Pop 'n' Cute - Harajuku Kawaii Fashion and Music Event Report (AkihabaraNews.com)

Squee! the System 
Mainstream Japanese society is boring. One could argue that mainstream society globally is never exciting, but the homogenous nature and stubborn adherence to routines and social hierarchies make this island nation particularly dull.

Being that it's a free country, however, those individuals who don’t fancy themselves following the herd don’t have to. As a result of the extremely dull mainstream, the subcultures that have formed in reaction to it are equally, albeit inversely extreme. And thats the stuff that we tend to associate with Japan.

The Harajuku Kawaii Scene is one such subculture, and at the POP'N'CUTE event at Shibuya Milkyway on May 24th 2014, we got to experience it first hand.

Read the rest here... 
 Do it. I rate this as one of my best pieces since my Otaku Magazine days. got 3 videos and a craptonne of kawaii pictures too.

Interviewing Keiko Ihara

I was called up for a Job for Highlighting Japan again to go to Nagoya yesterday and interview Keiko Ihara. Japanese World Endurance Championship driver. It was a lightning trip. I got the call and went to interview her the next day because she had to go to LeMans today.

Like just about everyone Ive interviewed for highlighting Japan, she was both an impressive and inspirational human being. It was great to meet her and have the chance to chat to her.

I'll post a link to the article here when it's published.

I shot Ken Watanabe!

Okay so did every other press photographer at the NTT docomo summer launch... but I was there

 and I shot him! SO THERE! 

He was one of the celebrities who star in docomo's new commercials and he was there saying a bunch of positive stuff about docomo's phones that they payed him to say (as one does)

Though when he wasn't earning his paycheque, he didn't really seem like he wanted to be there.

I also shot Tori Matsuzaka, Maki Horikita and Satomi Ishihara.

Head over to Akihabaranews.com to find out more about the actual event, see all the other pics I took there and find out about docomo's phone and tablet lineup for 2014.

Lucky Cider CM with Nozomi Sasaki

Ok so like every red blooded male in this country I like my fair share of Gravure Idols… One of them is Nozomi Sasaki. She is the star of what has become the most stuck in my head commercial since the Pizza-la Cool Cream Cheese ads last year…
So now you can get it stuck in your heads too!

Don’t say I never do anything for you!