Recently got back from a great trip in Bali, there was lots of great graffiti in Kuta and some great idle idols dotted around the beautiful island. To see more check out my flickr set.
Archive for the ‘Photography’ category
Win a Signed Copy of the Book
June 22nd, 2010 by John
Idle Idol: The Japanese Mascot is officially out and to celebrate we’re offering the chance to win a copy of the book. All you have to do is take a photo of yourself or a friend with your favourite mascot. The entries will be judged by ourselves based on the awesomeness and bizarreness of the mascot and how cool the pose of the individual is.
The Prizes:
1st Prize: A signed copy of the book with a goody bag including Kero-chan and Koro-chan finger puppets, a Satoko-chan mobile phone strap and two badge sets.
2nd prize: A signed copy of the book with a badge set.
3rd prize: A badge set of your choice.
How to Enter:
There are four different ways to enter. Please also let us know where the photo was taken when submitting your entry.
1. Email your photos to comp@idleidol.net.
2. Join the Idle Idol facebook group and add your photo.
3. Upload your photo to flickr, post it to the Idle Idol flickr group and tag it with “idleidol”.
4. Follow whatwhatjohn or whatwhated on twitter and include a link to your photo along with #idleidol in your tweet.
We look forward to seeing your photos. Winners will be announced on the 22nd July and the winning entries will be displayed on the idleidol.net.
Edward with Nyanta
John meeting Crayon-chan
Drainspotting
May 28th, 2010 by Ed
Remo Camerota’s new book Drainspotting hits the shelves soon. I’m really pleased that two of my photos from Okinawa made into the awesome collection. I met Remo last year and got chatting to him about his great Graffiti Japan book and I’ve got him to thank for inspiring and encouraging me in making Idle Idol happen.
To see more of my draincover photos check out my collection at flickr.
Idle Idol site- updates
May 25th, 2010 by Ed
Lots going on over at Idle Idol, here’s an update of some of the links
Plastic Pigs
Native American Store Standers
Japanese Robots
Elephant and Castle
Big Crabs in Japan
Face Off
Sento-kun
Lastly you can now see what the book looks like here
Vending machines – Coined Consumerism
May 13th, 2010 by Ed
Christopher D Salyers has a great new book out on Vending machines featuring two of my photos. Vending machines – Coined Consumerism is by MBP the same publisher as Idle Idol. The first one was snapped at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. There must be a lot of thirsty people who visit that place. The second is somewhere in Tokyo, possibly Shinagawa. There are beer vending machines everywhere in Japan. Children below the legal drinking age must be a lot more well behaved as something tells me this wouldn’t work in England.
Idle Idol – Site launch
April 12th, 2010 by Ed
Lots of entires over at the Idle Idol site find out about the Tokyo Fire Department mascot Kyuta, Domokun – NHK’s wide mouthed monster.tower mascots from all over Japan and much more.
Idle Idol The Japanese Mascot is the first book from Edward and John Harrison published by Mark Batty publishers. The book concentrates on Japan; a mecca for Idle Idols. Discover Japans obsession with characters from Pipo-kun the smiling orange alien for the police force to Anpanman the superhero with an edible face. Learn their names, origins and stories. IdleIdol.net is currently a showcase for these wonderful characters from Japan but will soon cover mascots from around the world. check out the website for more details on the book and how you can join in the search http://idleidol.net/book/.
The Japanese have a long-standing infatuation with characters cast as three-dimensional objects that represent products, companies, civic organizations, towns and just about anything else you can imagine. Idle Idol: The Japanese Mascot examines this fascinating cultural history, documenting the evolution of these character statues ubiquitous throughout the country today. More than three-dimensional logos, these mascots exemplify how the Japanese embrace the notion of cute in all aspects of life, dating back to the Edo period. Associated with a brand or shop the mascots also exist as stand-alone characters that people adore. Photographs and written explanations vivify these unique mascots that are artful, audacious and wholly Japanese!
Contribute to Idle Idol
April 2nd, 2010 by John
We’ve started an Idle Idol facebook group so you can keep up to date with when the books due out or anything else that might be interesting. Contribute your own mascots too. Be sure to join the What What facebook fan page as well!
You might prefer to contribute to the The Idle Idol Flickr group instead, which was set-up many years ago when we first came up with the idea. The group was initially called Plastic People but was changed to Idle Idol.
Idle Idol on Amazon
February 3rd, 2010 by Ed
Idle Idol now on amazon to pre-order. Exciting and due out only two days after our birthday on May 10th.
Kigirumi 2009 Summit
November 6th, 2009 by Ed
Despite being ill I attended the extremely fun Yurukyara festival in Hikone a couple of weeks ago. Hikonyan pictured above was the undeniable star of the event almost causing a riot when he was driven along the street. There were around 150 other characters representing other castles, prefectures, bridges and even roads. To find out what Kigirumi and Yurukyara mean check out this Japan times article and to see the event watch this video.
