Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
This is an odd sight. A toilet in a garden, but beyond the garden is a fence and this is all one large bathroom that’s outdoors. Will you be comfortable letting loose in a space that’s open air with glass walls? No one will be watching since this is all one large private room, but it’s a feeling that’s odd. It’s in Ichihara and is only for women to use. (Forbes – Toilet)
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Harley Davidson did the classy and offer the tsunami victim, Ikuo Yokoyama, who lost family members, a full restore of his bike, but he one upped them. Yokoyama asked Harley Davidson to keep the bike and put it in their museum and a monument. “The Harley-Davidson Museum is honored to receive this amazing motorcycle to ensure that its condition is preserved and can be displayed as a memorial to the Japan Tsunami tragedy,” said Bill Davidson, Vice President of the Harley-Davidson Museum.” (Foxnews – Harley)
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Bones to Wash Ashore. Sneakers with parts of feet in them might have floated across the Pacific. Surely there’s more boats as well. It’s a sad reality, yet it’s going to happen. “We’re expecting 100 sneakers with bones in them,” Curt Ebbesmeyer told the audience Monday at a tsunami symposium. Anyone who discovers such remains should call 911 and wait for police. DNA may identify people missing since the March 2011 tsunami hit Japan. (Huffington Post – Bones)
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Tonki restaurant was founded 73 years ago and while surfing just a bit, I ran into an article about this and then found a post from the past. I’ve been to the shop, and it’s an amazing place. (Japantimes – Tonki) Here’s a post from 2010 on a visit there. It just happens that it’s located near the station and it’s just a cool place. It’s not exactly cheap, but it’s worth the visit. There is something special about the wood counters, seating, and it’s cleanliness for a place that’s cooking in oil. It feels great and clean and they’ll also give you as much cabbage as you handle – sometimes it’s the underdog item. (GR – Tonki) Here’s a video of the shop [youtube]O8pIRNi16EA[/youtube]
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It’s happening. Uniqlo is on their secret mission of becoming the world’s largest retailer. Why is it that while the economy still blows, a giant can continue to get more giant. They’re not selling oil, gold or diamonds at inflated prices. They’re selling cotton and polyester. Often times nearly the same as clothing makers of the past… but, who are American. The Gap and Old Navy have been around, but Uniqlo? Sounds like a name for the ages. 20-30 new stores in the US in the next eight years? Sounds doable, especially when they’re charing low prices in high rents in Soho and 5th Avenue in Manhattan, NY. Much like IKEA revolutionized dorm rooms, first time home owners, and great “IKEA hackers”, Uniqlo will do the same. Where will that leave the small shops like Giant Robot, which nearly at the polar opposite end? We’ll be here. (NYTimes – Uniqlo) There are plenty of Uniqlo posts in the past on GiantRobot.com and a recent visit yielded new clothing collaboration by Undercover (Uu) x Uniqlo at sale prices. Meanwhile in other Uniqlo news: They signed up Novak Djokovic.
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