Last of the Pan

What's that? More Captain you say?

Well here it is, my last post of Japan. Drink it in.

Ok that's enough. Greedy.

I can't really think of what to say to sum up Japan so err my suggestion is toread the previous posts then mail me a summary, which I can put here and claim I wrote it. Everyone wins. Except you. But yeah its awesome, you should visit sometime.





A few final actives have involved buying various trendy idiot garments, eating lots and going to a manga exhibition. The show is basically for fans who write their own manga's based on original characters or stories. This was a whole other level to the geekdom compared to the toy festival and
it was huge.

After getting there we ended up being sucked into an endless cycle of people walking around the exhibition hall with seemingly no purpose (in life). This continued for a good hour or so when we spied some/hundreds of cosplayers and duly tried to take pictures only to be told off - not sure why, surely that's the point? But anyway after this setback we tried to find out where the cosplay show was being held only to be directed back around the conveyor belt of people, which was about the time we sacked it off and went home disappointed, with only one suitcase full of gay toddler manga.

Managed to get a long distance photy of the cosplayer queue festival. I love Ronald McD and the guy in the robot suit, brilliant.














Till next time when I'll be knee deep in Aussies.

Again.

Cotton buds but branded with Takoyaki (octopus balls) on them because this is the food Osaka is famous for so why not turn those boring old cotton buds into a funky souvenir for your loved ones? I brought 4 boxes.


















Neckface graf I spotted. With my face, mostly my eyes.

The Captain

...after regaling a someone with a description of 'The Captain' - one of the strangest, most repulsive, yet strangely intriguing characters I ever had the fortune to meet/touch/laugh at (point of note - he had the clammiest hands I ever did shake, ergh) whist on holiday with the lads in stock/spockholm I had the urge to draw him once again. So that's exactly what I spent Monday doing. Might change the background a bit but you get the idea...actually this is a far more surly and brooding Captain than the man we came across, think its cause I just saw Dark Knight (banger! Oh Heathy! Why Heathy? I loved you Heathy...) and had to reinvent him all gritty like.




















A couple of sumo based things to look at with your eyes.

So, in light of my recent trip to backpacker island (Laos) I decided to knock up some comics about the 'highs' (eh? It's gonna be a hit already) and lows of backpacking. I hadn't counted on my own ineptitude at doing anything remotely complex or for that matter my
ineptitude at doing anything remotely simple such as writing legibly. All of which meant the process took ages but here it is in all its half-baked glory. New issue should be out in 2012


Ok, been to Laos to visit biglad Ben. Great, cheap food and nice relaxing atmosphere in Vientiane, the capital but not much by way of sights to see, which works out perfect if your lazy like me (in case anyone had forgotten). We hung out there for a few days, I met Ben's newest s

election of aussie mates, ate the local specialties (deep fried snail, duck chin. Do ducks even have chins?), got a back massage by an old man while peeing in the urinals of a restaurant - the done thing apparently, pure service. The next step is clearly a shoe shine whilst you shit.

After this we headed north and joined the well trodden backpacker trail, did a bit of hiking (Reebok definitely didn't have rainy season hiking in mind when they made pumps), some kayaking and caving all interspliced with various 'gapper' encounters along the way. The only disappointment was the absence of tubing due to bad weather. Somehow Laos is making its fame with travelers due to the activity of getting battered in a rubber ring and floating down a river, so much so that people talk about it as the reason to visit Lao (italics, bet you never thought you'd see them crop up round here). Naturally being one of these people this was a massive blow for me and ruined the holiday.

Bennan and me showing off our dubious kayaking skills and giving props to the infamous SM BIP (see bennan blog)....






















Back in Japan and I've been knocking around Kansai for the last week, hitting up Kyoto and Osaka and getting my sightseeing on and had my first capsule hotel experience, verdict is their awesome but you have to pay for the porn which is an obvious disappointment.
































It may not be used pants but ties in a vending machine, brilliant. Who needs a tie that urgently?

Welcome to cat hell

Well that's not what I thought at first. Nekobukuro - Cat's House runs on the basic concept that every once in a while a person just wants to hang out in a room full of kittens, playing, petting and frolicking with them to your hearts content. Upon discovery that a petting zoo for cats existed and that it not only existed but existed near me was, well like someone telling you there's a room full of cats down the road.

Happy as beans we set off but when we got there it turned out to be one of life's great dissapointments, like discovering backhair for the first time. Far from being bursting at the seems with kittens there was 7 or 8 cats lolling about doing their best to avoid being petted by the streams of people that inexplicably turn up. I suppose its too much of a good thing, sure every cat likes a damn good pat every now and then but clearly not all day, every day.












David trying to coax a fresh victim in a for some hot petting action.

So after chasing cats around for 20 minutes and then petting them when they relucantly concide there isn't any escape, we left before the cats depression could dampen our spirts further. The day wasn't a complete loss as we hit up this ramen shop famous for inventing the style of having noodles and soup separate and then dipping the noodles into the soup. Its owned by this awesome old guy who hangs outside on the stoop yarning with the sizable queue of customers waiting. He was going to retire and close the place down a few years ago but a loyal customer stepped up to become his protégé and take over the kitchen.

Other activities this week involved eating a burger off the floor and a trip to Nikko, to visit some temples and remind myself what nature looks like. However, being an urban trendy an all I don't really need to know. What's a tree anyway? Pretty much just a shit lamppost...














This guy in red is such a fucking pimp


















Decided to mess with some of the smoking posters from my last post. Also whilst I was on the topic knocked up a smoking valentines card and there's also some other rubbish here too.

Smokers Style

I'm a big fan of these smoking manners posters that appear on trains. They are designed to give Jonny Smoker a nudge to mind his manners and not cram fags down the mouth of the next small child he sees. After much research (writing down the website address on the poster) I came across the archive of posters which is here;

If clicking your mouse proves too much of an effort here are some of the choice picks, think I might get the 'passing wind' tattooed on my back. Seeing as I'm on the topic here are a couple of great no-smoking signs too.....

Assorted video treats

I own a robot

That's it really. I went to a toy show, saw some nerds (damn nerds, hate them so much. Almost as much as I hate grebos) and became the proud owner of a snazzy robot toy. Inter-changeable hands, 4 different helmets and 2 jetpacks is there anything it can't do? No, well except love.

Bow down before his plastic glory.


















Started my job teaching people how to speak English super good, already pretty sure I've spelt some words wrong in lessons but fuck it who's going to find out eh?

Tune in next time when I'll probably have been fired.






A 'toy' that should have probably been purchased but cost way more than 20 mighty robots. How and why this exists is a mystery but it does. Possibly part of a war criminals action figure range given away with happy meals.


















Work in progress, needs more arse hair I think.