A favorite otaku (geek) hobby in Japan is taking photos of toys. The pictures can make oh-so-cute miniature figurines look lifelike. But this trend isn't only a Japanese thing. It's also a Formula One racer thing—at least for one man.

Via social media, Spanish F1 driver Fernando Alonso provides a look at Formula One that fans expect: fast cars, scenic locals, and killing time between races. He also shows a different side of the motorsport. A nerdier one.

Alonso has his own otaku style mascot, named "Tomita". And much like Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono or otaku blogger Danny Choo, Alonso takes his little "Tomita" figurine around and snaps photos as he travels the globe with Ferrari.

Fans of Japanese role-playing game Tales of Graces will recognize "Tomita" as Tales of Graces hero "Asbel Lhant", the game's 18 year-old sword swinger. Tales of Graces first hit the Nintendo Wii in 2009.

In the photos, you can see Tomita in Shanghai and Dubai, in the pit and sitting in small F1 cars. Since Alonso refers to the character as "Tomita" ("little Thomas") instead of "Asbel", it might not be clear whether or not he just liked this little figure or if he's a fan of the game. But since Alonso's feed also has pics of a PS3 controller (Tales of Graces got a PS3 re-release) and a Tales of Graces iPhone cover, I'm inclined to think he knows exactly what he's doing: he's a gamer, a JRPG player, and a good old fashioned nerd whose day job just happens to be racing F1 cars.

Delightfully geeky stuff from Alonso, a two-time World Champ. Check out more Tomita pics in the link below.

Fernano Instagram [Tumblr]

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Check out the latest trailer for Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R. The game is getting location texts in Tokyo early next month.

Some things are fun in a group. Some things are fun alone. And something things are just unpleasant without the company of others.

An online research site polled nearly one thousand of its users about things people find painful when flying solo. Here's a look (those polled could list multiple answers):

9. Eating at a ramen restaurant alone: 1.9 percent
8. Traveling alone: 2 percent
7. Seeing a movie alone: 2.3 percent
6. Going to a concert alone: 6.4 percent
4. Going to karaoke alone: 13.3 percent
4. Going to a bar alone: 13.3 percent
3. Going to a buffet alone: 21.5 percent
2. Going to a yakiniku (BBQ) restaurant alone: 23.4 percent
1. Going to an amusement park alone: 53.7 percent

As the poll reflects, being asked "A table for one?" is generally seen as somewhat sad when going to places people usually go with their friends, family, or loved ones. Ramen restaurants are often (though, not always) places businessmen quickly grab lunch or dinner, so many people are more used to going to these types of restaurants by themselves.

Recently, there's been a trend to make certain kinds of solo activities less depressing, such as karaoke places that specialize in serving customers who want to sing alone.

Seeing movies alone, or heck, going to amusement parks alone, has never really bothered me. But I'd rather go to bars, even ramen restaurants, with others.

It's interesting that arcades weren't included in this poll. I actually love visiting arcades alone, and I cannot think of a better place to zone out, relax, and lose myself in games (besides my own home, that is).

これだけはできない、おひとり様の行動 [NicoNico News]

Facebook honcho and newly married dude Mark Zuckerberg might be dealing with Facebook stock headaches, but he can take solace in one thing: If his social media business goes south, he can always get unpaid work as an extra in Chinese documentaries. Unpaid? Oh, right, never mind!

While visiting Shanghai this past March, Zuckerberg and his then girlfriend (and now wife) Priscilla Chan were filmed as they walked behind Chinese cops on the street. A kwinky-dink!

Zuckerberg, of course, was wearing his trademark hoodie.

You can watch some of the documentary, which is heavy on slow motion explosions and light on 28 year-old billionaires, in the link below.

Mark Zuckerberg Appears in CCTV Police Documentary [ChinaSmack]

Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here.

Just in case you hadn't yet picked up on the heavy - and welcome - inspiration The Road has had on upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title Deadlight, check out this new trailer.

So, yeah, it's the dead world/broken society of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tale with zombies thrown in. Which is as good an elevator pitch as any video game publisher is likely to hear.

Given the nature of this job, and the fact I make an almost annual pilgrimage to Japan, I've been meaning for a while now to get off my butt and learn more of the local language than simply what I need to order a beer.

Hiragana Pixel Party is just what I needed to knuckle down and get started.

It's a tool for learning the basics of two of Japan's alphabets, yeah, but it comes in the form of a chiptune rhythm-action game, where you need to tap the screen in time with the music (and a little girl running on the screen) while matching the letters presented to you.

Note that it's not a language-learning tool: it's just teaching you the hiragana and katakana alphabets. Still, that's where you need to start when learning Japanese, so starting with chiptunes and a video game is better than starting with a book.

While it gets repetitive in parts, that's also the point: it's trying to hammer home knowledge, not be fun 100% of the time. It's fun, then, around 70% of the time. Which is 70% more than the last time I tried to learn Japanese.

Hiragana Pixel Party [App Store]

Time to check in again with the Outerra project, an engine that's currently being developed that threatens to make video games more awesome. How dare it.

The last time we checked in, things were on a planetary scale. This time, let's close in, look at some grass. Which may sound boring, but when it's done this lavishly and looks this good, and is procedurally-generated to boot (dropping in "bald" patches and changing the density and elevation), it's super interesting.

Those of a more technical persuasion can read the finer details below.

Procedural grass rendering [Outerra]

So much of what makes zombie survival mod DayZ so enjoyable to play is in the intangibles. You can't sum it up in bullet-points, or just say "it's fun", you need to experience a night in the dark with no food or water, on the run from both the living and the dead, to really get a handle on things.

Or you could watch this clip. Because for every epic 12-hour survival tale you'll have, you'll have another experience just like this one.

Day Z: IRL [YouTube]

Jak & Daxter cosplay. I don't know why there's a lady in Jak & Daxter cosplay this week, but I don't care. I applaud her for it.

I also applaud the Team Fortress 2 squad you'll see in the gallery, because they realise it's not the guns or the outfits that are the most important things in TF2 cosplay. It's the hats.

To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on the "expand" icon on the main image above and select "open in new tab".

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