February 6, 2010 by Rok | Science & Technology | Add your comment »
Japanese railway company East Japan Railway Co. has officially announced the introduction of a new series of Shinkansen bullet train in spring 2013.
The new E6 series trains will be connected with the E5 series on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line and run at the speed of 320 km/h (about 200 mph) in the section between Tokyo and Morioka. The E6 series will run alone at 130 km/h (about 80 mph) on the Akita Shinkansen Line between Morioka and Akita.
The lead vehicle will feature a 13-meter long sleek nose to reduce air drag and noise.
You can see a picture of the new train here.
Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201002030429.html
February 2, 2010 by Rok | Miscellaneous | Add your comment »
Mother Nature strikes back! This morning we got a snowy surprise here in Tokyo, for the first time this winter. We’ll see how long the situation will last.
View from our balcony.
January 28, 2010 by Rok | Miscellaneous | Add your comment »
What is Tokyo Midtown? As the name suggests, it is situated somewhere in the heart of the Japanese capital. Tokyo Midtown, located in Minato-ku district, is a modern urban mixed-use development, spread out in the area of 569,000 square meters. Here, among lots of greenery, you will find many stores, restaurants, museums, galleries, residential buildings and offices of large companies like Cisco Japan, Konami, Fujifim in others.
January 26, 2010 by Rok | Green Japan, Science & Technology | Add your comment »
Japanese scientists have invented “elastic water”, a new material that consists of 95 percent normal water with added 2 grams of clay and a small amount of organic components, according to this article by Malaysian National News Agency.
A detailed report about the work of the scientists — published in the latest issue of Nature magazine — suggests that the substance is safe for humans and friendly to the environment and as such, could therefore be used in medicine in the future.
The new material is elastic, transparent and looks like jelly. Furthermore, the report says it can be quickly produced and molded into shape-persistent, free-standing ohbjects because of its exceptionally great mechanical strength and can quickly and completely self-heal itself if it becomes damaged. It also preserves biologically active proteins for catalysis.
If they succeed in icreasing its density, the material could be used for the production of ecologically clean plastic materials without depending on petroleum which is today used in production of conventional plastics.
January 23, 2010 by Rok | Miscellaneous | Add your comment »
Let’s go to Kyoto! You are invited to take a look at our photos from the old Gion district where you can walk through a maze of narrow alleys with extremely well-preserved traditional buildings. In the past, Gion was Japan’s most famous home to many geisha houses and traditional tea houses.
