Robot Claw – Page 6 – “Life In The So-Called Space Age”

Japan Extra: Cakes

June 16, 2026

I sent the above pic to a couple of people the other day and it got quite a reaction, so here’s a whole entry of impressive cake photos.

When I took the photo I asked the girl which one was best and she indicated the two above. These cakes – each not much larger than a cupcake – are astonishingly detailed and I wonder what’s inside. If KLS was here I’d buy one and she could eat it 🙂

The first shot was taken in Osaka and when I went to a display from the same company (bakery?) in Tokyo yesterday their display was a little different, although in the same style. The cup/spoon one is interesting. Since it’s all edible I wonder if you can use the spoon to eat the cake?

A nearby display had these, which looked almost liquid and glistened like oil. I have no idea how the effect was achieved but it was very eye-catching.

Here’s some apple cakes from a different baker. Once again these are cupcake sized – smaller than a real apple. I recall Kristin got one of these once. They’re so shiny and reflective in the display case it seems a waste to eat them!

Nearby another baker did green apples in the same style as above only with even more accuracy (note the stalk and leaf). As mind bogglingly impressive as they are, the transparent material on the melon cake next to it caught my eye…

These were in the same case. I believe it is representing a plum with ice frozen over it. If you look next to the cakes on the left you can see the cross-section, so it’s a small cubic cake with a layer of frosting (!) on top the has incredible detail, such as the transparency of the ‘ice’ layer. As I was photographing this I looked further along in the case and my mind was blown:

These are cakes. Completely edible. Here’s a closeup:

Even up close it looks like a velvet store display for jewelry. And the necklace is so realistic! I asked the girl if the necklace was edible and she laughed and said it was ‘crystal gummy’! A gummy necklace!

All these photos were taken in the dessert levels of department stores in Tokyo and Osaka. These are very prestigious food halls in very prestigious stores that cater to tens of millions of potential customers in a country where presentation is extremely important. My point is you don’t find anything like this in your typical bakery over here, which makes them all the more special.

Another Earthquake

June 16, 2026

Today KLS and I went cosmetics shopping together. We’ve done this before: I text her photos and she responds indicating what she wants! It was a big success and she’ll collect a bounty of stuff when I return.

I was in Shibuya and Shinjuku and aside from the photos I sent KLS the only other shot I took is the above, so maybe now is a good time to show off some pics from earlier this trip.

The above pic was taken in Osaka, and is a masterful example of an Ita Bag. These are the bags with built in compartments used to display items, usually badges. Here’s a closer look at her collection:

That’s 73 badges of the same character, which would have been quite expensive since these badges are usually $5 and up apiece. Note also that the bag colours – and indeed her outfit – match the character as well. She’s obviously a true fan!

And who is this character? I have no idea, but I’d guess he’s from a gacha or otome game (a romance game for women). If you recognize him, please let me know who he is!

The above are four public information/education posters I’ve photographed in various places during this trip. I’ve shown such things before; I like the thought and execution that goes into them. Clockwise from top left we have an anti-bullying message, a poster warning about electronic equipment that issues unauthorized radio waves, an ad for a college (I think) and a warning not to call an Ambulance unless it’s a true emergency.

These are often put up in or near stations or supermarkets, and I’ve already many others on this trip alone. These are a good idea, but I think you all know why we don’t see them much in the west.

Shortly before 8 pm I was in Yodobashi Camera – an always-busy giant shop near my hotel – and at the same instant everyone’s phone beeped. It’s because we all got the above alert, although it arrived only moments before the shaking began so I read it after the building had begun to move.

What followed was the strongest and longest quake I’ve ever felt. The background music in the store stopped and was replaced with a repeating alert saying more or less the same thing as our phones. I stood next to a cabinet in the shop and watched assembled Gundam kits shaking and wondered when it would stop. I’ve experienced several quakes in Japan now but this was the first time I was indoors with other people and this made it eerier.

For instance when the last quake happened (for me) I was on street level in Osaka and I was struck by how little the shaking seemed to affect others. By comparison everyone stopped today when the phones went off – even employees – and I could see a lot of nervous faces when the shaking continued just a bit longer than was comfortable.

And then, as with the other quakes I’ve felt, it passed and life very quickly returned to normal. A memorable experience, and not one I hope to repeat!

Japan Extra: Gacha Gacha

June 15, 2026

There’s a McDonald’s near Akihabara station that I often have breakfast at while I’m here. Almost every day around 6 am it fills up with businessmen and women, just sitting quietly with their coffees. It was suggested to me they come here before work to mentally prepare and destress from the rush hour travel. It’s a surreal experience joining them because virtually everyone is alone and the dining room (which has 96 seats) is almost entirely quiet.

I’m sitting here now, and it’s a good time for an extra blog post! I’ll be showcasing a few topics I wanted to go into a bit more detail into and today we’ll start with gacha machines.

As usual these continue to multiply, as does the diversity of prizes. I read recently that the number of drink vending machines in Japan has been declining every year and I wonder if that has been offset by the proliferation of gacha machines.

The prizes these days can be anything, although ‘small’, ‘cute’, ‘accessory’ and ‘useful’ descriptors usually apply. Above we see a panda hair accessory, small flocked cats dressed as Kamen Riders, a strange flocked eel and Sesame Street grocery bags. Guess which two I bought?

Or here we have an ‘EM wave prevention seal’ (don’t ask), miniature OxiClean products, a very mysterious UFO that claims to create sound when clipped onto a power cable, and a can badge making kit that unfortunately doesn’t come with most of the required parts! I bought none of these, but I think I should have got that UFO.

The average price seems have settled now around ¥300 or ¥400 (about $2-3). The number of ‘premium’ machines (¥500 or more) seems to have dropped, and machines ¥200 or less now are very rare and usually give dubious prizes.

Some vinyl cyclops toys, large stuffed… things, miniature cassette tape keychains and a keychain of a… drag queen pirate (I assume a Japanese comedian)? I bought none of these, but I should have gotten Bernard a pirate.

The sticker craze here right now may be the strongest craze I’ve seen in 24 years of visiting this country! Even the gacha machines are not immune, and I find it intriguing that as these two weeks have continued the amount of stickers I’ve seen in machines is increasing as if the craze is still ramping up.

A soft flexible ‘W’, a coin that helps you make decisions (eight different types!), a small acrylic stand of some dude and miniature Karcher pressure washers. Of all these, I regret not getting the W. What is it and what is it used for? No man knows, which is part of the allure of these machines 🙂

Which machines did I invest in the most this trip? The ‘punk girl’ ID photo ones I found in Osaka! I found six different ones and rolled ten times (¥300 a pop) and still hope to find more of these, which appeal to me in an indescribable way. They’re objectively worthless but they’re so much fun. As you’ll see when you get yours on a postcard…

There are also the so-call ‘flat gacha’ machines, that distribute things like clear files, coasters, art prints and even (rarely) postcards. In an extraordinarily rare and fortuitous event, I received two Kamen Rider ‘art boards’ from a single pull of one of the machines at Hirakata Park!

I’ll end this with a few photos of drink machines getting into the gacha game with the sticker cans that KLS and I first spied a couple of years ago. These seem to have multipled as well, and they’re not cheap at ¥900. It’s a drink machine so you still get a drink, but the cans have a large vinyl sticker wrapped around them. The stickers are random and as you can see there are quite a few, so if you’re after a particular character it would be very pricey. I got a couple of these, but the stickers are very large and it’s a challenge to find somewhere to put them when you’re traveling!

Even the Ultraman exhibit got in on this racket, with their sticker-wrapped drink vending machine in the gift shop. Yes I got one. No it wasn’t Zoffy 🙂