Archive for Kyushu
August 8, 2008 at 12:38 pm · Filed under Household, Material, Architecture, Kyushu
Styrofoam dome houses at Aso Farm Land (Photo by: Erika Snyder)
While styrofoam may be most commonly associated with disposable coffee cups, meat trays and packaging, prefab home manufacturer Japan Dome House Co., Ltd. uses it to construct easy-to-assemble modular kit homes.
Dubbed the “habitat for the 21st century,” the Dome House is an igloo-shaped structure built from snap-together wall sections made of 100% expanded polystyrene foam (styrofoam). It might seem like an odd choice of material for a house, but the company lists a number of advantages that styrofoam has over traditional materials. Unlike wood and metal structures, for example, the styrofoam Dome House does not rust, rot or attract termites. It is also highly resistant to earthquakes and typhoons. In addition, the walls, which are treated with a flame retardant, emit no toxic fumes in a fire.
Dome House interior
The styrofoam used in the Dome House’s 175-millimeter (7 in) […]
Original post by Edo
May 27, 2008 at 1:51 pm · Filed under Hiroshima, Anomaly, Hokkaido, Animal, Biota, Attraction, Paranormal, Kyushu
Bigfoot. The Loch Ness Monster. The Abominable Snowman. Tales of unidentified mysterious animals have long intrigued and captured the imagination of people around the world — and Japan is no exception. Here is a brief introduction to 7 of the island nation’s most notorious cryptids, complete with grainy photographs where available. Whether you regard these tales as fact or fiction, their impact on the culture where they were encountered is undeniable.
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- Hibagon
Read the full post (2042 words, 14 images)
Original post by Edo
July 23, 2007 at 12:57 pm · Filed under Robot, Relic, Video, Music, Kyushu
As industrial equipment manufacturer Yaskawa Electric forces the MOTOMAN robot out of its comfort zone on the factory floor, we see it quickly acquiring new skills. First the robot developed the ability to sort mail. Now it has learned to play taiko drums.
On July 21, a team of four MOTOMAN machines — two dual-armed MOTOMAN-DIA10 robots and two MOTOMAN-HP3 welding robots — gave a special taiko performance at the nearly 400-year-old Kokura Gion Daiko Festival in Kitakyushu, which is famous for its traditional drumming competition. Organizers invited the robots to spice up the special opening ceremony for the competition’s 60th anniversary. The robots — the first ever to play taiko drums at the ancient festival — were paraded through the crowd of spectators on a float while they performed.
Yaskawa worked with festival organizers for four months to teach the robots the proper rhythm, technique and choreography for the performance, […]
Original post by Edo
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