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Shingo Araki, January 1, 1939-December 1, 2011

“A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”. Still timeless. Prolific words from

Disney in Cinderella.

Dreams. Dreamers make the world a better place. Dreamers reach for the

Stars and Imagine a world without boundaries. It is how I was raised and

how I try to live my life.

Shingo Araki is gone. The world has lost another legend and Japan has

lost another dreamer this week. In Italy and France children watched

the animation art of Shingo Araki in Devilman, UFO Robo Grendizer/

Goldrake, Cutie Honey and Rose of Versailles. In America, children fell in

love with the animation art of Shingo Araki in Saint Seiya, Heathcliff and

Inspector Gadget.

Shingo Araki opened a door in Japan that the world walked thru. His art is

forever a part of our minds and our souls. His vision changed our world: the

way we see and feel on our way across the universe.

Doomo Arigatou Gozaimashita, Shingo Araki Sensei

With tears in our hearts, we say Sayonara…..

Heather Russell, Rinkya CEO

Rinkya Rocks With Jurij G Ricotti Part Two!

Jurij & Chuck Mangione

Have you met any American musicians that you admire on the tour?

Outside of the Tour I had the pleasure in NYC to meet a great American Jazz musician and new friend, Chuck Mangione (“Feels So Good”), and his beautiful wife.

Are you enjoying American audiences, food, women?

I’ve enjoyed the American audiences. They are a lot warmer and open than I had expected. About the food, unfortunately, for Americans I’m Italian ahahahahah. (Editor’s Note: Obviously he did not have Brooklyn Pizza^_^).  But I’ve to say thanks to Chuck Mangione and his wife for taking me to a very nice place in NYC and Tony Renis for an incredible Italian Restaurant in DC.

American Women? Mmmmm who knows…..

How many guitars do you use for each performance?

Generally 6, 2 Les Paul custom, 2 Stratocaster vintage reissue, 2 classical guitars.

Which guitars did you get from Japan thru Rinkya?

 Thru Rinkya I’ve got some Burny Les Paul models, very nice Japanese guitars that I like.

 Are you still able to find the time to add to your Grendizer collection with your busy schedule?

Yes, thanks to the Internet , I can find a couple of minutes in the Hotel before I sleep. I recently won some rare Popy UFO Grendizer toys that I can’t wait to add to my collection when I return home to Roma. But I lost a lot of Yahoo!Japan auctions because of the jet leg, sometimes bad Internet connections, and busy schedule. I forgot about using the Rinkya Auto-Bid System ahahah…

Have you found your “dream” Grendizer toy yet?

No, not yet J

Will you be bringing Il Volo for a tour of Japan in the future?

Yes, of course, probably next year.

Do you have any advice for collectors of Japanese toys and guitars?

Keep buying from Japan. It is the best way to help the Japanese rebuild the country after the terrible tragedy of the Earthquake and Tsunami. The Japanese have given the world so much beauty with their culture and  friendship. It is time for the world to give back and say Thank You, Arigatou, and Grazie mille!

Check out the music sites and Facebook Fan Pages of our musicians and Rinkya .

For further music information on Jurij

The official Il Volo site with music and tour dates

The Official Chuck Mangione music site 

For Grendizer/Goldrake fans click here! 

Rinkya Rocks With Jurij G Ricotti & Il Volo

Grendizer Guitar Hero Jurij G Ricotti Goes on Tour 

with the New Italian Hit Group Il Volo

Rinkya’s very own Grendizer Collector and Italian Guitar Hero, Jurij Gianluca Ricotti, is currently on a whirlwind concert tour of North America and Europe with Il Volo ( three Italian teenagers who have reinvented the song standard “O Solo Mio “ for a new generation of music lovers).

After the successful Il Volo Concert in Phoenix, Arizona, Jurij graciously agreed to share his thoughts with our Rinkya Staff about the tour, the music, and, of course, Grendizer.

Jurij, what does the name Il Volo mean?

Ciao Everyone! Il Volo in Italian means The Flight. In their minds music makes them take flight and the audience will fly high along with them.

Speaking of the concept of “flight” aren’t you named after the first Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin? Rather an unusual name for an Italian?

Ahahahah, yes was very unusual especially in 1971 (the 10th celebration of that first human outer space trip). My father who was fascinated by space travel gave me the honor of the name Jurij.

Who is Il Volo?

Il Volo is a Group of 3 teenagers (Gianluca, Piero, Ignazio) with very powerful voices who sing in an Operatic style. They have been described as the Jonas Brothers meet the 3 Tenors. They have also been nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards.

How did you become involved with their album?

The Italian songwriter Franco Fasano suggested my name to Il Volo’s producer, Tony Renis, the famous singer/producer for Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Pavarotti, Julio Iglesias and many others. Tony called me in 2009 for some electronic percussion arrangements for the album and together with Chilean-born Humberto Gatica (the multi-Grammy Award winning audio engineer/producer) we worked on the first album. Thru Michele Torpedine, the Il Volo manager (who discovered Andrea Bocelli and managed him for 17 years) , I became finally involved as a Music Director in the live tour show. They are the best team to work with ever!

What is your personal responsibility for the Tour?

Regarding this tour I’m responsible for the band, stage performances, and their sounds. On stage I’m also the guitar player and do the computer music sequences for the orchestral audio parts.

 Is the band you put together from Italy?

The band are all Italian musicians. The most important thing was to have a super clean band free from alcohol, smoke, etc, because the singers are minors. I’ve rehearsed and trained with them only about one month before the tour. It’s very hard to play on these kind of tracks with tempo click changes every 2 bars. The orchestral parts were arranged by William Ross and recorded at Abbey Road in London.

Do you go back to the Recording Studio in Italy, LA or the UK for another album?

I’ve currently recorded keyboards for a new Italian Metal band  in Germany. Remastered my first Metal Album in LA for the 20th anniversary, and done other session work in the USA. In Italy I will complete other tracks for the Il Volo tour.

Stay Tuned for Part II of Jurij and Il Volo on Rinkya Rocks, our new Blog feature spotlighting Musicians, Bands, Producers,Songwriters, etc. that are giving and showing their support for Japan thru their musical endeavors.   We welcome anyone who is planning a Music tour of Japan to contact us.”

Disney X Flag J

The popular shoes are back in new designs celebrating Minnie!

They sell out right away, so if interested contact us fast!

US$139.05

CupWomen Timer!

After two different CupMEN timers for your noodles, they have designed a woman timer.
However, I am pretty annoyed at the adjustment!!

Anyone else notice the difference between Cupmen and Cupwomen?

Exclusive Evangelion Figures!

Awesome Evangelion figures will come with UCC cans of coffee this holiday season, starting December 13th!  Rinkya will be sure to get some for our lovely readers!!

5th Annual Halloween Bento Collection!!

Click on the links for details on how to make these Halloween creations!!

One Piece Chopper wishing you a Happy Halloween!

Hello Kitty wearing a kitty hat!!

Frankensteins 

This Witch is way too cute to be scary!!

Donald Duck is looking very happy this Halloween!

Happy Halloween Blog Readers!!!

Read the New Blog on Tumblr!!

Our New Blog is Here- 

Join us on Tumblr!  

Please update your Bookmarks and follow us there!!

Face Lift & A Beer Buzz- Sign Me Up!

These little nutritional packets of collagen are to be added to your tasty beer for best results.

Of course, nothing is proven, but any nutritional supplement to take with beer is worth a shot :)

US$12.82

Via Inventorspot

Nostalgic an Old Cup Of Noodle Flavor??

The delicious Cup O noodles is celebrating 40 years!! Yummy!! 

To celebrate they are running a vote for Cup O noodles favorites!  

After tallying the votes they will re-release THREE flavors for a limited time with the original packaging and logo :)

Check out the link for flavors since the 1970s!!

Kawaii USB People!

All you do is remove the head for 2GB of data!!

The hardest part is picking which cutie you want!

US$40.38

Evangelion Anime Glasses

These glasses make anyone look stylish, designed with your favorite Evangelion character in mind, there are 5 to choose from, each with a variety of colors!

Check out Rinkya Stores for the full listings!

US$63.16

Ugly or Freaking Awesome? Super Mario 25th Anni Converses!!

Coming to Japan (ONLY) this summer, no release date yet!

Rinkya Stores will be sure to get them when they are released, your only shot at owning these exclusive shoes!

Pepsi Japan’s Newest Summer Release! Pepsi Dry!

Pepsi Dry comes to Japan May 24th, we will be sure to let you know how it tastes!

Pepsi Dry is supposed to be half as sweet as your standard Pepsi.  

Not quite as interesting as their past exclusive flavors Azuki, Baobob, Blue Hawaii, Ice Cucumber, Mont Blanc, Shiso  or but it does not sound bad!

Mega Teriyaki McDonald's in Japan Review!

I`m not one to frequent Mcdonald’s, I refuse eating Mcdonald’s in the states, due to the fact they probably add 4 pounds of pig feet lard, while employees take sensual bubble baths in the sinks.  Fast food in America is well, fast & there`s at least 5 different ones on every corner.  In Japan, there is a Mcdonald’s at every station. 

All the good stuff, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell (air force base) Wendys (No longer present in Japan *cry*) are generally far from where I live.  Most are located in popular towns/cities. Unless you want to spend half your day on trains/ getting fast food slowly, the majority of us are stuck with Mcdonald’s. 

Of course this depends where you live. Even so, you still don`t have much to choose from. Japanese food is great, and you`re probably wondering why the heck anyone would eat Mcdonald’s in Japan. Point taken.

For one thing, most of Mcdonald’s resturants are open 24/7.  Even when the earthquake hit Japan, Mcdonald’s was still frying hamburgers, open 24 hours. 

Hail Mcdonald’s in time of dire situations. 

Mcdonald’s tastes 100% percent better in Japan than in the states, and it is fresh. I`d say it`s more healthy as well, due to no extra additives or chemicals such as pee or mucus. (God bless New York).  It is cheaper than any other food in Japan. 

There`s also spiffy new promotional hamburgers or chicken burgers every month or so. 

Free toys don’t come with only happy meals anymore- Buy a set, receive a Pokemon toy- The adult happy meal.

 You don`t want to make it a habit to go to Mcdonald’s in Japan, because it`s really noticeable if you gain weight. Japanese friends will not shy away from telling you so either; they will say “Hey buddy looks like you gained some weight there in your face."

Mega Teriyaki Wrapped Up

Mcdonald’s is a sociable place in Japan. You can get away with taking your date there if you`re low on cash. The girls won`t mind. Just say it is part of your culture.  Call it your neighborhood Mr Rogers.  

I know I might be a bit out of touch on if America has improved it`s indoors, but I`d rather drive through in America than sit inside. 

Who really wants to be shot, or mugged while eating a Big Mac or worse a quarter pounder with cheese, the burger where you have to poo halfway through it. Imagine that at gun point. Japan only has drive thrus outside of Tokyo. 

Anyway… I write this blog today because I tried one of their new promotional Burgers. Mega Teriyaki- a sausage burger.  A burger drenched in teriyaki sauce & mayo with a chunk of cheese at the bottom layer.  The burger itself is a bit messy if you are not careful.  It provides an outer box pictured below. (which is fairly useless cause it was all over my shirt).    I would not recommend if you are not a Teriyaki fan (hence the name), because there is a strong taste of that mixed in a bunch of mayo.  My sweet washlet Japanese toilet is going to be busy tonight. I don`t want to insult because I am truly grateful Mcdonald’s does these promotions.  This was quite a miss though. 

Ingredients -

2 Sausage Patties

Cheddar Cheese

Teriyaki Sauce

Mayo

Lettuce

920 Calories alone.

Cost - I bought a set at 710yen. So I believe it`s somewhere around 400yen for just the burger itself which is around $5 or so. 

Tech in Asia PodCast!

Tech in Asia's first podcast is up with a special guest- Heather Russell from Rinkya!!

In this episode we cover how the tech world is responding to doing business in post-earthquake Japan; comparisons between business cycles of 9/11 and 3/11; and what to make of Japan needing U.S. robots for the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Check out the podcast here!

Mmmm... Beer

Make an ice mug for your beer with this kit! 

Beer does not get any colder than a mug made out of ice-  Enjoy an ice cold beer at home with this affordable ice maker.

TOWER RECORDS × PENTAX RAINBOW K-r

Another limited edition Pentax Camera featuring a rainbow of colors!  This collab is with Tower Records.

On sale now, very limited numbers, check out here if you would like us to order one!!

US$1122.50

Yoshiki Foundation & Yahoo Japan Charity Auctions

Yoshiki, from X Japan has gathered friends from the celebrity world to contribute to charity auctions on Yahoo Japan.   His charity, Yoshiki Foundation, will donate all proceeds to help the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami relief.

Currently for auction is a Signature "Crystal Piano" by Yoshiki and an outfit from Britney Spears worn in a advertisement.  

Upcoming items include a signed shirt from Robert Pattinson, of Twilight Movie fame, signed shirts from Reese Witherspoon and James Franco,  Stan Lee autographed comics (Spiderman, Fantastic Four), Many signed Yoshiki items, and many more.  

We will update as the auctions are listed on Yahoo Japan!

 If you wish to bid on any of the items, Rinkya commission will be free on any of these items (please note shipping charges still apply)

We will update anymore charity auctions we can find, look out for our upcoming newsletter that includes charity auctions with Blythe, Anime and more!  

Help out Japan & get a rare item from auction!  No commission fee applies!

2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake

In just over a week, a group of unpaid professional and citizen journalists who met on Twitter created a book to raise money for Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. In addition to essays, artwork and photographs submitted by people around the world, including people who endured the disaster and journalists who covered it, 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake contains a piece by Yoko Ono, and work created specifically for the book by authors William Gibson, Barry Eisler and Jake Adelstein. (Via Amazon Product Description)

ONE HUNDRED percent of your purchase of this book goes to the Japanese Red Cross Society, please consider buying this book and if you like it share the link with your friends!

Amazon US
Amazon UK

For more information on the book and to read some excerpts, please visit the Quakebook Blog

Steam Locomotive A Humidifier!

The steam from this locomotive is a clever way to hide a bulky humidifier!

You can use via USB for your office but I think it will look great in a kid's room!

US$25.35