I guess the video tour of the Bullet Train was well received, here a few more things that you may find interesting.  I took a lot of video, but I’m just posting the more technology related videos.  Hey, it’s not about web strategy, but I figure if I find it interesting then my audience will too.

Click Here to see Video Tour:  Watching a Robotic Parking Garage in Action
I’m in Okayama Japan.  Space is very limited, and the culture is so efficient and technologically advanced that there are dozens of robotic parking garages.  Across the skyline you’ll see very thin buildings labeled “Parking”.  It’s a pretty simple process, you drive up, and into the elevator (some of them that are in tight areas have rotating platforms so you don’t have to do a 10 point turn.  The car is lifted up and the attendant gives you a receipt/ticket stub.

Click here to see Video Tour: Pachinko Gambling Machines
Pachinko is a Japanese gambling game.  Players insert yen into the machine and hundreds of small metallic balls are issued.  The player controls the angle of how the balls are spewed out into the game with a knob, the goal is to get the balls into a very certain hole for maximum points.  If you get the ball into certain holes, you’ll receive more balls, and that’s considered currency which can be exchanged for prizes and even cash.  It’s not a totally random game, there is some skill involved when controlling the flow of balls into the machine. 

Brian, a friend of my cousin, was our gracious host around Okayama, thanks Brian! 

I’m heading to Tokyo today, one of the most dense places in the world mixed with high technology.  I’ll see if I can find some interesting things to record.