Tokyo Vice author Jake Adelstein was recently interviewed on ABC Radio Australia. Jake, a member of the Japan Subculture Research Center, was asked to comment on the news that upcoming mass-redundancies as the national carrier Japan Air Lines would lead to a sudden surge in demand for  stewerdess uniforms.

In the interview Jake mentions White Rabbit Press’ Tokyo Realtime: Kabukicho audio guided tour, in which the listeners learn about Sky Heart – a former club where clients, relaxing in airline seats, would be waited upon by women dressed in genuine stewerdess’ uniforms.

The physical version includes a CD with mp3 audio, a waterproof map and a 20-page full-color booklet of area photography

With TOKYO REALTIME: Akihabara, visitors and residents alike can experience a unique behind-the-scenes tour of Tokyo’s ‘Electric Town’, a subculture hotspot for anime, games, manga, maids and more.

Assisted by his sentient GPS ‘Navi’, Akihabara expert Patrick W. Galbraith, author of The Otaku Encyclopedia, guides visitors through all the must-see places. Patrick provides historical background and cultural insight along the way, as well as breaking down insider jargon such as otagei, moé and itasha.

The release of TOKYO REALTIME: Akihabara marks the second volume in the highly-acclaimed Tokyo Realtime audio tour series. Interweaving narration and interviews within a soundscape of location ambience and music, Tokyo Realtime audio travel guides deliver a seamless mix of adventure and cultural insight while navigating real-world spaces.

“Producer Max Hodges has assembled a crack team of über-geeks from Japan and abroad to navigate Akihabara’s alleys and decode its mysteries. The audio guide is an illuminating portal into the neighborhood’s colorful history and vibrant currents of contemporary pizzaz.”

- Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica

This Akihabara audio tour features guest commentary by:

• Patrick Macias, author of Cruising the Anime City & editor of Otaku USA Magazine
• Danny Choo, pop-culture blogger & Tokyo Stormtrooper
• Kaichiro Morikawa, Meiji University professor & author of Learning from Akihabara
• and others

This 57-minute tour, available from White Rabbit Press, includes a CD with mp3 audio, an area map (printed on durable, waterproof paper) and a 20-page full-color booklet of area photography. Listeners simply transfer the audio program to their iPod, iPhone or any other portable mp3 player, go to the starting point shown on the included map and press play.

TOKYO REALTIME: Akihabara represents the second volume in the Tokyo Realtime series which launched with an audio tour for the Kabukicho district, Japan’s most imaginative entertainment zone. Each expert guided tour is brought to life through music, sound effects, location ambience and guest commentary from local personalities.

Additional details and audio previews are available on the Tokyo Realtime showcase site: www.TokyoRealtime.com. A media kit with images, sample audio and an interview with narrator Patrick W. Galbraith and producer Max Hodges is available for download here.

About White Rabbit Press

With customers in over 80 countries, Tokyo-based White Rabbit Press is widely recognized for producing outstanding Japanese language products. With the launch of the TOKYO REALTIME audio tour series, White Rabbit Press continues to receive praise for making Japanese language and culture more accessible to the world.

For further information, or to schedule an interview with Patrick W. Galbraith or the tour producer, Max Hodges, please contact:
Joseph Tame
Media and Communications Manager
joseph@whiterabbitpress.com

The following article appeared on Akiba Today, in collaboration with the Akiba Keizai Shinbun.

The audio guide series Tokyo Realtime began distribution of its Akihabara edition in mid-October.

Tokyo Realtime is an audio guide published by Japan-based White Rabbit Press to help non-Japanese sightseers on walking tours. The company has also released guides for Shinjuku and Kabukicho.

And now White Rabbit Press is featuring Akihabara, with Patrick W. Galbraith as your navigator, who is the administrator of Otaku2 (an otaku information website for non-Japanese) and who conducts tours of Akihabara dressed in a cosplay costume of Goku from Dragon Ball. Galbraith’s code name when serving as a tour conductor: Gaigokujin, a play on words that mixes the Japanese word for “foreigner” (“gaikokujin”) and the character name “Goku.” The Akihabara guide has recordings for visiting locales such as Radio Kaikan, maid cafes and Mandarake, as well as explanations of Akihabara’s history and of otaku (nerd) culture, like itasha (a car that has anime or game characters decorating the body). In addition, also included is commentary by Otaku USA editor-in-chief Patrick Macias and Danny Choo, the administrator of dannychoo.com, a Japan pop culture website with over 20 million monthly page views by 2 million visitors.

The audio content is currently on sale for download at White Rabbit Press’ website for $12. There are also future plans to sell a packaged edition with a set containing the audio guide CD, an Akihabara map and a photo collection.

This article has been created in collaboration with
Akiba Keizai Shimbun

Are Japanese Crazy? 80,000 Questions Around the World

In October 2009 White Rabbit Press director and producer of Tokyo Realtime: Kabukicho Max Hodges was called upon by German TV channel NDR for a tour of the Tokyo neighbourhood.

Take a walk through sin city

No, we’re not waffling on about the cult movie Sin City, we’re talking Kabukicho, the lively area in Tokyo the authorities are desperately trying to clean up. It’s notorious for hostesses, bars, mobsters and love hotels, but it’s a defiantly feral affair not willing to be gentrified. Now, out this year, is a nightime audio guide for tourists. We put it to the test. The verdict? The area hasn’t dimmed its red lights yet. We weaved through the alleys and streets, admiring the Dickensian looking host-boys with their bleached mullets and pointy shoes and learning about the area’s history. And, despite the saki devoured, thanks to our generous hosts at a restaurant beforehand, we only missed one street. Strongly recommended for an esoteric view of the capital.