Waseda University is one of the most famous universities in Japan. There are a number of campuses around the country, but its main one — and the one where I attended this festival last weekend — is located in Nishi-Waseda, Tokyo. It boasts an impressive roster of alumni: six postwar Prime Ministers; corporate heavyweights including one of the co-founders of Sony and the CEOs of Honda and UNIQLO; and internationally-acclaimed author Haruki Murakami just to mention a few. And every year, its students hold a festival.

Mameshiba (豆しば) are small bean-shaped creatures with cute puppy dog faces. They’re also one of the past year’s neatest advertising success stories.

The 11th of July has come and gone, and along with it, the official opening of the giant Gundam statue in Odaiba, Tokyo. Here’s a look at what the scene was like just over a week later, flashing lights and all…

The giant Gundam statue in Odaiba, Tokyo, is complete. And I make no reservations in saying that it is undoubtedly one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Japan is well known for a many things. Temples, kimonos, sushi… and giant robots. Mobile Suit Gundam – the Japanese animated TV series that over the last three decades has spawned a dizzying array of spin-offs, manga, novels, videogames and plastic models – is turning 30 this year. To mark the occassion, Bandai Namco are spending some of the gadzillions they’ve earned from the franchise to build a 1:1 scale, 18 metre tall, 35 tonne Gundam model in Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park.

Oddities and brief adventures during a recent trip to Hong Kong.

The EA Experience, how Coke relates, androgynous Hello Kittys, surrealist jazz bars and getting chatted up on a plane…

A photo and video summary of oddities and brief adventures during a recent trip to Malaysia.

So, Christmas in Tokyo was a bit of a mixed bag depending on which side of December 25th you were looking at. It was literally over before it technically began, but the reason for its swift boot off the seasonal stage quickly became apparent as the following days unfolded. For as air-headed as Christmas may be for the Japanese, the far more traditional New Year period proved to be anything but.

Christmas in Tokyo is something of an anticlimactic affair. The lead-up is dazzling, but Christmas Day isn’t even a public holiday here and everyone goes to work as usual. But did I mention that the lead-up was dazzling?

We’ve just added a new category, WORKS, to the blog. As the name suggests, any articles we write about the various projects we’ve been involved in, or continue to be involved in, whether they’re commercial or personal in nature or somewhere in between, will now have a cosy little corner of their own here on if90. Think of it as a pseudo-portfolio of sorts.

We’ve all seen them.  Those small, rectangular sheets of embossed metal that never fail to bring an involuntary smile to the face. Or a slow shake of the head as we ponder the future of humanity. Yes, we’re talking about the increasingly popular phenomenon of “personalised plates” that seem to be adorning every second or third car on the road.

CLIVE ENGEL AND MARTY SCHWARTZMANN, co-founders of the lucrative online “pop culture” blog, TG20, revealed their controversial new website design earlier today in front of a packed theatre of investors, press and members of their notoriously good-looking fan club.

Just a quick post to apologise for the lack of updates on my part. Right now I’m dedicating all my “blog time” to developing a new look for IF90. I’m a bit short on time these days but it’s slowly getting there. Don’t expect anything too flashy, but hopefully it will make this place a little less Wordpress-y and more… well, annoying to use :)

Can’t wait to start posting regularly again after that’s all done, so stay tuned!

P.S. Kudos to Yang for holding down the fort while this is all (slowly) happening!

Two adverts staring a beautiful pair of fingers wandering through wonderfully detailed miniature scenes.

I thought it would be Yellow Pages or something much more boring.

The second is something along a very similar vein – but which came first?

If the title makes no sense to you, behold!

From Kotaku, from the Colbert Report. Colbert vs RAIN in a dance-off (yes including DDR!). Second part and more after the jump. Go Shigeru!

So being disconnected at home for nearly 4 days was an experience. I would say a slow burning frustration bordering on anger. But no I jest, one should not be Yangry, though it makes you wonder what life was like before the Internet was so prevalent… In the end, it wasn’t that I had no access to the Internet, rather that I was denied it due to an issue I couldn’t rectify. Nothing is more frustrating than realising it’s someone else’s fault and that they take so incredibly long to respond.

In case you care, this is Yang and I am attempting to revive this dead domain. Yes it’s defaultly ugly, but hopefully that will change soon. It’ll mainly focus on games, films and food, the three universal constants.

I’ll endeavour to post something vaguely worthwhile at least every 2 days so it doesn’t get too stale… But for now, thanks for visiting!

Please feel free to drop in and say hi. Unfortunately you’ll need to register to post, otherwise it’ll fill up with Russian porn.