Bullet trains June 23, 2010 10:19

This morning I traveled from Fukuoka to Nagoya on a bullet train.  Specifically, the Nozomi Super Express - the fastest of the bullet trains at over 180 mph.  These arrive on time, and leave on time.  They glide out of the stations without a sound or a shudder, and quickly accelerate with several noticeable surges.  You can tell it has reached top speed because the air pressure around the train changes, and your ears suddenly feel it -  like when you change altitude in an airplane.  This sort of speed eliminates the need to clean the windshield, as I'm sure bugs are simply vaporized by atmospheric friction.

This video was shot just before the train reached top speed, so this is actually a little slower than it normally goes.

Nozomi Super Express from Chris Sanders on Vimeo.

"People of Fukuoka..." June 22, 2010 17:09

We ended the day by appearing on a live radio show, that was also broadcast on giant screens all over the city.  Very super-Villain-ish.

Seinan continued... June 22, 2010 16:28

I wanted to share a few more of these pictures with everyone - I can't say enough about this school; the kids, the teachers and the building just radiated energy and inspiration.

Seinan Gakuin Elementary School June 21, 2010 23:18

I'll post more from today a little later, but I wanted to get this in right away.  We were invited to the most amazing and beautiful school this morning, where we visited with some very talented young artists.

Drawing session at Seinan Gakuin

Sapporo June 20, 2010 17:44

We flew from Tokyo to Sapporo last night.  It was immediately cooler, and foggy.  They picked us up at the airport in a medium-sized bus.  I immediately staked out the backmost seat and curled up in the corner.  We drove through what looked like woods for a long time, and I finally couldn't stay awake anymore.

So we're here in the hotel for the day.  All I know about Sapporo is that its North, we're on a different island, and there are bears on this island.  Since we got here last night and I was basically asleep the entire walk to my room, I woke up and remembered only that someone had said something about bears being in the vicinity.  I didn't even know there were bears anywhere in Japan.  So I opened my window hoping to see trees and anime-style bears with giant heads hanging around with girls dressed like sailors and maybe a few robots.  But I only saw a a city.  So I went out this morning to take a look around, and sure enough there were a whole lot of backpackers in the lobby.  Going looking for the bears and robots, no doubt.

This city is really pretty, and there is a big park/campus near the hotel.  These bicycles were parked on the street next to that park, and I thought they looked rather peaceful in the cool morning air.

I should also mention that the instant I took this picture a twenty-pound crow smacked me in the back of my head with his wing.  On purpose.  Then he sat on a branch above me, yelling something.

Morning in Sapporo