io9: Tokyo

Japanese legislators consider building a back-up Tokyo (in case the original's destroyed)

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:25:00 PDT

During World War I, Paris built a fake Paris to confuse German bombardiers. More recently, China has seen a spate of towns reproducing a little slice of Germany and Austria. Now, Japan is considering constructing a second Tokyo in case an earthquake destroys the one we have today. More »

A time-lapse of Tokyo, set to the score of Blade Runner

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:05:00 PDT

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The futuristic Los Angeles of Blade Runner won't exist for another eight years, so photographer Samuel Cockedey shot present-day Tokyo oodles of times and set the resulting time-lapse footage to Vangelis. You can see many more of Cockedey's striking videos at his Vimeo page. More »

Japanese researchers building sidewalks that look like discotheques

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:05:00 PDT

Researchers at Tokyo's University of Electro-Communications are working on sidewalk innovations that will transform public thoroughfares into shimmering corridors of light. More »

A brief history of Japan's vintage railways

Cory Gross - Voyages Extraordinaires — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:15:00 PDT

Ordinarily, one does not immediately think of railways when Japan comes to mind. More »

See the lights of Tokyo, before and after the earthquake

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:30:00 PDT

YouTuber Darwinfish105 (who made that stunning time-lapse video of Japan's Gundam statue) now shows us the lights of Tokyo before and after March's earthquake and tsunami. The metropolis' lights have dimmed due to power shortages and energy conservation efforts. More »

In Japan, the most dangerous beast of the animal kingdom is the lost cosplayer

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:00:00 PST

Earlier this week, officials at the Tama Zoo in Tokyo ran a tiger containment drill based on the premise that a Siberian tiger had escaped during an earthquake. More »

Monkey waiters are exponentially creepier when they wear human faces

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:41:36 PST

You may have heard of the famed monkey waiters of The Kayabukiya Tavern north of Tokyo, but have you ever seen the monkeys don lifeless human masks? Writers of the blog Budget Trouble stopped by the restaurant last year and were sufficiently rattled by their masquerading attendant: More »

Kaiju woman maintains civilian surveillance in Tokyo

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 07:00:00 PDT

Tokyo officials have devised a novel approach to crime prevention: a giant unblinking she-golem that discreetly records citizen's activities. Street crime in the Shinjuku has dropped 1000%, as the threat of Big Sister coming to life has scared away ne'er-do-wells. More »

This Tokyo "Mineral House" is like living in your own private Inception

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:55:44 PDT

Want to live in a home that would put Ariadne's dreamscapes to shame? This Tokyo microhouse by Atelier Tekuto, "Reflections of Mineral," is filled with enough twisting walls, reflective surfaces, and off-kilter windows to outwit any murderous subconscious projections. More »

Scenes from Tokyo, circa humanity's extinction

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 07:30:00 PDT

These thanatoptic tableaus by the artist TokyoGenso depict Japan's capital once the human race has moved on to greener pastures. Nature's taken over, and the drone of the metropolis has been replaced by the wind rustling through vines. More »

Kaiju and Superman enforce common courtesy in surreal Tokyo subway ads

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:50:12 PDT

These quirky Tokyo subway posters from 1976-1982 encourage public politeness using superheroes, monsters, aliens, and other icons. Pink Tentacle has a huge collection of these oddballs public service posters, but here are some of the best. More »

What Will Today's Cities Look Like in the Future?

Lauren Davis — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:31:28 PDT

What will the New Yorks, Londons, and Tokyos of tomorrow look like? Will they be technological Edens, grim dystopias, or entirely obliterated? We look at science fiction's take on the future of today's cities to gauge our urban future. More »

Wear Your Hometown Monsters With Pride

Lauren Davis — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:30:00 PDT

London just wouldn't be the same without its werewolves, and the real charm behind New York lies with the giant alligators in the sewers. These t-shirts let you show off the monsters that really make your favorite city special. More »

Seek Out Your Soulmate With TiMER's Futuristic Implant

Meredith Woerner — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:00:41 PDT

This week: Learn how to utilize your futuristic love-seeker, in the new TiMER trailer. Plus, would someone please tell me What's In The Box? More »

Lithographs Capture the Future Ruins of Post-Apocalyptic Tokyo

Lauren Davis — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:00:00 PST

Motoda Hisaharu looks far into Tokyo's future and creates detailed illustrations of the peaceful ruins of the once-bustling city. Check out our gallery of his quiet, post-apocalyptic lithographs. More »

Tokyo's Eco-Apocalypse

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:00:00 PDT

It's the famous Tokyo 109 building (named after io9 of course), now falling into the same eco-ruins that overtook Manhattan in plague wipeout movie I Am Legend. In fact, Tokyo Fantasy has posted a whole series of images that all feature Tokyo in a post-apocalyptic state which manages to look rather lovely due to all the lush greenery. Reminds me of the abandoned amusement park in Miyazaki Hayao's anime Spirited Away. More green doom below. More »

Faulty Human Porn Gets Aliens Excited

Lisa Katayama — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:00:37 PST

Maybe Marc Kremers wanted to create a Rothko without paintbrushes. Or maybe he just had a lot of bad porn lying around his living room. Whatever the reason, the London-based digital artist/animator created this web-based work of art using glitches from a faulty recording by a Danish porn company. By combining the flashy video with a randomly generated song that goes on forever, he managed to make it not look like porn at all—at least not to the human eye. Later, alien researchers found out that, if you show this video to residents of other planets, they break out in spontaneous mass dance routines similar to those seen on the streets of Tokyo in 2007. [Tone Poem, via Rhizome] More »