Ingress x Roppongi Art Night

Japanese Ingress players are known by doing interesting activity.

See also:
Japanese artisans made Ingress candy and got permission from Google
Ingress players draw phoenix on Kobe to celebrate the 20th anniversary of revival from quake
Ingress players of Hiroshima prayed for peace and drew paper crane on the map

Google cooperates with them now, and cooperated with an art event of Roppongi, Tokyo in April.

Roppongi Art Night is a public art event held in a town of Roppongi every year. Roppongi where is full of business people, club people and tourists from the foreign countries becomes full of public art works only at a night of this event.

Ingress cooperated with this and held the "Ingress Roppongi Art Night Special" which assumed 18 artwork portal. Players hacked these portal and were able to appreciate works.

Furthermore, the special direction that the color of the pillar of the light of Roppongi Hills changed was performed hourly by a power of both camp.

The real size statue of the Godzilla was one of the portal!

Because too many players played Ingress, the huge screen which showed the situation of 18 portal flashed on and off.

This battle was continued until the daybreak, but resistance(blue) was superior. Of course all visitors did not know Ingress. However, this event would become the good promotion of Ingress for Google.

The masterpiece of the ukiyoe of Sharaku can reappear by Excel

I wrote it about the elderly person drawing cool pictures by Excel before.

See also:
Japanese old man draws a splendid picture by Excel

The awesome Excel artist appeared in Japan again recently. Japanese artist Kubota showed video which copied the masterpiece of the ukiyoe(浮世絵) of Sharaku(写楽) by Excel in Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga.

Original: Otani Oniji III in the Role of the Servant Edobei(三代目大谷鬼次の奴江戸兵衛), 1794

A white oval appeared first, eyes were drawn next, And as various figures were repeated, an masterpiece appeared. She shows know-how of how to describe using Excel on her website. Originally, a word "Ukiyo(浮世)" of Ukiyoe meant modernness or modernistic in Japanese. (Ukiyo(浮世) = modernness or modernistic / e(絵) = Picture, Illustration or Drawing)

This is right a modernistic picture!

Talking heat disorder precaution thermometer

Japanese company Design Factory which sold various convenient goods developed cute heat disorder precaution thermometer with Japan Weather Association. It can "talk".

It measures temperature and the humidity every 10 minutes and notifies users of the environmental risk including the heat stroke with sounds and LED lights.

When it is high-risk, it notify users of it in sounds of the "severe caution" or "danger" and talk the advice of measures in random. The volume is selectable from three kinds. Japan Weather Association original calculation method is used for this, and the design source of this is a PR character of the heat stroke prevention project that they promote.

via https://www.designfactory.co.jp/info/20150416-1/ (Japanese)

[Photo Report] Slush Asia was the coolest startup event in Japan

On April 24, Slush Asia was held in Odaiba(large artificial island in Tokyo Bay), Japan, and 3000 audiences and presses were gathered.

Slush is a startup event held in Helsinki, Finland in every November, and Slush Asia is its Asian version according to the name. However, there was not "slush" there. Rather there were sunburns! :)

Tokyo have some large facilities for international events, but unfortunately these are very busy in spring. Therefore Slush Asia set up huge tents "White Rock" in the large parking and made places. There was totally like rock festival.

And the event itself was like the rock festival, too. Many startup events are held in Japan. However, they are sometimes nerdy and boredom. Uncool dark suit, cheesey PowerPoint templates, the most of speakers are men etc... Slush Asia is different from them. It shows that entrepreneurs are cool like a rock star and establishing a company is same as form a band.

English ability of Japanese people is terrible, but the official language of Slush Asia was completely English. Main speeches, guide map, Pitch contests, apps etc... Anyway, the everything were English! Surprisingly even the mayor of Fukuoka gave a speech in perfect English. He was the only politician speaker in Slush Asia.

Furthermore, we were able to watch the various interesting gadgets in a demo area. There was totally like Oreilly's Maker Fair.

Various food trucks are indispensable for a festival. Of course they were perfect, too, and every light meal including Japanese foods were prepared. Foreigner audiences surely enjoyed them.

The final conclusion is a after party. Speakers, audiences, presses and staff completely burnt it by blast DJ play and cool Installation art. This is one of the characteristics of Slush, too. The after party in the Japanese conference event is boring Buffet party. Exchange of business cards? Hell!

The greatest point of Slush Asia is that a preparation time was only three months. Within the period, Slush Asia became the Japanese general incorporated association, organized volunteers of 300 university students and gathered sponsors. Were core members able to sleep? According to Slush Asia CEO Antti Sonninen, they will hold Slush Asia next year. Please prepare for the trip to Japan from now.

More photos are here.