A Tiny Eraser Crumb Cleaner

Everyone has something that they cannot get enough of.
In my case, I love mechanical things, and I cannot help watching gears and linkages. To me, there was one thing I wanted for a long time. It was an eraser crumb cleaner. I saw it somewhere in Japan long ago. Since then, I wanted it. This product is undoubtedly my favourite among the items I bought in Japan this time.
Here it is.

Going to Japan this time was the best opportunity to get it.
However, even when I was in Japan, I could not find it in shops, so I searched it on the internet. I found a lot on the internet even though I could not find any at retail shops.

It is a tiny toy-like tool made with plastic. It costs about six dollars.
As it is even that small, it is well-made, and I am impressed.

On one side of the car, there are two tiny gears. As the rear tyres rotate, the smallest gear rotates and transmits power to the larger gear. The larger gear is connected to a zigzag bar. Two tiny brooms are linked to the bar, moving back and forth as the bar rotates. The movement is smooth, and it looks fun to watch.

I am not sure who invented it. At least, I guess that I saw it more than 15 or 20 years ago. It may not be very practical, but I love the idea of it.
I can only make something with timber, so making tiny things like this car is not easy. I wonder if I could someday make a small mechanical toy like this car.

Japan After 12 and A Half Years

I was travelling to Japan earlier this month and returned to Australia recently. It was my first time in Japan in 12 and a half years.

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Since I hadn't been to Japan for a long time, I felt like I was in a time machine because the scenery I had gotten used to had changed dramatically. Buildings I knew had gone and been replaced by new ones. Unbelievably, I was lost when I went to a railway station that I should have known well.

Tokyo had many foreign tourists because it was the right time to see cherry blossoms. 

 

While in Japan, I caught up with my friends and cousins and had wonderful times. 

 

 

 

It was a great pleasure to have authentic sushi without mayonnaise, fried prawns and chicken, or cream cheese.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the pictures of cherry blossoms around the moat of the Imperial Palace.

 

Around the moat of Imperial Palace

I had a place to visit this time. It was the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum.

https://taro-okamoto.or.jp/en/

 

Taro Okamoto 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar%C5%8D_Okamoto

 

 

 

I also wanted to visit the Yayoi Kusama Museum, but I did not know I should have booked beforehand, so I could not go. If you want to see it, do not forget to book online. 

 

Yayoi Kusama Museum

https://yayoikusamamuseum.jp/en/home/



 

 

 

 

 

I visited the Marunouchi district, just next to the imperial palace.

It is the biggest financial district in Japan, and the scenery has changed here, too. I remember many stone buildings, but now they are replaced by glass-surface buildings.

I am interested in buildings and visited the State Guest House Akasaka Palace. It was amazingly gorgeous. However, pictures are not allowed inside the palace. This place is worth a visit, but you should book. Security is very tight, and there are airport-like luggage checks.

https://www.geihinkan.go.jp/en/akasaka/

 

I accidentally saw a huge marble run machine at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. There was no particularly new mechanism, but I was overwhelmed by the sheer enormity.

https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/

 

I lived in Yokohama long ago. It has a harbour, and in the old days, when people couldn't travel by plane, they used to go abroad by passenger ship from here. Now, Yokohama is one of the most popular tourist areas. 

Yokohama

For puzzle lovers, there is one place you should remember. It is called HANDS, and its former name was Tokyu Hands.

 

As seen from the shop's motto 'Let's get excited with your hands', it is a fun shop for people who like to make things. I think the shop lost its previous appeal a little. The economic recession might have had an impact. 

 

However, HANDS is still a fun place for me. There are many kits, tools, and materials to make marble-run machines. 

 

Oh, yes, marble run machine. It has been a long time since I stopped making it, and it is time to start producing it again. It will probably take a long time to complete, but please look forward to it.