Japan's Gunma prefecture is home to a very unique Buddha sculpture. Wat makes the this sculpture so unique is that it is made from 20 000 dead bugs. Inamura Yoneiji, a 89-year-old local of the area, created the statue in tribute to the souls of the insects, most of which are beetles. The insects in return pays homage to Buddha. The statue took the artist over 6 years to create, and while it might be the creepiest religious icon we’ve ever seen, we admire the artist’s incredible use of natural eco-friendly materials.
I came across these photos of a highway that runs through a building, I think it's pretty cool and I wanted to share it with you!.
The Gate Tower Building is a 16-story office building in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Japan. It has a highway that passes through the 5th-7th floors of the building. The highway is part of the Hanshin Expressway, a network of 239.3 km of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. The Gate Tower Building is Japan's first building to have a highway pass through it.
The elevator doesn't stop on floor 5th-7th, floor 4 being followed by floor 8. The highway passes through the building as a bridge, held up by supports next to the building making no contact with the building itself. Generally expressways are built underground, and passing through a building is an extremely engineering achievement.
The first capsule hotel was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and located in the Umeda district of Osaka. It opened on February 1, 1979 and the initial room rate was ¥1,600.
A capsule hotel is a hotel system for countries with extremely dense populations. The rooms or ‘capsules’ are approximately 2 m x 1 m x 1,25 m providing just enough space to sleep. These capsules are stacked side by side and on top of each other, with steps providing access to the second level rooms. Luggage is stored outside in lockers. The capsules has either a curtain or a fibre-glass door to insure enough privacy. The washrooms are communal.
These capsule hotels vary widely in size, some having only fifty or so capsules and others over 700. Many are used primarily by men. But there are also capsule hotels with separate male and female sleeping quarters. Clothes and shoes are sometimes exchanged for slippers on entry. A towel may also be provided. The benefit of these hotels is convenience and price.
Most roomers are businessmen too tired or far away to make the trip home. Others (especially on weekdays) are too inebriated to safely travel to their homes.
This style of hotel accommodation was developed in Japan and has not gained popularity outside of the country, although Western variants with larger accommodations and often private baths are being developed.
I always wondered how it will feel like to live like a smurf...
I came upon pics of these odd-looking houses. What made them even more peculiar is that they are made out of styrofoam, typically something the Japanese would come up with.
The Aso Farm Land Resortvillage in Kyushu, Japan has about 480 styrofoam domes as lodging, recreational facilities and retail shops.
While Styrofoam may be most commonly associated with disposable coffee cups, meat trays and packaging, prefab home manufacturer Japan Dome House Co., Ltd. uses it to construct easy-to-assemble modular homes.
Dubbed the 'habitat for the 21st century,' the dome house is an igloo-shaped structure built from snap-together wall sections made of 100% expanded styrofoam. It might seem like an odd choice of material for a house, but the company lists a number of advantages that styrofoam has over traditional materials.
Unlike wood and metal structures, the styrofoam dome house does not rust, rot or attract termites. It is also highly resistant to earthquakes and typhoons. In addition, the walls, which are treated with a flame retardant, emit no toxic fumes in a fire.
The houses are environmentally friendly and energy efficient. They also have good insulation properties and can reduce energy bills by 90%. The styrofoam used for the dome home's 175 mm thick walls is significantly denser and stronger than ordinary packing foam.
A photo of Japan's Solae, the world's tallest elevator testing tower. A photo of Japan's Solae at night.
Ever wondered how they test elevators?
Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has opened what it says is the world's tallest elevator testing tower. It's just one gigantic elevator shaft.The 173 m high structure is called Solae and dominates the skyline of Inazawa City.
The tower will be used to conduct research into high-speed elevators to serve the next generation of super-tall buildings.The world's current tallest building, the Taipei 101, will soon be dwarfed by towers in cities such as Dubai, Shanghai, Moscow and Chicago.Even the traditionally low-rise London is going upwards.
At London Bridge Station, developers are pressing ahead with the Shard, which at 310 m will be Europe's tallest skyscraper.The elevators of the Taipei 101, built by Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems; have a top speed of 61 km/h and are recognised as the fastest in the world.
They incorporate a pressure control system that stops customers ears from 'popping' and streamlined cars that reduce the whistling noise that fast elevators makes as they are pulled through the narrow shafts.
The world's current tallest building, the Taipei 101 in China.
The annual baby crying contest was held at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo this year.
Aproximately 80 babies participated in this traditional contest. The contest determines which of two babies cries first as they are held in the air by two sumo wrestlers who persuade them to cry. If both babies begin bawling at the same time, the one who cries the loudest is declared the winner.The ritual, the Japanese believe, is good for the babies because each wail is a prayer for good health. Read more: www.asianoffbeat.com www.vagabondish.com
