Mickey Mouse celebrates his 80th birthday on Tuesday (Nov 18)…
Singapore’s Iggy’s is Asia’s best restaurant according to the Miele Guide which made its grand debut last week. The guide is claimed to be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide.
The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…
The world’s first blue roses have been unveiled in Japan following nearly two decades of scientific research.
Developed by Suntory Flowers, the roses are genetically modified and implanted with a gene that simulates the synthesis of blue pigment in pansies.
The first blue rose was created in 2004, but further research was required to make them safe to grow in nature.
The Suntory rose made its public debut at the 5th International Flower Expo Tokyo (IFEX) over the weekend; and are expected to go on sale commercially next autumn.
Blue roses have been available in florists in recent years but are created by various dying techniques to stain the petals of naturally white roses. The Suntory roses are believed to be the first genetically-modified blue rose creations [more on Telegraph]
The 21st Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) kicked off Saturday (Oct 18) with Japanese prime minister Taro Aso among the ~300 guests that graced the opening event at Roppongi Hills [via Japantoday]
The theme of TIFF 2008 is “Ecology = Preservation of Earth’s Environment”, and the organiser replaced the usual red carpet with a green carpet made from recycled plastic bottles to exemplify the theme, which I doubt could bring any meaningful effect.
A total of 315 films from around the world will be shown during the nine-day event. Chinese movie “Red Cliff”, directed by Hong Kong director John Woo, was selected to kick start the screening; would be cute if the stars wore some green outfit during the green carpet to echo the theme lol.
The main cast of Red Cliff at TIFF 2008… (L-R) Vicki Zhao, Chang Chen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, director John Woo, Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi and Lin Chi Ling (Image from Udn)
American born idol Leah Dizon, 22, who makes her fame in Japan, shocked her fans at the end of a concert in Shibuya on Tuesday (Oct 14) with the announcement of her marriage and pregnancy [via Tokyograph]
Leah’s wedding was held last Friday at Hilton Tokyo Hotel in Shinjuku. Her husband is a Japanese stylist (in his 20s) whom she first met around a year ago while working on a CD cover. The couple should be expecting their baby around March 2009.
Check out the video of Leah making the announcement at the concert [thanks to bb]
Enjoy your wedding life Leah and have a healthy baby.
Style-arena.jp is a website about Tokyo street fashion, with weekly photo updates of latest Japanese fashion in the streets of Harajuku, Shibuya, Omotesando, Daikanyama and Ginza in Tokyo. Pretty cool site if you are into fashion and trends.
Actresses Miki Maya, 44, Asaka Seto, 31, Ryoko Hirosue, 28, and ex-volleyball player Kaoru Sugayama, 29, were named as having the most beautiful legs at the annual Parcassio Beautiful Leg Awards.
The event was organized by six shoemakers; and Parcassio is an artificial leather used in their products [via Japantoday]
(L-R) Kaoru, Miki, Ryoko and Asaka; the actresses were selected according to each age group (20s, 30s, 40s) while Kaoru for sportswomen category (Image via Tokyotimes)
Japanese companies always come out with these kind of awards, i.e. best dressers, best jeanists, cotton awards etc… and the Japanese celebrities seem to be quite supportive for these events. Afterall, commercial endorsement means huge money… the celebs won’t want to offend any of the potential sponsors.
MTV Japan’s Student Voice Awards 2008 were presented last Tuesday (Aug 26) at Studio Coast, Kōtō-ku, Tokyo…
The winners (via Tokyograph)…
Best Artist: YUI
Best Dance Artist: AAA
Best Group: Ikimono Gakari
Best Actor: Shun Oguri
Best Actress: Juri Ueno
Best Love Song: “Soba ni Iru ne”, Thelma Aoyama feat SoulJa
Best Lyrics: “Home”, Shōta Shimizu
Best Party Karaoke: “Polyrhythm”, Perfume
Best Ringtone: “Kiseki”, GReeeeN
Best Movie: “Koizora”
Best Game: “Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G”
Best Athlete: Ryo Ishikawa
Best Comedian: Harumi Edo
Best Fashionista: Jun Hasegawa
Best Trend: “Wisshu~” (DAIGO)
Respect Award: AI