Picture #001-000364.010: AKB48 on stage during the Japan Expo 2009 edition. Also know as 'Akihabara48' the 48-Japanese-schoolgirl-idols group has its own theatre in Akihabara (district in Tokyo) where they perform once every weekday. Japan Expo is the biggest European festival dedicated to Japanese culture. From Manga to J-Pop, Cosplay shows to Martial Arts, the festival tackles as much the traditional Japanese culture as the contemporary pop culture. Paris-Nord Villepinte.
JPDN's Japan Expo photos in Geo Ado (december 2009):
JPDN's Japan Expo photo in "20minutes": Maid Cafe "Cco Cha" stand during Japan Expo 2006 (July 7-9, 2006)
Japan Expo 2009 - 10th Anniversary: Laforet Fashion Show, July 4, 2009.
Laforet Harajuku Collection 2008 Paris fashion show: Casper John.
Ci-dessus: lors de Japan Expo 2008, la foule, et plus particulièrement de jeunes adolescentes, se pressent devant les stands vendant des produits derives des "mangas" et des "animes" (films d'animation japonais).
Arc*scape series updated with a picture showing the Alpha Matrix building, Tokyo, Ginza. The building was awarded by the 2009 Good Design Award in the category Industry / Office, commercial, and manufacturing/production facilities.
Une nouvelle image ajoutée dans la serie arc*scape. Le quartier administratif et d'affaires de Shinjuku vu depuis un passage sous les lignes de la gare voisine (image #001-001006.007 ).
Largely a commercial and entertainment district, Shibuya has achieved great popularity among young people in the last 30 years. Shibuya is also famous for its intersection crossing, reportedly the world's busiest, which is located in front of Shibuya Station and uses a four-way stop to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection.
Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine, Yaksushima island, Japan, october 2009.
Approximately located 60Km South-West of Cape Sata, South of Kyushu (the Southern part of Japan), Yakushima (Yaku Island) is a 505 square-meter mountainous island largely covered with primitive forest. The island, partially classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993 is internationally recognized as a biosphere and eco-system reserve. Yaku-shima exhibits a rich flora, with some 1,900 species and subspecies, includes ancient specimens of "sugi" (Japanese cedar) having untill around 2000 to 3000 years according to scientists. The fauna of the island is diverse, including Japanese and sika deer, 150 bird species, 15 species of reptile, eight species of amphibians and about 1,900 species of insects. It is said that some luxurious forest landscapes have inspired the forest setting in Hayao Miyazaki's film "Princess Mononoke".
Photostory and contact sheet will be added soon...
Hashima island, also known as Gunkan-jima (Warship or Battleship island), is located 15km southwest of the Port of Nagasaki in southern Japan.
The «Ghost Island» is an uninhabited, abandoned island. Populated from 1887 to 1974, it was a coal mining facility. Its population density was 835 people per hectare (83,500 people/km2) in 1959. Its nickname came from its apparent resemblance to the Japanese battleship 'Tosa' from the distance. Due to the depletion of the coal in the 1970s, the coalmine was closed in January 1974 by its owner, the Mitsubishi company.
Over the years, Gunkan-jima, which in 2003 was the location for scenes from « Battle Royale II » starring Takeshi Kitano, has been a place of predilection for lovers of urban and industrial exploration -- although landing on the island was forbidden by authorities for safety reasons. The island also has a cult following on the internet and has attracted a plethora of photo-essays and documentary projects. In 2008 an association nominated the island to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hashima was re-opened to the public on 22 April 2009, after more than 30 years of closure. Guided tours, including a chance to visit the island, are now available from Nagasaki.
Just a quick note about my October 2009 travel in... Japan. Due to a hard workflow, I can not post many pictures to the image database or blog. I took more than 2500 pictures during the last trip
Here is a quick list of the covered topics and places:
Fukuoka (mood, food, modern architecture,eco-architecture); Beppu (onsens ans spa); Nagasaki (catholics, monuments); Gunkan Jima (aka "Warship Island"); Kogoshima and Sakurajima; Yakushima and Tokyo (modern architecture); flagship stores and corporate signs (Adidas, Uniqlo, Nivea ad campaign, Asahi, Kirin, Yebisu, Sapporo...).
Please keep in mind that JPDN.NET is designed, in a first step, for the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Flash player is now necessary to display images contents.
2009 September.07
"Le bateau échoué", de Jean Nouvel sur l'Ile Saint-Germain (Issy-les-Moulineaux). (Image 002-000374.003)
"Le bateau échoué", de Jean Nouvel sur l'Ile Saint-Germain (Issy-les-Moulineaux).
Mystérieux, esthétiquement insolent par son aspect hors-normes, sa non-transparence, inévitablement attirant, l'immeuble - ou la chose architecturale - me fais penser au New Sky Building de Tokyo. Laid? Je ne sais plus Laid, beau? A étudier et à observer.
