Shopfronts, et al

Here are a couple more pictures of "street art" like I promised, although the wolf leaped in front of this one. I suppose you could call these art, but I guess they were made for commercial interests instead of purely to satisfy the artists need for expression. I don't think that detracts from their value, though, as they can make a drab urban landscape a lot more visually interesting.

In general, I find that Tokyo is a lot more colorful and exciting than Helsinki, in terms of shopfronts, ads and so on, but sometimes it can be too much. For example, the massive throngs of people combined with the visual pandemonium of glaring screens and ads for the piled up stores and blaring 8-bit music in Shibuya can be overwhelming at times. Helsinki seems in comparison like Aobadai, where the dorm I live in is situated: more relaxed and toned down, almost tranquil at times.

Most of these pictures are not from Shibuya. The first two are from Asakusa, if I remember correctly. They were painted on the screens that are pulled in front of shops as they close. These two paintings are unfinished, which is a shame, but you can get a general sense of what they are going to be like. Maybe I should go back and try to take pictures of them when they are finished.

The next picture is probably also from Asakusa. This was the sign for a store selling... something, I should've checked. Actually, it was probably a cafe as Honma-san from my lab just told me that "paku paku" is the sound you make when you eat. Kinda like "munch munch" I guess.

This painted door was hiding in the bowels of Asakusa's backstreets. I don't know if they actually sell guitars there, but you gotta love those classic Gibson designs. To anyone interested, the model is a L-5 Custom according to the text on the headstock.

This alien was exploding out of the wall with chopsticks ready to eat in Shonan. Shonan is located on the coast south of Yokohama and Tokyo and is one of the more popular places for surfing near the capital. We were there twice with Alex "Party Performance" Poetica, Merman and Neil (the Surfing Mountie) and on the second time we were also accompanied by Yusuke. I'll probably post some pics from that trip later.

The last picture is an ad for Cream Soda which was adorning a wall on an alley close to Shibuya. I can't decipher the meaning though... Too fast to live? Please leave a comment explaining this riddle, if you can! Until next time, じゃあね。