Kitaro Chaya

We returned to Kitaro Chaya last Friday as it was closed when we visited on Monday. The weather was perfect, we each got a few souvenirs, and got to relax with some mochi and green tea.

Nuts!

Within the flower park was a playground with all sorts of stuff to goof off on. Here is everyone going nuts. Bwana even got crazy and stood straight up on the top of that pole. I think it was about 20 feet tall.

Bugs!

A day after visiting the Bee Museum, we visited the Kobuchisawa Insect Museum in Yamanashi. The Insect Museum is located in a beautiful flower park and features native insects as well as some insects from around the world. Lots of colorful, crazy, and scary bugs. Covering one wall, they have an impressive display of blue butterflies. The museum also has some live insects on display, and has a cool shop as well.

Bees!

We visited the Bee Museum in Nagano last week. On display were bee and hornet nests, all done in sculpture form. The guy who runs this place attaches nests to various objects and then has the bees do their thing. He did a runner holding a torch for the Nagano Winter Olympic Games, a huge nest with "hachi" written in Japanese (hachi means bee), and a long nest measuring about 15 feet tall or more. Some of the creepiest displays were some "paintings" made of bee parts, including legs, wings, bodies, and heads. This place is nuts.

Custom Painting

We painted some custom figures today. Not vinyl customs, but ceramic. It was tough as none of us were used to this but we had a pretty fun time.

Egyptian Rat F%@#

After our shopping day, Gargamel stopped by for a little party. Beer, pizza, root beer, cake, skate videos, and a heated game of Egyptian Rat F%@#. Most of us hadn't played the card game before, but we all quickly got into it. Lots of fun and craziness.

Real x Head & Nakano

Today was a toy shopping day. First was a visit with Mori-kun at the Real x Head shop. Spent a little time there, had a short chat, and exchanged gifts. After that was Nakano Broadway and all the toy shops. I think each of us found something cheap. No big treasures though.

My Tentacles, Horns, and Scales Pics

Today's opening was awesome. We got to meet a lot of cool people, talk, hang out, and just goof off. The crowd was great, many were really excited about some of the releases, and I sold just about all my pieces. Such a great time. Many thanks to those who attended.

Tentacles, Horns, and Scales Pictures

Kaiju Taro put up a nice set of pictures from the show. You can check them out here:

Kaiju Taro Tentacles, Horns, and Scales Photos

Bwana and Martin Arrive!

I spent the day setting up Thrash out in preparation for the show. Lots of rearranging and cleaning up. I brought a good number of figures, taking up one case. Bwana and Martin arrived later in the evening and set up their work as well. Everything is looking amazing, Bwana and Martin brought some really nice pieces. After set up, we took a break at an okonomiyaki restaurant. We're all very tired right now, but very excited about tomorrow's event. Hope to see you there!

Tokoji Seijin Sighting

Tokoji Seijin is now making his way towards Thrash Out, along with a few friends. He's running a little late but should arrive in time for the opening of Tentacles, Horns, and Scales on Saturday.

Paint, Thinner, and Brushes

Been preparing for the Tentacles, Horns, and Scales show like crazy recently. Painting and working on stuff every day, all night. At the same time, I'm doing a big house cleaning as Bwana and Martin will be staying here during part of their stay. Can't wait until Friday when everything is done and ready. Things should get exciting then, we have a lot planned!

Kaiju Invades NYC

Kaiju Invades NYC. An art show featuring kaiju and kustom kaiju figures. April 19-21 at The Showroom Gallery in NYC. I will have a couple of hand painted figures in the show, and Gargamel should have a nice collection of work as well. Check it out if you're in NYC.

Tentacles, Horns, and Scales Flyer

This just came in, flyers for the Tentacles, Horns, and Scales show. For those who don't know yet, the show will take place at Thrash Out from April 19 to April 28. Opening reception and party will be on April 19 from 2:00 to 8:00. Please stop by if you're in the area.

Terrific Tokyo Toy Tour (with Tim)!

The day started at Thrash Out where Kiyoka, Tim, and I talked toys a bit. We then head over to Ichiban Boshi, a nearby soft vinyl shop, and Nakano Broadway. We spent a good two hours in Nakano, mostly checking out the Mandarake stores, when we accidentally bumped into Joe Ledbetter, who was in town for his Creature Comforts show at Stitch Tokyo. From there, we all head over to Akihabara and the new Mandarake store which just opened. The day ended with a visit to the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Arts Fair, where Tim was displaying some of his work at the Iguapop Gallery booth. A pretty long, but very exciting day. Our feet were all pretty tired.

More of Tokoji Seijin

Here are a few more picture of the Tokoji Seijin test shot. Can't get enough of him. I'm really looking forward to doing some colors.

DJ Alphabeast

Got to hang out with and hear DJ Alphabeast (Tim Biskup) at the 101 Tokyo Art Fair after party last night. Along with his funky beats, he also brought along some video which he had playing on the big screen. Among some if the images in the video were toys, kaiju, artwork, photos, even Booska and Dragamel were in there. Really cool stuff.