Snapshots: Japan's Art Island and Akihabara's Dark Alleys

Todd Lappin has returned from Japan, belly full o' ramen, and sends images.

NAOSHIMA: JAPAN'S "ART ISLAND"

Naoshima is a small fishing island off the southern Japan coast. During the 1990s, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando used the island as the setting to build several spectacular contemporary art museums. Shrewdly, he designed the museums with hotel rooms in which visitors can stay. No less shrewdly, we stayed. Link to Flickr set.

OTAKU AKIHABARA

Akihabara, Tokyo's "Electric Town," is famous for its huge stores overflowing with the latest Japanese electronics. But the area is also a haven for "otaku" — Japan's anime-inspired geek subculture. These are a just few of the otaku sights to see in the darker corners of the neighborhood. PARENTAL ADVISORY– Contains anatomically-enhanced plastic action figures. Link to flickr set.