2012 Tokyo Auto Salon January 24, 2012
Posted by drutang in Japan, Tokyo.Tags: 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon, Auto Salon, Back to the Future, BBS, Bridgestone, Chiba, Chiba-ken, DeLorean, GD, HKS, japan, Lexus SC430, Makuhari, Makuhari Messe, Mazda, Mazda RX-7, Mazda RX-8, Motor Show, NATS, NATS to the Future, Nihon Auto College, Nissan GT-R, Nissmo, Rays, RE Amemiya, SEMA, STi, tokyo, Tokyo Auto Salon, Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo Motor Show, Tokyo-to, Tommy Kaira, Toyota Prius, Toyota Soarer, Toyota Soarer Z40, tuner, tuner car, Veil Side, VeilSide, Yokohama
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2012 Tokyo Auto Salon
Last week I had written about going to the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of 2011. In January 2012, a second motor show of the season called the Tokyo Auto Salon is held. This is a very different car show compared to the Tokyo Motor Show. The Tokyo Motor Show is a typical auto show that focuses on new cars and concepts from the major car manufacturers. The Tokyo Auto Salon is a tuner car show that is similar to the SEMA show. For those who are unfamiliar with the auto industry, a tuner car is any car that has been modified from its original form. This can be anything from upgrading engine parts, changing the paint or any other part of the car. It can be very subtle to very crazy. The Tokyo Auto Salon is the best way to see all of the potential craziness people can do to their own cars.
HKS Tuned Nissan GT-R
The first thing to understand about visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon is to know where to go. The Tokyo Auto Salon is held in Makuhari Messe in Makuhari, Chiba. It is one of the most famous convention centres in Tokyo with concerts and various trade shows being held at all times of the year. Due to the layout and cheap rent relative to Tokyo Big Sight makes this a very attractive location for trade show organizers. The Tokyo Auto Salon is a large show that encompasses the main 8 halls as well as a small exhibition outside. While they don’t make use of the entire facility, they made use of a huge space nonetheless. Compared to the Tokyo Motor Show, it felt somewhat smaller, yet more tiring. The show itself has a lot more to see and it is all crammed into a somewhat smaller space than the Tokyo Motor Show. There are relatively less people at the Tokyo Auto Salon but with the area being more cramped makes getting around the show floor difficult. When visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon, like the Tokyo Motor Show, I highly recommend going early and being as patient as possible.
Tommy Kaira
As I mentioned, the Tokyo Auto Salon is very different to the Tokyo Motor Show. It focuses on tuner cars. The entire Auto Salon in 2012 was loosely divided into sections. There were the custom car areas, the manufacturer custom car division, accessories, sound systems, paint, and custom car displays. While there are many sub-sections in each area, they generally kept close to their theme. All of the major Japanese aftermarket tuners were at this show. Many of the well-known Japanese aftermarket companies such as VeilSide, Tommy Kaira, and HKS were present at the show. Wheel and tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Yokohama, BBS, and Rays were also present. You could easily spend hours just visiting these booths to see what new and innovative products they had. Each company had their own theme. HKS was very much performance based while VeilSide was all about looks. The major Japanese manufacturers had their own booths as well showcasing the products of STi, GD, Nissmo and others. These names may not seem very familiar but companies like STi stand for Subaru Tecnica International. They are subsidiaries set up by their parent companies to be somewhat independent but loyal to their parent company. In fact, most of the companies were fairly loyal to one or two manufacturers. RE Amemiya is a well-known tuner company that is known for their ability to tune Mazda RX-7s and RX-8s. It provided a lot of variety into the designs of each car that can be both a blessing and a curse.
Nats to the Future
The other aspect of the show is to showcase individual cars. At the Tokyo Auto Salon, some of the aftermarket companies brought cars to be judged. Other individuals from around Japan also brought their cars to be put on display. Most of the cars on display in the general area were street legal. By far the most memorable was one by NATS (Nihon Auto College). It is a school that teaches the students how to fix and modify cars. They modified a Lexus SC430 (SoarerZ40 in Japan) to be a modern take on the original DeLorean from the “Back to the Future” movies. It was a work of art and craftsmanship that was nearly unmatched in the entire show. There were other great examples of their work that was present in the auto show but that one still sticks out in my mind. NATS is a great college that probably doesn’t get much attention overseas. It is a very creative group of students and teachers working together like a master and their apprentices. In fact, I would say that most of the companies at the show acted in a very similar way. From my very limited knowledge of the aftermarket industry, a lot of it is art with a healthy dose of mechanics. With enough time and money, you could create anything you wanted but you still need the ideas to make something good.
VeilSide Model
One other aspect of the show is the women. No auto show would be complete without having beautiful women posing in front of the expensive cars. The Tokyo Motor Show was the same yet very different. The women at the Tokyo Motor Show had to either fit in with the theme of the manufacturer. Many times you would see women in the strangest costumes just to fit the theme. At the Tokyo Auto Salon, that seemed to be less apparent. Most of the women at the show were there to get as many people to their booths. You could tell which booth had a woman modeling by the crowds surrounding them. If there was a large crowd, it was highly likely that there was a woman there. It was a bit sad as the most beautiful women, rather sexy looking, were getting the most attention. The women who dressed in a regular way or those who didn’t go the extra mile to look beautiful or sexy didn’t get large crowds of men with cameras in front of them. It is an unfortunate part of life that men usually think predictably. Each booth that had girls had a slightly different taste but in general. When you see a few booths, you have basically seen all of the girls as they all have girls that are differentiated by the colour of their clothes and a little difference in taste or style but generally it is similar and gets numbing after a while.
Advan Nissan GT-R
There are several final thoughts I have about the show itself. My first thought is that it was cramp and crowded the entire time. At the Tokyo Motor Show, I had a lot more energy to see the entire show whereas at the Tokyo Auto Salon, after an hour or so I was exhausted. I would also say that the types of people that went to the show were different. The Tokyo Motor Show is geared towards the average person. I saw more families at the Motor Show compared to the Auto Salon. I also saw more young people and “gangsters” at the Auto Salon. While I would not say that they are gangsters, some of them did fit the bill in terms of style. There were also more camera geeks who would do anything to push their way forward to get dozens of photos of the same girl. It was annoying and difficult to manage. For those who love fixing cars and seeing tuners, I highly recommend visiting the Tokyo Auto Salon. In fact, you might enjoy it a lot more. Unfortunately, since it is a tuner crowd, expect to see a plethora of Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Prius’, and Mazda RX7s. It is an unfortunate reality that domestic cars will get more attention as it is cheaper to buy a domestic car than an imported car and easier to get parts for it. Either way, there are some great cars to see and if I had the time and patience, I would go for a second day as well.
Information:
Tokyo Auto Salon: http://www.tokyoautosalon.jp/
NATS (Blog with Tokyo Auto Salon information): http://www.nats.ac.jp/pc/as/ebizo/index.php?day=20120114
2011 Tokyo Motor Show January 17, 2012
Posted by drutang in Japan, Tokyo.Tags: 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Chiba, japan, Makuhari Messe, Motor Show, tokyo, Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo Big Site, Tokyo Motor Show
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2011 Tokyo Motor Show
In December of 2011, I had the luxury to head to the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. It is a regular pilgrimage for me to go and see this event. The Tokyo Motor Show has been held every second year since 2005. Prior to 2005, it was held every year, however one year was dedicated to passenger vehicles and the next was dedicated to commercial vehicles. Since 2005, they combined both shows into one large event. The last Tokyo Motor Show was in 2009 and it was at the height of the financial crisis that started in 2008. While a lot of the pain of the financial crisis had subsided a lot, most of the planning for the 2009 show had to occur in the beginning of the 2009 and a lot of manufacturers pulled out of the show citing financial problems and a declining relevance of the Tokyo show itself. The 2011 show had a very different feeling and it is debatable whether things got better or worse.
Honda Showcase
The 2011 Tokyo Motor Show had moved from its recent traditional home of Makuhari Messe in Chiba to Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba. It was a bit of a shock for me to hear that, but at the same time I was very happy to hear it. I don’t normally enjoy heading out to Makuhari Messe as it feels very far away. Odaiba is still within Tokyo and there is a lot to do in the area. Makuhari is a somewhat isolated area that is famous for the convention hall, baseball stadium, and outlet mall but not much else. In 2005, the largest show I attended, it occupied all of the main halls in Makuhari Messe. This created over 70,000 square metres of exhibition space. In 2009, they only occupied the main halls with over 54,000 square metres of space. It was a very noticeable difference that year. For 2011, they used all of Tokyo Big Sight for roughly 80,000 square metres of exhibition space. I couldn’t completely verify the numbers for Tokyo Big Sight but I thought it was a lot smaller than that. It is a large convention hall regardless and it still took me nearly a full day to see everything.
Toyota Concept
The theme of the 2011 Motor Show was “Mobility can change the world”. On the Tokyo Motor Show website, they say the motto shows how technology developed in cars and other vehicles can help change the world for the better. Whereas the typical internal combustion engine has been derided as a harmful invention for the environment, the organizers of the show wanted visitors to understand how the various manufacturers were trying to change people’s perceptions. In 2009, the motto was “Fun Driving for Us, Eco Driving for Earth”. This is a bit more fitting as they are explicitly talking about the new green technology that most of the manufacturers were trying to promote. While the 2011 show did have a heavy “green” theme to it, it also had a very strong theme that things will change in the future. All of the manufacturers in attendance brought the standard set of concept vehicles, new vehicles, and displays of technology. Upon reflecting on the exhibits I visited, there did appear to be a bit more emphasis on technology at this show compared to past shows, but it could also be a bit of a bias on my part after researching this post and reflecting on what I saw.
The 2011 show was most notable for its return to Tokyo, as well as the return of a few foreign manufacturers. In 2009, a lot of the manufacturers pulled out leaving the show nearly crippled. This time, enough had returned to create a better balance, but on the whole most of the exhibits were Japan based manufacturers. In fact, the Toyota group took up an entire hall on their own displaying the various products from Daihatsu, Lexus, and of course Toyota. All of the manufacturers brought various new cars as well as concepts however the area seemed to be more spacious. I was lucky enough to attend the show on a weekday, but it was still as busy as ever and very hard to get around. It wasn’t very enjoyable trying to fight with people trying to take photos but that is the life of those who can’t go to the show on press days.
Subaru Race Car
Comparing this show to the past shows I attended, I would say that things are similar, yet different. I was happy that the show was back in Tokyo, rather than still being in Chiba. I was also happy that I could go on a weekday and see the various new cars. Unfortunately, there weren’t many world premier cars at the show. The relevance of the Tokyo Motor Show is decreasing each year and I fear that the ability to see cars for the first time in person before most of the world will be rarer and rarer. With China and India vying for greater importance in the automotive world, Japan will be nothing more than an afterthought as most manufacturers, Japanese included, vie for increasing markets in developing countries. Let’s hope those in Japan can continue to get a top notch motor show for the foreseeable future.
Pets (Dogs) in Japan January 10, 2012
Posted by drutang in Japan.Tags: A Socks Life, A Sox Life, Chiba-wan, Chibawan, Dog, Dogs, Dogs in Japan, Inu, japan, Pets, Pets in Japan, Shiba, Shiba-inu, Shiba-ken, Socks, Sox, tokyo
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Sox: "Get me out of here!"
If any of you have checked out my other blog, “A Sox Life”, you will know that I had gotten a dog in December 2010. I have been an avid dog lover since I was young and had a dog for most of my life. I have spent years without a dog in Japan, but I always had one back home in Canada. It is a difficult but happy event to get a dog in Japanand I never regret getting a dog. Owning a dog, or a pet, in Japancan be a very complicated process. The actual process of getting a pet and keeping them in your house/apartment is simple enough but it’s difficult to be done officially.
2011 Hanami
The first hurdle one must jump is the need for a place that allows pets. For anyone looking for an active pet such as a cat or dog, you must find an apartment that allows pets. Before moving to the east side of Tokyo, my apartment didn’t really allow pets. The initial contract said pets were not allowed but after asking the company that leased the apartment to us, they said a small pet was okay. My dog, a Shiba, is a medium sized dog in Japan, yet he is on the small side of that scale. My old apartment was too small for a dog anyways so we found a place that did allow dogs, but my current apartment owner says that cats are not allowed. Small dogs are fine, and he said a Shiba was fine too. When getting a pet, you typically add an extra month or two worth of deposits. This is due to the increased costs of fixing the apartment due to having a pet. While it seems simple to find an apartment that allows pets, this is a very difficult thing to accomplish. In a completely unscientific method based on my memory, 98% of all apartments don’t allow pets. The ones that do typically allow only small pets, and if you have a big dog, you can almost forget about finding a place anywhere in Tokyo. It is almost necessary to own your own house. Even apartment owners are restricted by the building rules and they typically restrict the size of a pet.
The second hurdle is to find a pet. There are several places to get one. The typical pet shops are the easiest, albeit expensive, places. Personally, I refuse to purchase a pet from a pet shop due to the way they keep their pets. The small boxes with windows where customers constantly bang on the window and the poor state they keep their pets is saddening to me. I believe the major shops in Japan do a good job during the day but at night, who knows what they do. I have also seen some of the small shops that are terrible. When getting my dog, I looked at a website/NPO called Chiba-wan. They are a group of volunteers that adopt cats and dogs from shelters and bring them to twice monthly events. One event is geared towards small and medium sized dogs, and the other is for all sizes. It’s a very well run organization and a network of nice people. There are many other organizations but they are the only ones I know. Typically, it will cost about 40,000 yen to get a cat or dog from them. This is mostly in gifts and reimbursements. Sox was adopted by the volunteer and he had to be neutered. He also got an electronic chip inserted under his skin and the volunteer had to pay for food and such for the time he was with her. Typically a person who is adopting the cat or dog will give a “thank you” gift of money to compensate the volunteer for the surgeries and food as well as a few other supplies so they can use it for future rescued pets. Unfortunately the organization cannot rescue every pet as some are not capable of being adopted. Some are too old and some are not cute enough. Some are also too aggressive. It is unfortunate but it is the only way for them to operate as there aren’t enough volunteers for these unwanted pets. Some of the volunteers will rescue up to 5 pets on top of whatever pets they already have at home.
The only way to wash a dog... (Note: I didn't actually wash him here)
Once you adopt a pet, you have to register them. For me, I had to wait a month as a trial period. In this time, I can change my mind, but within a week, I knew he was going to be my dog forever. It took a long time to register him, but it’s a very simple process. Taking a few documents to the city hall and finding the appropriate window was simple. My city actually has a dog event where they vaccinate and register dogs all at once. It was pretty convenient to do it. After that time, he was mine and everything was fine. Of course that is just the beginning as with any other pet in any country, you need constant “maintenance”. Finding a vet, a pet store for food, and other things like that take time. In Tokyo, there are very few shops that sell pet items. I found many places had a pet corner but the variety of goods sold was for small pets such as a chihuahua. It took a month or two before I headed to another station and found a large pet store. They had everything I needed and pets were welcome inside the shop. Unfortunately I can’t bring my dog there as it’s a little far. Thankfully it is probably one of only a few places that have a wide variety of items.
An obedient dog
When owning a pet, you eventually have to leave your home and go somewhere else, be it for a vacation or to move. It can be difficult to find a way around if you don’t have a car. If you have a car, there is almost no limit in where you can go. Without a car you are limited to where you can walk. With my dog, that is roughly 5 km. It can get a bit difficult to go places and with him, it’s difficult to take him on a bicycle. Of course I can hold him but my cycling skills are no where near good enough to hold him in one arm and cycle at the same time. I could put him in the basket but then I have to worry about him jumping out. I’m also worried about him taking off as I ride the bicycle or him darting out in front of the bicycle and me hitting him if he runs alongside me. It’s a difficult challenge that is not easy for either of us. For those with a cat, it might be easier as using a hard cage isn’t too bad. The other option is to get a cage and carry him around. Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Having a big cage is heavy and cumbersome. Sox is a little small but at just under 10kg, he isn’t light over long distances. I could always purchase a stroller for cats and dogs but they are very expensive. In reality there isn’t an easy way to travel with a pet if you don’t have a car. If you have a very small dog though, it can be much easier as you can just stuff them into a bag and you are done.
A mischievous look
For those looking for a less traditional pet, things can be much easier. Most apartment owners say no pets, but hiding a small pet is much easier than a cat or dog. Cats can scratch a lot of things, and dogs can be noisy. A small pet such as a gerbil or a small rabbit are much easier to maintain. While you still have to clean up after them, as long as you have a cage and a few other things to keep them happy, you don’t have to worry too much about them destroying your apartment. They don’t need to be walked everyday so the chances of the owner seeing your pet is also much lower. Snakes, bugs, and fish are very similar as well. As long as you can hide them in your apartment without the owner knowing, it isn’t difficult to keep one. In Japan, I’d say fish are the third most popular pet with gerbils/hamsters/mice also being up there. For many kids, they love to keep Hercules beetle or a giant horned beetle. They often have a huge fascination with them and you can often buy them at shops around Tokyo.
As a dog lover, having a dog is a life changing event. It is almost always for the better. Having a pet in Japan made me wonder how different things would be compared to Canada. Aside from the need to find an owner who will allow us to have a dog, there really isn’t much trouble finding a place. The only other problem is manners. Carrying a dog to and from our apartment isn’t always easy and how to react when you meet other dog owners isn’t always set in stone. It’s pretty similar and a dog lover in Japan is almost the same as a dog lover in any other part of the world.
Pet Information:
Chiba-wan: http://route326.kir.jp/satooya_top.htm (Japanese Only)
Chiba-wan (Cats page): http://boshuu.chibawan.net/cat/tokyo/index.html (Japanese Only)
Chiba-wan (Dogs page [males]): http://boshuu.chibawan.net/dog/male/index.html (Japanese Only)
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
Tokyo — Otemachi January 3, 2012
Posted by drutang in Japan, Kanto, Tokyo, Travel.Tags: architecture, Chiyoda-ku, fountain, fountain park, Imperial Palace, Imperial Palace East Garden, Imperial Palace East Gardens, japan, Marunouchi, Otemachi, Otemachi Station, tokyo, Tokyo Station, Tokyo-to, Wadakura, Wadakura Fountain, Wadakura Fountain Park
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Otemachi
Otemachi is a small business district north of Tokyo Station. By all means, it is not a place most tourists would ever consider visiting. It is an area that is virtually shut down on Sundays. It is devoid of any open shops and restaurants which makes looking for food a near impossible task. While there is almost nothing to do on the weekends, it is an interesting place architecturally and they do have various events scheduled in the area.
Art in Otemachi
The first thing to understand when visiting the Otemachi area is to learn how to get around. For most people, entering via Tokyo Station will be the easiest. Entering via Otemachi Station will also be easy, but the labyrinth of underground passages makes this a very daunting task. The street is much easier to get around, but due to the changeable weather at times, this is not always feasible. Being close to the Imperial Palace, it is often rumoured that most of the tunnels around Otemachi were originally built in the build-up to World War II and that there are several secret tunnels still remaining. Unfortunately, a walk through the tunnels of Otemachi is nothing interesting. It is a typical labyrinth of access tunnels that will get you lost. Otemachi Station itself is situated in a square shape around one block making transfers from one line to another very inconvenient.
Construction is visible around Otemachi
Otemachi is one of the oldest areas of Tokyo and it is currently undergoing revitalization. In many areas of Otemachi, you will see various construction sites and buildings in various degrees of completion. Some of the older buildings will be around for many more years, but like the neighboring Marunouchi district, the old buildings have been destroyed or in the process of being destroyed. If anything, you can get a great sense of Tokyo’s construction industry and how it functions when building high rises. When visiting some of the newer buildings, you can find a lot of surprises. The older high rises are generally closed to the public, but newer buildings are open with shopping floors in the basement. As Otemachi continues to be revitalized, it is looking less and less distinct from neighboring Marunouchi and will soon be indistinguishable.
Wadakura Fountain Park
Otemachi, for tourists, is well known for being located at the entrance to the Imperial Palace East Gardens. A short walk across the street from Otemachi is the main entrance to the East Gardens. Located adjacent to the entrance is the Wadakura Fountain Park. It is a beautiful park with many fountains. It is just as beautiful, if not more, at night when the fountains are lit up. While these are the large parks in Otemachi, Otemachi also has many tiny parks and areas to relax. Similar to Marunouchi, this area has many secrets waiting to be discovered if you look for them.
Small Shrine
As I mentioned in the beginning, Otemachi is an area that can easily be skipped by a typical tourist. Neighboring Marunouchi has more things to do while Otemachi is a true business district. There are many offices in the area and very little else. Most people will just pass through on their way to the East Gardens and that’s pretty much it. For those living in the area, or rather working in the area, it can be a treasure trove of secrets. You can find passages underground that you never knew existed. You can find small parks that are populated only by people working the surrounding buildings. You can also find the typical “slaryman” of Japan. Unfortunately, you won’t see them in their natural after work environment, the bar. For that, you’ll have to walk across Tokyo Station to the Yaesu district.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
2011 Year in Review December 27, 2011
Posted by drutang in East Asia, Japan, Kansai, Kanto.Tags: 2011, Dog, dru, Dru Misadventures, Dru's Misadventures, Great East Japan Earthquake, japan, Japan Earthquake, Kobe, March 2011, Misadventure, Shiba, Shiba-inu, Shiba-ken, Singapore, Sox, Tohoku Earthquake, tokyo, Year in Review
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Off the cost of Honshu
It has been quite a year for me here in Tokyo. The year started off pretty boring but got terrifying very quickly. Things settled down of course and now things are pretty much back to normal. I managed to make many new friends and got out of Japan twice. Unfortunately I didn’t return home for a year but the adventures I did have will last me a lifetime. 2011 has been the year “everything changed” as the catch phrase goes. I wouldn’t say everything has changed, but a lot has and will continue to change for years to come. There is always change in life and I feel that this past year was not that different than past years, in terms of the total amount of change.
The real aftermath: I never touched anything. Just took a quick pic.
The year was pretty standard for me. The start was filled mostly with work. I was working hard as I had a personal project that I would be working on starting in late spring 2011. I decided that working almost to my death was necessary to build up my savings. I went out from time to time but spent most of my time just ploughing away at work. By March, things were going smoothly until the 11th when the earth shook. I can look back at the post I made immediately after the 11th when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred and I can tell that I was scared deep within my mind. It wasn’t something I wanted to admit to myself at the time but it was probably true. Even now I try to think that I wasn’t scared, but it was a point where I nearly had a nervous breakdown. For nearly a month after the 11th, I heard nothing but people being concerned with my safety as well as people telling me things about radiation. While the concern was always nice, the information on the radiation was not. There comes a time when you choose your home and very little information will make you change it. It was difficult and frightening to read a lot of the information but necessary as I had my own confirmation bias that things would be okay.
Merlion with the Fullerton Hotel in the back.
Once the drama of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster had subsided, things started to return to normal. Life never did return to normal, like before, but things were a lot better. I started to plan my trips better and my personal project was delayed by just a month. The summer months were filled with work and a little travel. I visited Taipei for the first time in my life, as well as Singapore. I was able to see various areas of Tokyo that I never would have visited before as well. The summer was hot and humid as always but thankfully not too bad. There was a lot of energy saving measures everywhere as Japan didn’t have the energy capacity at the time but now that it is winter, the energy supply is looking adequate for Tokyo’s demands. It was a very difficult adjustment for most people but being me, it was nothing more than a quick change in my personal lifestyle to cope with the higher indoor temperatures and lack of light.
Sox and Sakura
The biggest change for me, other than the earthquake, was my dog Sox. I had gotten him in December 2010 and it was my first full year with him. It took a bit of time for him to get used to living in my apartment and the earthquake followed by a trip to Kobe wasn’t helpful either. He is such a cute and fun dog and now life has settled very well. He is used to my place and he feels very much at home. He even sleeps in my bed now, although I’m not always happy he does so. My previous lifestyle of travelling at least once a season has ended though so it will be difficult for me to keep writing posts in the future. Hopefully I’ll find more things to talk about in the future but it looks likely that I will have to write more about life in Tokyo rather than the various places I would love to visit. I will write about them when I do go there but unfortunately it might not be as often as before.
In terms of statistics, this blog has grown a lot. Aside from June, I have averaged over 1,000 hits a month with the busiest month being March (1,455). This is probably due to the earthquake and people reading a bit about it, but October (1,432) was also a big month. In terms of busiest days, November 3rd saw the most hits ever with 123. My blog has opened a few interesting doors as a few news personalities in the US did contact me for interviews about the disaster in March, or to ask if I knew anyone up there, but I was not qualified to talk about it nor did I know anyone up there. Tokyo was far from a disaster zone and I didn’t know anyone up there. In even better news, I had two pictures published. One was for my dog. I had a picture of my dog published in a dog calendar for 2012. It was a very small picture and one of nearly 365 pictures. He occupied a small slot in June for just one day, but it is better than nothing. Having my picture published in Mollie Makes was even bigger for me. It is a new crafts magazine in the UK and I was extremely flattered that they wanted to use my picture, although it was just a small one and one of many used on the page. Still, I’m happy to see things getting better after a few years of this blog.
Sumida River Terrace
This coming year should be exciting. Last year at this time I mentioned that I was finally putting a little money into this blog and my site. Things have changed a lot but all of it has been behind the scenes. I have been working with a partner on a huge project that has taken a lot of my free time and a bit of my work life too. I hope to have something to announce by spring. I mentioned that I would have a new website last year, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet. It is still in the works but as things go, they crawl to a finish at times. Hopefully it will be complete very soon and the big project is released on time. It is a big challenge to do things by a deadline but that is what must be done. The year is ending but that doesn’t mean things will end. Things evolve and so have I. I can only hope it all works out.
Dru
