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October 31, 2005
Yes, but where do I keep my meishi?
The BBC reports that we lucky Tokyoites will soon be able to ditch our wallets in favour of smartcards which can be used to pay for things like "shopping for groceries, renting a video, buying a drink, or going to the theatre". Doesn't seem all that surprising, given how deeply the Japanese are already attached to their keitai. Indeed, writing this entry aboard a miday Seibu-line train, I can count seven or so people in my immediate vicinity tapping away on their phones.
Of course, you have to wonder whether or not the wallet-in-your-phone cencept is an improvement on the traditional leather or nylon variety. Isn't this just another Japanese novelty, only to quickly go the way of the tamagotchi or Bowlingual, the dog-into-Japanese translator? I don't think so. Given the Japanese obsession with convenience over cost, I'm willing to predict that within a couple of years, shop assistants here will be asking if customers would like to pay by "cash, credit card or phone?"
Posted by Marcus at 10:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Bye bye Yoyogi Park?
If this actually happens, it will be a disaster for Tokyo. As the man says, there are already far too few parks in Tokyo and because of its central location, Yoyogi is one of the only ones that people actually have a chance to visit.
Posted by Marcus at 9:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
Vietnam Gallery
I've posted some images from my recent trip to Vietnam. You can find them here. Let me know what you think.
Posted by Marcus at 10:24 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 13, 2005
Hoi An
Posted by Marcus at 12:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack