Tag Archives: Tech

One Day in the Future at Miraikan: The National Museum of Emerging Sciences and Innovation

May 28, 2016 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

The future always has something that beguiles us. It can drive our imagination to possibilities that we have never seen before, or it can be an elusive far fetch vision of a world that we wish to have in our lifetime.

When I stayed at Tokyo, one of the best parts of my itinerary turned out to be a visit to a science museum. Not the old museum type, but the one that offers a fascinating view of the future! Miraikan means “Hall of the Future”, and it’s located in Odaiba, an artificial island in Japan’s capital city.

Odaiba is a fascinating futuristic place. Technically, Maraikan is labeled as the National Museum of Emerging Sciences and Innovation. It’s near the famous Gundam Statue and the iconic-shaped building of Telecom Center Train Station.

The most desirable feature that sets this science museum from the rest is the way they’ve designed the exhibits. All of it encourages interaction with the visitors, from the robotic pets to Asimo, scale model of the space station to the geo-scope zone, and you’ve got to try the “Personal Mobility UNI-CUB” rides!

From time to time there are new exhibits, but there are the permanent ones that will impress you even at the second time around. While the permanent exhibits have English and Japanese translations, most of the temporary shows are only in Japanese.

Tip: If you see that the line is long, make sure to get your number and scheduled time of return. Some of the popular exhibits allow you to come back on that schedule and you’ll be able to enjoy other exhibits at your own pace.

Feel the Earth in Motion with Tsunagari

Once you enter the science museum, the one impressive exhibit that catches everyone’s eyes is the huge globe that hangs above. Made up of organic LED panels, it’s a rendition of what Earth looks like from space. With over 10 million pixels, the Tsunagari shows real-time data on airflow and clouds streamed throughout the world! There are times that they change the display into geographical data, statistics of people travelling and weather projections.

Tip: If you feel tired midway through your exploration at the museum, the geo cosmos zone has a great lounge area that you can rest and sit down while gazing at the earth above.

Asimo

Can I really evolve to human-like characteristics? Let Asimo introduce you to his world! It’s a talking, walking, and dancing robot. He can speak in Japanese and later translate it into English. What else can he do? Take a look at this video.

The Asimo show is quite popular to visitors. Make sure to check the schedule first at the information center so you won’t miss this impressive show. Come at the Asimo zone as early as 30 minutes before the show to get the best seats in front.

What Will the Future Look Like?

We’ve seen the Hollywood version of the future from the movies, how about from science itself? This exhibit propels your mind to take a peek at the possibilities of what Earth will look like 50 years from now. This one made an impact on me, making me think on what one person can contribute for future generations.

First, you choose one of the areas on the planet that you consider most important, then while in the middle of the game, you’ll receive an email from the future – specifically, from your grandchildren! This might sound like a spam email for all single people, but I assure you, it’s no marketing scam. The letter will describe to you how bad the situation is 50 years in the future, urging you to do something.

Now, considering the theories about time travel, paradoxes and possible changes in the timeline, would you just ignore the message or actually do something to change the future and make this world be a better place?

Space Center

Ah space, the final frontier. While were grounded here on Earth, the International Space Station exhibit is a great way to learn how it is to live up and “out” there. You can walk into a tunnel which is a scale model of the ISS living quarters. They have realistic control panels, samples of astronaut food packets, and autographs by famous astronauts!

Stories of One, Everyone and You

Are you a nerd or an artist? An analyst or a more of a leader? This exhibit allows you to interact with personality tests and exercises and know more about yourself. Part of me thinks that this might be one way that the museum gathers information about the types of people who visit the place.

Cells in Progress

This was one of the exhibits with more people in queue, but when you get inside, it’s not that crowded. It displays the current breakthroughs and theories in cell biology and medical engineering. There’s also a section where you’ll see the images of the brain on different physical activities.

The most interesting part among the 5 sections in Cells in Progress was on stem cell research. You’ll be presented different types of injuries that one may have and how the amazing breakthroughs and possibilities that stem cell therapy can bring into medical technology.

Miraikan: National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation

Open Hours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Weds to Monday, Closed during Tuesdays.

Admission Fee: Adults – 620 yen

18 years old and under – 210 yen

Other fees: If you want to enter the Dome Theatre, it has separate fee 300 yen for adults.

For more info on museum schedule and exhibits, check out www.miraikan.jst.go.jp

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Japan Trip Diary, With Pictures.

October 20, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

Time well wasted at Haneda Airport

We arrived at the airport around 1:00am which meant waiting till 5.30am when the metro lines opened to head to our hotel! Nothing strikes boredom into the heart of any traveler than the idea of waiting around in an airport, however, we were pleasantly surprised with how we could fill our time. We started with a mini tour of the airport followed by a tasty croissant at one of the cafes which happened to be open at that time; Cafe Cardinal.

We then came across quite a novel idea where you purchase a small wooden tag from a vending machine (obviously), write a personalized note onto it and hang it next to thousands of others on their Wishes Wall. Another great and strangely exciting discovery occurred inside the restrooms at the airport. They were seriously high tech with a range of buttons positioned on the wall which would clean the toilet for you!

Memories Wall | Haneda International Airport | Tokyo

Tokyo Subway: The mayhem begins

When it came to transportation, our luck was about to run out when we ventured inside the subway for the first time. Unlike the toilets in the airport, the only thing we were impressed with here was the locals ability to actually read the evil metro map! If it wasn’t bad enough that we had to try and figure out where on earth we were going, it was all written in Japanese. Obviously. A smaller map in English gave us a little clue, but not much. I passed on much of the navigating responsibility to my husband, then at least I couldn’t be blamed if we got completely lost! However, near the end of our trip we had almost mastered the metro map!

Tokyo Transportation Network — Tokyo Subway Map

Accommodation: Everything in small in Japan

We finally arrived at the Yokohama Sakuragicho Washington Hotel and were extremely happy with our hotel choice! Set in an awesome location just 2 minutes from the train station, there was a great array of restaurants, attractions and cafe’s just a short walk away. Not only was the location perfect, but the view from our room was stunning, overlooking the large Ferris wheel in the bay.

Even though the rooms were really small (like most things in Japan) we had everything we needed and wanted! Checking out of a hotel is normally a standard procedure passing your key to the front desk, but not here. Machines are available for you to simply insert your room card, pay any remaining fees and away you go!

After robots checking us out of our hotel we took a different approach to our accommodation in Tokyo, staying in a wonderful place through Airbnb. Our host was just great and the room was rather spacious, which is always a plus!

Theme parks ban the Selfie Stick?!

Japan boasts an abundance of attractions to suit everyone’s taste and even though we had only a short time here, we managed to fit quite a bit in! Just like Dubai, there were many theme parks, zoo’s and malls like the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse which we thoroughly enjoyed, Akihabara where we picked up some amazing cosmetics and even Tokyo Train station, yes, you read that right. This station is no ordinary train station, but is home to an unbelievable underground shopping mall with every retail outlet you could imagine!

Disney Land was a simply magical place (obviously!) which brought back so many childhood memories as you pass by Disney princesses and enjoy all the bright colors and fun activities. But as you can imagine it was super crowded and we had to queue for hours to get on a single ride!

IMG_9885 (1) — Of course we posed with the flag.

Lines weren’t as bad at other theme parks such as Yokohama Cosmo World which had a ton of great rides but also had the most baffling rule I have ever encountered. Signs covered the park completely banning selfie sticks. I know everyone has a different view on the Selfie Stick Trend but that was just amusing!

Visiting the Amazon in JAPAN?

Roller coaster rides can give you the screams and excitement but nothing can compare to the feeling of returning to your childhood like a trip to the zoo! We can’t rate the Yokohama Zoo; Zoorasia high enough. Each area throughout the park was themed, so you would take a journey through different areas across the globe from the Amazon to the Dessert all in one place, seeing the different species which walk the lands.

In comparison, Ueno Zoo was nothing to write home about. It was considerably smaller than Zoorasia and nowhere near as nice, however, our trip wasn’t for nothing, we wanted to visit the panda’s, an animal you can’t see at Zoorasia!

Hot chocolate with a group of cats!

Japan is known for the weird and wonderful and if you are cat lovers like we are, then a trip here would not be complete without a visit to the Cat Cafe. Enjoy a drink while being surrounded by purring felines! It can be quite torturous as they have a rule that you can’t go around picking up the cats, you have to wait for them to come to you, which is fair!

I mentioned in my previous blog post about some of the struggles we had finding food, however it wasn’t all doom and gloom towards the end of our time in Japan. While exploring ChinaTown and browsing at the souvenirs we came across Strawberry Cheesecake KitKat. Yes. Strawberry. Cheesecake. KitKat. To be honest, if you don’t at least get yourself a different flavored KitKat in Japan your trip pretty much doesn’t count!

Combining culture with couture

The big tourist attractions are all well and good, but we wanted a little culture on our visit too. Sankeien Gardens is a photographers paradise, with open ponds, tree’s in full bloom and historic Japanese buildings to explore made for a wonderful contrast and a beautiful experience. Japan has an intriguing way of combining history, beauty and shopping, so at least when you are browsing the different shops you can also feel as though you are getting a bit of culture too.

Sensō-ji Temple was another location which we loved so much we returned for round two! Not only do you get to admire the stunning ancient Buddhist temple, but the surround area is home to an array of shops, which kept me happy on more than one occasion! Asakusa was a similar area which combined plenty of shops as well as the Buddhist temple; Sanju.

Yes, malls seem to dominate Japan, however, you can get your culture-fix without being tempted to splurge on ANOTHER pair of stilettos. When we came out, we knew that Japan was famous for its innovative technologies and advanced forward thinking, so it was great to see it in action at the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum which is perfect for the geek which lives within us all as we browsed through all the latest gadgets and technologies.

If you don’t fancy getting your geek on at the Museum, then you can let your inner art critic out at the Hakone Open Air Museum which has some amazing art pieces. We were lucky enough to be blessed with gorgeous weather that day which made for even more incredible views!

Lake Ashi stole my heart

Coming from Dubai, I have seen the big theme parks, the flashy shopping malls, I wanted something more. Up until this point, I had seen a fair amount in Japan considering the short duration of the trip however, nothing stood out more than my trip to Lake Ashi in Hakone. Out of the hustle and bustle, my lungs were filled with fresh air as it’s cool grasp swept gently across my face with majestic mountains dominating the surrounds. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to access the mountain due to the surrounding volcanoes being rather active! However, ever single time I look at my photographs taken here, I have the overwhelming feeling to take a long deep breath.

My time in Japan will never be forgotten. It was crazy at times but I think that’s just what makes Japan so unique. Maybe next time we could stay a little longer and return back to the beauty of Lake Ashi for one more breath.

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Leave your cash at home. Let’s Beam!

August 22, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

Technology has been thriving to make things easier by concentrating one device with everything that a human being would use on a daily basis. If you are living in the 21^st century, then you must be aware of the fact that the most important part of our lives is having a smartphone that can get almost everything done for us. You have your contacts, calculator, reminders, to-do lists, books, music, clock, camera…and the list goes on, in one place. But let’s get into the fancy stuff that is slowly and gradually helping you get over the necessity of carrying a wallet.

Tech giants consider having a wallet a burden, which to be honest really is a burden, at least to me. Now, if you are thinking that the idea of a wallet has been replaced with a debit or a credit card then you are certainly wrong. What if I told you that there is a smartphone application that would let you ditch your wallet?

I was delighted when I first heard about it and most of the people who are sick of carrying a baby dinosaur sized wallet with them. Maybe it’s just a personal preference, but I certainly don’t like to have to carry it around whenever I need to grab a cup of coffee from the coffee shop next to my office or even go grocery shopping for the house at the end of each week. Fortunately, there is a way around this, you now only have to carry your smartphone with an application named, Beam, installed on it. Beam lets your phone act as your credit card, so you no more have to carry around your purse or wallet. Simply open the application and walk into a store that supports Beam. Open the application and with the touch of the screen you can pay for that of you wish to buy. You also get extra points whenever you pay using Beam, which you can redeem later on in the same shop, which we can all agree is always a bonus!

You must be wondering about the pay-offs while using the system and I cannot think of a single payoff that one has to compromise on for using the system, keeping in mind the smartphone device is now much more secure than a couple of years back. Beam is a very secure way of payments and you don’t have to wait in queues or don’t have to worry about an ATM machine not working properly, because you no longer require the use for keeping cash on you.

Beam is growing with a very swift pace, as of now it is being supported in 1200 stores throughout the UAE and the network is growing every month. You can now use Beam at Carrefour, Subway, ALDO, Tommy Hilfiger, Geant, Inglot, Nine West, VOX cinemas, Circle K, Chillis, Tim Hortons, Costa and more. I have already stopped carrying my purse and the extremely uncomfortable coins when going to these places, when are you planning on joining the cool club?

Download Beam Wallet from App Store or Google Play now.

~ Sondos Shapsogh

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Earn Money On The Go With ‘Task Spotting’

August 8, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

Earning money through the internet has grown to a very popular extent, which forced a lot of people on leaving their jobs and stay at the convenience of their homes making a very handsome amount of money on the internet. Freelancing is a new concept for several people and it is even useful for the people who intend to have some extra cash while still being affiliated with an organization on a full-time basis.

However, there are some clause that keep several people from jumping into freelancing. Firstly, you need a Desktop or a Laptop computer, which in several cases people dislike carrying around since everything can be dealt with using the smartphone. Secondly, you need expertise in a certain field, for example, you would either have to be a writer, a programmer, virtual assistant etc. If these two points have been keeping you from making extra cash, then you have landed yourself into the right place. Thanks to technology and some genius people who invented the concept of “Task Spotting”.

How to become a Task Spotter?

Task spotting is a concept that marked its origin from the UAE, the basic idea behind task spotting is that you just simply have to download an application that is available on both the major app stores, namely, the Apple Store and Google Play. After downloading and installing the application on your smartphone, you will be required to complete your profile by entering your date of birth and some very common information about yourself, that is, you have just stepped into the arena for Task Spotting.

How does Task Spotting Work?

After building up your profile on the application you would be required to input your location, you can either pick missions/tasks from your current location or you can choose between the missions that are irrespective of the location. The tasks are very simple and they can be easily completed, without the use of any technical knowledge or skills, which qualifies any person who has a smartphone and can use the application, no prior experience is required for making money using Task Spotting.

If you are lazy enough to pick a mission every time you travel around the country, you have still got a solution, the application on your smartphone is smart enough to check your current location and allow you to set a radius around your current location in which it can sniff missions within that radius. So basically, whenever there is a new task within the preset radius, you will be automatically informed through a notification on your smartphone.

How will you get Paid?

With task spotting, you are never limited with choices. The application allows you to link your PayPal account with the application and you can transfer your funds to your PayPal account with the help of a touch. However, you are not just limited to your PayPal account, you can also get paid in hard cash by visiting one of the 130 payout points across the UAE. Task Spotting also lets you donate your money to the charity that you are supporting, and that is too directly done from your smartphone application.

~ Sondos Shapsogh