2016? I expect robots will be running the races for us by then! Ho ho, I jest. The Tokyo 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee has revealed the logo for their bid to host the 2016 Olympic games. Pretty flash, huh? From the press release:

“The Tokyo 2016 logo takes the form of a traditional Japanese knot known as “MUSUBI”. It integrates the five Olympic colours into a motif of colourful and decorative knotted strings which have long been utilised in Japan to signify blessings during times of celebration.”

Fair enough. Good luck to them!

Annually, Sanrio host adult fan sales, and in the past have sold items such as a Hello Kitty Fender Stratocaster guitar for 2.52 million yen ($20,460/£10,170). This year’s sale will be at the Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi department store in the business district of Tokyo. One item that’s thought to get lots of attention is a doghouse created by Cummings, a company that produces classy pet products. The doghouse is decorated with 7,600 Swarovski crystals, complete with a Hello Kitty cushion, and is expected to sell for 3.9 million yen ($32,000/£15,907). An even pricier item is a Hello Kitty made from 42,400 Swarovski crystals, valued around 8 million yen ($64,824/£32.223). This year’s sale is on 24th July, so get saving!

Via Far East Gizmos

Head over to 1up for an array of photos from the World Hobby Fair held in Tokyo last weekend. If I had a hat shaped like a DS I would never take it off.

The Japanese doll festival (Hina Matsuri), or Girls’ Day, is held on the 3rd day of the 3rd month every year. To celebrate this year’s festival, a doll’s museum in Nagano has decided to put 1,300 Hina dolls on display. 1,000 of the scary-faced ornamental items are on loan from local residents, and are arranged on a 6-metre high, tiered platform. This is the kind of festival that would give me nightmares! They’ll be on display and freaking me out until 10th April.

Source: Mainichi

Anime UK News informs us a of new UK anime convention called Alcon, which will be held from 14-16 September 2007 at De Montfort University, Leicester City Campus, in eh, Leicester. The meet-up aims to “to bring anime fans closer together as a community as well as enjoying a fun time.” More details can be found on the Alcon site.

Time to get out your new diary, as the date for this year’s Tokyo Game Show was announced by the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association today. The world’s largest video game software and hardware convention will be held from 20-23 September at the Makuhari Messe convention centre in Chiba. The event is the largest of its kind open to the public, and due to the world’s fast-growing video game industry, will last a day longer than usual. The Tokyo Game Show has been held annually since 1996.

Source: Japan Today

The 2nd annual New York-Tokyo music festival takes place this year on 30th September in Central Park. Performers from Japan include Hifana, Mighty Crown and Samurai Jazz artists PE’Z. “Music - Games - Anime” events are given equal status on the poster, but the site seems light on details. Expect a talk by someone who watched half of Akira at a friend’s house once.

Visit the festival’s official site.

Via Anime News Network

The world’s first instant noodles were invented on this very day back in 1971. To celebrate its 35th birthday, the original creators of Cup Noodle, Nissin, are holding a sampling party in Tokyo. Free noodles for all! Nissin has sold 25 billion ‘meals’ to date. That’s a lot of noodles.

Source: FujiSankei

At the end of next month, everyone’s favourite real-life robot celebrates its 6th birthday. And guess what? Everyone’s invited to the party! It takes place on 29th-31st October, but if you come along in the afternoon of the 29th, you’ll be able to have your photo taken with ASIMO! I’d like my photo to be taken by ASIMO too, just to prove that it has a real world function.

A gala parade consisting of hundreds of dancers and floats started the Hallowe’en festivities in style at Tokyo Disneyland today. This parade will run 3 times daily until 31st October. Hallowe’en has become very popular in Japan recently, and similar to places like the United States, has began selling many toys and confectionery related to the occasion. In Japan, retailers normally start their Hallowe’en campaigns on 1st October, but this is the first year the celebrations have begun so early. ‘Trick or treating’ is one Hallowe’en activity still to catch on in Japan though.

Source: Crisscross
Photo: Joe’s Tokyo Disneyland photo site

Cowparade is an international festival that began in Switzerland in 1988, and this week sees the parade visit Japan for the second time. 65 fiberglass cows, which are 1.5 metres in height, have been placed at various areas of the Marunouchi district of Tokyo. The cows are decorated in bright colours by artists and Tokyo school students, and in the past have been auctioned to raise funds for arts, entertainment and welfare. The cows will be on display in the area until 1st October.

Source: Mainichi

It’s the 10th anniversary of Pokemon this year, and what better way to celebrate it than a concert featuring music from the series of games. Club Nintendo will distribute tickets for the concert by lottery to members who register any Pokemon game by 25th September. Japan only entries I�m afraid!

Via Japanmanship

The 14th Dalai Lama has announced plans that he’ll be popping over to Japan for a 2-week visit on 30th October. The Tibetan spiritual leader will be there to deliver a speech at the Hiroshima International Peace Summit. He will then take the shinkansen (probably) to Tokyo on 10th November for another speech.

Source: Mainichi

Dorkbot is an event for “people doing strange things with electricity”. It began in New York in 2000 and is now popping up at various places throughout the world. Dorkbot-Tokyo takes place on 16th September at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo. Also included on the day are performances from Jun’ichi Okuyama, UJINO, the Rotators and DJ Minoru Hatanaka.

Via Shift blog

Shojo Manga! Girl Power! is an exhibition taking place in Toronto, Canada featuring 23 female artists and more than 200 pieces of work. Dr. Masami Toku of California State University, curates the exhibition and will present a lecture named �The Power of Shojo Manga: Its Value and Contribution to Visual Culture and Society�. It’s the first exhibition of this kind, and it’s hoped that it will help examine the individual artists of Shojo manga and the impact this has on the manga culture. The exhibition runs from 6th September - 4th October at 131 Bloor Street, and is presented by the Japan Foundation Toronto. Go girls!

Via Anime news network