MTNS R in4 our The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “The Guide” section cover shoot this week, KTHXBAI!
Check them out in week’s issue of The Music (Brisbane) #024.
Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets or read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane
It seems all the storms have been chased away this week, must be due to the gang from Stormchasers being in for our The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “The Guide” section cover shoot!
Check them out in week’s issue of The Music (Brisbane) #023, may or may not contain weather forecasts 😉
We also caught Avicii doing his raised hand thing at the riverstage. Our good buddy Nicole puts fingers to keys for her first review and you can check out the full gallery here.
Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets or read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane
After finally getting to ditch our luggage at the Yaesu Fujiya hotel a couple blocks from Tokyo station, we once again had time against us as we rushed out to Gotemba, home to the Premium Outlets mall and the last day of “Golden Week”, a nation wide sale which only happens a couple times a year.
It’s a bit of a hike – made longer with the wait and change to local trains then a (free) shuttle bus before you actually get there.
Travel tip: budget about 2 hours (door to door) to be safe (should be less if you get the right connections) from Tokyo station. Once you get to Gotemba station, walk down the stairs and out to the car park, you’ll see a big sign for Premium Outlets with times for the shuttle bus, which runs about twice an hour. Remember to plan your return trip so you aren’t left stranded out in the sticks!
Travel tip: kill a bit of time at the small store which sold a bit of everything. Cool vintage cameras adorn the windows.
The mall is very unassuming amongst the trees and mountains on the small roads leading to it. The complex is split across two sections divided by a scenic bridge and river (see first image). Two reasons why we chose to come out here, first, the Golden week sales – which were sadly disappointing, most stores had sales but nothing even close the the fire sale that’s hyped about online. The second reason was sadly also a little disappointing – to see Mt Fuji without having to go to it but thanks to the ever present haze it was completely invisible until just after sunset when its looming prescence was revealed as a silhouette.
Travel tip: Mt Fuji is viewable from many spots around the mall and from the shinkansen travelling between Osaka and Tokyo, however its most likely to be shrowded in cloud and haze, but if you’re lucky, you might get it on a good day as seen here, photoed from the shinkansen by one of our friends, thanks Troy!
So, back to the shopping. First stop is the information booth to grab your travellers discount booklet which sports coupons for percent off or after purchase bonuses. Most excellently, these worked on top of the already reduced items. Golden Week may have let us down but these made up for it in a small way, especially at the Nike Outlet store, which was definitely a highlight and some of the best bargains we came across on the whole trip. However, being the first day we were reluctant to fill the suitcases so early on. Turns out that helped A LOT but let’s just say, next time we’re just going to bring an extra one 😉
The rest of the stores are what you’d expect from the Premiun Outlet chain(and very similar to other branches around the world (re: Hawaii 2012)). Stand outs for us included Adidas (nice variety of stock and generously discounts); G Shock (a couple items were slightly reduced but nothing you couldn’t get online for a lot less); Bandai (all full RRP but the coupon helps a bit with the decision making, although we found quite a few items were cheaper outside of Tokyo – most noteably Den Den Town in Osaka); Lego and Sanrio are always fun to stop in, the former requiring just that bit longer with all their displays 😉 (see bonus photos below); Nikon– prices were like the G Shocks – cheaper online but it was nice to venture into a mothership, Reebok, Puma and The North Face are worthy of a quick look in as well.
There’s also the swanky labels that put the premium in to “Premium Outlets” like Armani, Anna Sui, Burberry, Bvlgari, Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Harrods, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Prada and Ralph Lauren but far out of reach for our modest wallets and tastes!
Finally, the foodcourt offers a nice variety of western and eastern eats and desserts covered mostly by local brands.
Note: it closes before the shops do so you may want to eat first if its coming towards the end of the day, but of course you can always count on Macca’s (off to the side of the complex) if you miss out!
Next we catch the Catbus to the Studio Ghibli museum!
If you have any questions on our travels, where to buy, what to do or just want to share your own stories, hit us up on the Soulbridge media facebook page.
Japan 2013 part #1 – Arrival
Japan 2013 part #2 – Tokyo International Toy Expo
Japan 2013 part #3 – Gotemba – Premium Outlets mall
Japan 2013 part #4 – Tokyo – Studio Ghibli Museum
Japan 2013 part #5 – Tokyo – Kichijoji and Nakano
Japan 2013 part #6 – Tokyo – Akihabara
Japan 2013 part #7 – Tokyo – Tamiya HQ, Diver City
Japan 2013 part #8 – Yokohama – Zoorasia
Japan 2013 part #9 – Yokohama – Ramen Museum
Japan 2013 part #10 – Nissan HQ and Yokohama
Japan 2013 part #11 – Osaka – Nanba Shopping
Japan 2013 part #12 – Kyoto
Japan 2013 part #13 – Tokyo – Harajuku, Shibuya
Japan 2013 part #14 – Osaka castle, Umeda Sky building
Japan 2013 part #15 – Osaka Aquarium and Tempozan wheel
Japan 2013 part #16 – Osaka Universal Studios
That young, stupidly rich swedish dude that some times plays music made his way around the country starting at the Brisbane Riverstage last week. Hat was reversed, a hand was held up and waved, “OOSSHH” faces were made and beat drops were plentiful for the adoration of the sold out crowd of tweens and brusses. In the words of support act New World Sound, “BRIZZAAYYY!! Gah-in’ off!!”.
This week we snap the lovely Sahara Beck for The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “The Guide” section cover shoot.
Read about her in this week’s issue of The Music (Brisbane) #022.
Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets or read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane
The Royal Artillery bring their 21 gun salute to our The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “The Guide” section cover shoot this week.
Check them out in week’s issue of The Music (Brisbane) #021.
Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets or read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all had a fun break, we certainly did with the usual excessive eating and drinking!
Straight back into it, this week we shoot Junior Danger for the first The Music Magazine’s (Brisbane) – “The Guide” section cover of the year.
Check them out in week’s issue of The Music (Brisbane) #020.
Get it FREE from all the usual street press outlets or read current and back issues online @ The Music magazine – Brisbane
Japan 2013 part #1 – Arrival
The age old problem with travelling is when to go, easy if you’re not timing it to an event but the event we had in mind was the Tokyo International Toy Expo. At the time of booking there was no official confirmation of the date and having spent our last trip to Japan solely in Tokyo, we thought this time Osaka could be our base with a couple shinkansen (bullet train) trips to Tokyo, that idea however quickly disappeared when the date was confirmed. We were set to arrive on the Saturday night with the Sunday being the last day of the event! We could have pulled an Amazing Race and legged it to catch the last shinkansen to Tokyo 40min after landing but not wanting to stress ourselves out the first night there, we decided to take an overnight pit stop in Shin-Osaka (right next to the station) then catch the first service the following morning.
Travel tip: If you’re doing the same or are staying in Osaka and need quick access to the shinkansen, we recommend hotel Hotel Shin Osaka, literally across the road from the station (follow the long corridor) very reasonably priced and with a few eating places and picturesque street scenary near by.
Travel tip: If you plan on catching the shinkansen more than a couple times you cant go past a JR Rail pass. An almost* unlimited pass to travel on all JR branded transport. For more info and prices see their website here. The initial outlay may seem a little steep but after some rough sums you’ll find a 14 day pass pays for itself after about 2 runs between Tokyo and Osaka. Cheaper and more convenient than dealing with transfers to and from the airports. Also note that unlike the Suica or Pasmo cards you never need to top it up. Simply flash your pass at the manned ticket gate and away you go (we were only asked for our passports once on the first use). The slight downside to this is having to deal with people asking questions blocking the manned gate but don’t let them slow you down, show the pass clearly, pause, wait to be acknowledged, head nod bow, thank them and be on your way.
* – pass only available on JR transport, not available in some private subways and buses in further out areas and smaller cities like Kyoto. Also not available for booked seats on the shinkansen, this option however is available at purchase.
Travel tip: purchasing the JR Rail pass – this can only be done outside of Japan. If you’re going through a travel agent they will organise it all for you but if you want to save on price and add ons like $6-8 for registered post from Sydney then finding a local dealer is the way to go. In Brisbane the place to go is H.I.S. travel in the Brisbane arcade, they can also arrange tickets for Studio Ghibli.
Photo Tip: The scenary between Osaka and Tokyo is littered with photo opportunities from the shinkansen with mountains, rice fields, industrial areas and commercial buildings. About 45min out from Tokyo you may even get the chance to see Mt. Fuji if its not blanketed in cloud. Best advice is to find a seat next to a clean window.
Mt Fuji on a good day :p
So with that, we arrive in Tokyo and hit the muggy and drizzling ground running towards the Tokyo Toy Expo.
If you have any questions on our travels, where to buy, what to do or just want to share your own stories, hit us up on the Soulbridge media facebook page.
Japan 2013 part #1 – Arrival
Japan 2013 part #2 – Tokyo International Toy Expo
Japan 2013 part #3 – Gotemba – Premium Outlets mall
Japan 2013 part #4 – Tokyo – Studio Ghibli Museum
Japan 2013 part #5 – Tokyo – Kichijoji and Nakano
Japan 2013 part #6 – Tokyo – Akihabara
Japan 2013 part #7 – Tokyo – Tamiya HQ, Diver City
Japan 2013 part #8 – Yokohama – Zoorasia
Japan 2013 part #9 – Yokohama – Ramen Museum
Japan 2013 part #10 – Nissan HQ and Yokohama
Japan 2013 part #11 – Osaka – Nanba Shopping
Japan 2013 part #12 – Kyoto
Japan 2013 part #13 – Tokyo – Harajuku, Shibuya
Japan 2013 part #14 – Osaka castle, Umeda Sky building
Japan 2013 part #15 – Osaka Aquarium and Tempozan wheel
Japan 2013 part #16 – Osaka Universal Studios
Well it started here and now we’ve finally gotten around to finishing off the 30 days of our fave time keeping piece (ok, so there’s more than 30 and we even threw in a couple Protreks/Pathfinders for good measure 😉 ). We included a nice variety of models with a generous helping from the late 90’s/early 2000’s for those new to G land, a couple Japan only releases and the “Heavy Metal”/”Stargate” that started it all for me back in 1997! Respect RDA! 😀
Here’s to another 30 years!
Enjoy!
Head on over to our Facebook page to check out the full gallery!
If you haven’t seen it yet (or even if you have) head on down to City Hall after 7.30 each night till Christmas eve for a 3D animation light show projected on to City Hall! Easily the best free Christmas entertainment you’ll find this year!
Shows are every 15 minutes till midnight so you don’t need to worry if you miss the start or want to watch it more than once, and you will need to. You could watch it 10 times and still not see all the little details, we certainly tried 😉
Photo tip: leave the tripod at home, 1. you wont need it since you’ll need to shoot with a faster shutter to capture the animation and 2. there are a tonne of people at the earlier screenings and you don’t want to be THAT person 😉 (and you also don’t want it knocked flying by some kid running through the crowd!)
Here’s a sample of what you can expect but mere photos don’t do it justice, take a break from the shopping mayhem and check it out!
City Hall Christmas Light Spectacular photos
—
