So there's this place called Japan where they have all sorts of electronics, gadgets, televisions, arcades, izakayas, and a mega conference called CEATEC 2008. We're here, on the other side of the date line, inhaling coffee, and you had best stay tuned for the latest from the land of the rising sun.

Utilizing big honkin' displays for advertising purposes is nothing new, but East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and East Japan Marketing & Communications have decided to try "digital posters" out for reference. In short, ten 65-inch Sharp PN655R LCDs have been installed within "the internal concourse on the first floor of Tokyo Station's Yaesu South Entrance," and folks who stroll by can get a glimpse of whatever (the image changes each minute) in stunning 1080p. The goal here, as you might imagine, is to "evaluate the advertising effects of still image ad posters using large LCD panels displayed in a relatively busy gateway." If you're anxious to lay your eyes on the installation, you'd better hurry, as there's no guarantee that they'll remain after September. At least the video posted after the jump is forever.

Just when you think you've given your dog everything it could ever want (gold plated water dish, rhinestone collar, a copy of Tegan and Sara's "The Con" on vinyl) the Japanese go and one up you. A Tokyo-based content provider named Dwango announced today that it would start selling specialized ringtones which can be heard only by dogs. The service, called Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon (ringtones only dogs can hear) will make free downloads available to current DoCoMo i-mode subscribers. No word on whether the company will provide Bluetooth headsets and holsters suited to our canine friends, but we understand plans are in the works for a line of bacon-themed wallpapers. [Warning: read link is a PDF, and it's in Japanese]

[Via CrunchGear]

Japan's world's fastest maglev train may still be quite a few years away from becoming a reality, but it looks like the country can now brag about another slightly smaller but similarly contactless vehicle, with a new suitably futuristic bus now making its debut at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. As if that bit of technology wasn't enough, the bus is also a hybrid vehicle, and promises a sixty percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to those old 20th century-style buses. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of other details at the moment (and what is available is subject to the wonders of machine translation), but it looks like the first bus is already in service, and covering a 4.2 kilometer area around the airport.

[Thanks, kaztm]

So here's the good news: Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai) has announced its intentions to construct a swank maglev railway in Japan. The bad news? It's not scheduled to open until 2025. Reportedly, JR Tokai will be coughing up around ¥5.1 trillion ($44 billion, give or take a few mil) of its own change to build the system that will stretch between the "Tokyo metropolitan area and the Chukyo region, with Nagoya at the center." Of course, we're all going to be cruising around in personal flying saucers in a decade anyway, so we wouldn't be too worried about the wait.

[Image courtesy of FYS]

Listen, we've just got to say thanks. We got shown some serious love at our Tokyo reader meetup this week, and we're not only really grateful for the 200+ readers who came out to hang out with Engadget (and who took a ton of photos and almost 100 videos), but for the variety of guests we had, including Mr. Yamamitsu (CEO of Thanko), who participated in a live interview, as well as the "lightning talks" round of hackers, homebrewers, modders, researchers, and all around Japanese über-geeks. So, much love to everyone who came out and helped make our Tokyo event pop off!

P.S. -Oh, and check out some videos after the break. And stay tuned for further details on the SF Engadget reader meetup this week.

Tokyo: thanks for coming out! Over 200 people came to hang out Engadget style tonight -- so it's probably not too much to expect you'd have documented something, eh? Send in your pictures and video, we'll throw it up on the site tomorrow in our aftermath post.

Please add your pictures to the Engadget Flickr pool here.
And please add your videos to YouTube as a response to our meetup video (which is posted after the break), or with the tag engadget2007tokyo.

Once again, big ups to our hosts and sponsor Google Japan!

P.S. -Our apologies to those that didn't make it in. We had limited space, but we're extremely grateful you made the trip out to see us, even knowing you might not make it through the door. Let us know who you are next time, we'll hook you up with the VIP treatment.

We're all the more excited to see everyone at our Tokyo reader meetup tonight! That is, tomorrow-tonight -- Japan lives a day in the future, remember? Ok, specifically: the event's in Tokyo October 4th, starting around 7:00PM, Japan Standard Time.

However, we do have to warn those considering coming: space is tight, and due to the overwhelming response we've had we may not be able to guarantee everyone's admission -- our apologies in advance!

Tonight's event is ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION. We'll also be serving food and bevs.

Tokyo - October 4th, ~7:00PM - 9:00PM, Cerulean Tower (7th floor -- OFFICE section, not hotel)
If you're Nihongo-inclined, please check Engadget Japanese for more information.

English directions (thanks Umijin!)

• Exit the JR Shibuya station from the "minami" or South exit.
• Cross the expressway with one of the stairway overpasses. Look for the mammoth building, as above.
• If you get lost, just ask anyone where Cerulean Tower is -- also, check out the Tower's English site.
• Remember, you want the business entrance to the 7th floor, not the hotel entrance!

We'd also like to thank our host in Tokyo, Google Japan! [Image by NGU]

Setup video after the break!

Tokyo, San Francisco! We're coming to town to hang out, so please join us THIS WEEK in Tokyo as we host our first ever Japanese readup in Google / YouTube Japan's offices. Next week in San Francisco we'll be at Mighty. Directions and info below.

Both events are ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION (as usual).

Tokyo - October 4th, ~6:30PM - 9:00PM, Cerulean Tower (7th floor) [map]
Please note we have limited capacity, but we will do our best to accommodate everyone that shows up!

San Francisco - October 10th, 7:00PM - 10:00PM, Mighty [map]

We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, as well as our host in Tokyo, Google Japan!

Note: If you're thinking of coming to the Tokyo event please let us know in comments! It helps when we're figuring out catering and all that stuff. (Don't worry about San Francisco, we'll have more reminders on that one soon. And for everyone else who wants Engadget to come to your town, we'll do our best next time!)

This past Monday, an old electric fan (circa 1970) that was produced by Sanyo reportedly "caused a fire" which led to the death of two people in Tokyo. Apparently, a fire broke out "due to decay in the motor and other parts" of the fan, but the firm has denied that there were design flaws "or any other defects" to blame. Interestingly, the company has purportedly received "23 similar reports since 2000, including two involving people who suffered burns," but recalling a device made nearly four decades ago isn't exactly high up on the feasibility list.

In a device eerily akin to teleportation machines seen in major motion pictures (seriously, check it after the break), the Telexistence Wide-angle Immersive STEReoscope aims to "immerse viewers in a 3D video environment" sans those pesky goggles. Developed by a team at the University of Toyko, TWISTER is being hailed as the "world's first full-color 360-degree 3D display that does not require viewers to wear special glasses," and it's finally coming together after a decade of work. Within the cylindrical, rotating device, you'll find some 50,000 LEDs that give off the illusion of a three-dimensional object without any ocular aids. Moreover, the team is already looking into the possibility of adding 3D videophone technology to spruce up video telephony, but we'd be totally content with a couple rounds of Halo in this thing.

[Via PinkTentacle]

We all know that data transmission records don't hang around too long these days, but for operators of the Internet2 network, the final "official record" may have just been set. At the Internet2 consortium's spring meeting, it was announced that officials "sent data at 7.67-gigabits per second using standard communications protocols," but crushed even that milestone 24 hours later by achieving 9.08Gbps with IPv6 protocols. Notably, the data had to travel a whopping 20,000 or so miles roundtrip, and it's being suggested that the newest record may be there awhile, considering the theoretical 10Gbps limit on Internet2 transmissions and the requirement for new records to sustain "a ten-percent improvement for recognition." The best bit, however, is the mention of a "a new network with a capacity of 100Gbps," which could see a full-blown DVD shot practically around the globe "within in a few seconds."

With so many fringe politicians futilely trying to win office here in the US (many of whom ran for Governor of California in 2003, from adult entertainers to washed up child stars), it's nice to see that other countries are also full of nuts whose deluded senses of reality compel them to waste time and money courting voters with ridiculous campaign promises. The latest "eccentric" candidate comes to us straight out of Japan, where notorious inventor and organizer of the annual World Genius Convention, Yoshiro "Dr. NakaMats" Nakamatsu, has thrown his hat into the ring for Tokyo's upcoming gubernatorial elections. Nakamatsu, winner of an Ig Nobel prize for his curious habit of photographing every single meal he's eaten for the last 30+ years, is campaigning primarily on a platform of citywide defense, vowing to build a secretive system that can "make missiles turn around" for all those times that Tokyo comes under heavy fire. With opponents that include a long-term incumbent as well as a former governor of the city, Dr. NakaMats' electability seems on par with that of Kinky Friedman; our humble suggestion: forget the wacky missile defense and instead concentrate on protecting the poor residents of Tokyo from those habitual Godzilla and Mothra attacks.

[Via Danger Room]