in countries like Japan, Italy and USA. There are different league matches, from the standard to the smaller than 180 mm league.

In one of the leagues, teams use identical robots, and have the task of developing a software that can allow the machines to move autonomously. The dream of the developers is to one day create an entire team of autonomous robots that can defeat the human winners of the Soccer World Cup.

Photos by Reuters

via Telegraph.co.uk

Wataru Itou, a talented art student from Tokyo, spent 4 years of his life building this trully incredible paper castle.

Named Umi no Ue no Oshiro (A Castle on the Ocean), this paper craft castle features electric lights and even a moving train, made of paper. It is set on exhibit at Uminohotaru, a service area between Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture and you can check it out with Google Earth.

Whether you’re a fan of paper craft or not, you must admit this paper castle is wonderful work of art. The Japanese like to take their time (see the LEGO Yamato Warship), but at least they deliver.

via Tokyobling

With the unveiling of the real-life RX78 Gundam in Tokyo, people have been going crazy over this Japanese icon, but some of them have really lost their minds.

Like the guy who made this girly, pink Gundam action-figure. All I can hope for is that a girl is behind this, maybe she was inspired by a trip to the Hello Kitty Castle…But if it’s a guy, the only thing I can say is WTF DUDE?!?

This isn’t some kind of coffee filter designed to look as a robot. This thing really makes coffee just like we humans do.

Designed by Clockwork,  a Japanese dude who’s into manga and robotics, the coffee-making robot uses 20 digital KRS-788HV servos, a servo motor, both controlled by a PCB located in its head. The photos don’t say much about this little Japanese coffee making robot, but you can see it in action if you scroll to the video at the bottom.

Also head over to clockwork.shikisokuzekuu.net for more pics and info (if you speak Japanese).

via Geek Alerts

LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya unveiled his latest masterpiece, a life-size LEGO Cello

Not much has been revealed about this amazing LEGO instrument. All we know is the cello is actually playable and sounds a lot different than a real cello. Check out the video at the bottom to see mister Sawaya building the LEGO cello brick by brick.

While not as big as the LEGO Japanese warship, this cello is a true work of art.

via Brick Artist

We’ve already posted some photos of the completed life-size RX78 Gundam, during the day, now we though you might enjoy seeing it in action at night.

Just like the Japanese said, the real-life Gundam in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park has lights radiating from various body-parts, which make it look way much cooler when the sun sets. Check it out:

via Pink Tentacle

Gundam fans all over the world, rejoice! The life-sized RX78 Gundam robot has been completed and is expecting visitors.

Just like the Hello Kitty Castle in Shanghai, China, might become a pilgrimage site for pink-loving girls, Tokyo’s RX78 could turn into the same thing for robot-anime enthusiasts. Announced back in March, as a way of celebrating 30 years since the debut of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series, the 1:1 sale Gundam has just been completed.

The RX78 Gundam towers 18 meters, features a movable head, 50 light-radiating points on his body, and shoots smoke from various fiberglass-reinforced plastic parts. The popular mech will be watching over Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park until August 31st. Hopefully they’ll just move it somewhere else after that, because depriving Gundam fans of such a symbol would be a regular crime.

Some might think the RX78 Gundam looks a bit too retro for 2009, but it’s a regular icon in Japanese culture, so choosing what model to build was never in question.

See even more photos at pyunari part 1 and pyunari part 2

Finally, the world-famous Japanese character gets a proper home…in China.

Now loyal Hello Kitty fans from around the world can start their pilgrimage to the Hello Kitty Castle that was inaugurated in Shanghai. Not much I can say about this place, it’s very pink and girly-like and, judging by the popularity of Hello Kitty, it might just become the new Mecca.

One thing that would fit perfectly in the Hello Kitty Castle is the Hell-Kitty Rifle, an AR-15 rifle personalized by a Californian weapon enthusiast.

via China.org.cn