Wanted: An Enlightened Boyfriend

Could a Buddha-like deity be Japan’s flavor-of-the-month?! That’s what Metropolis magazine alluded to in a recent article. For the past year, women have set their hearts and wallets on the demigod Ashura — a young man with a stoic face and six long arms. It’s not because he’d be great at multitasking chores around the house, it’s more about the feeling they get when seeing him. With a slim body, smooth skin and a beautifully benevolent face, a guy like this couldn’t be far from the ideal boyfriend… or so they hope.

Last year, thousands of women flocked to Tokyo National Museum just to see the famous Ashura statue on exhibit. Tickets sold out quickly and the lucky ones waited for hours in line just to get in. A 15,000 stock of mini-replica Ashuras were sold for $33 each.

But really, what's the allure? It's no surprise that many Japanese women prefer their men skinny. Think of all the Johnny’s idols selling out 55,000-seat stadium concerts. More than once, I’ve heard Japanese female friends say they have an image of men being rough and unkempt, so their longing for a guy as silky smooth as they are kind of makes sense.

So if you want girls in Japan to look your way, I suggest shaving your head and tanning your body bronze. Good or bad, you’ll get them shrieking. \(^O^\) (/^O^)/

Himawari

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How to Get Your Kid to Eat

A piece of broccoli is never as appetizing as when it’s smiling at you. That’s why when a Japanese mom needs to feed a stubborn kid, she starts by making faces. That is, she cuts out a pair of eyes and a mouth from cheese slices and puts them over a mound of vegetables. Food tastes best when it’s grinning from ear to ear.

Japanese people call it ‘kyara-ben’ (character bentos), a lunch box filled with happy kids and chirping animals. Poke your chopsticks around and, lo and behold, it’s a bed of rice and chicken nuggets!

Of course, to make this pile of cuteness, you’ll need the proper tools. Here’s a few:

Face-cutter

The only choices here are happy, happier and happiest! But it’s always good to mix it up a bit, so choose wisely!

Food Stylus

Fill this pen up with ketchup, mustard, chocolate, or whatever else sits in your fridge. Use it to write down your kid’s name so that he’s the coolest student on campus.

Frying Pan for Eggs

One of the most specialized cooking tools, this frying pan will make a thin sheet of egg you can use to cover a rice ball or clothe a quail egg. The best part is that it’s tasty, too!

If you’d like to see cool bento creations, check out Anna the Red’s Bento Factory.

Himawari

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Cute Beans

Are they beans? Are they dogs?

They’re a hybrid of both… and they’re 100% wacky! They’re Mameshiba (mame = bean; shiba = dog breed), colorful little characters too cute to throw into a bowl of chili. Japan’s premier advertising company, Dentsu, is the brain behind them, promoting these adorable rugrats through animated TV spots across the country. We all know that cuteness is the ruler of Japan, so it’s not surprising to hear that Mameshiba made over $30 million in licensed goods back in 2008.

And now, Dentsu hopes to make Mameshiba big in the U.S. Luckily for us, they have an English-translated website where you can watch an assortment of their cute-but-strange video clips. This one is my favorite:

Even in the U.S., there’s a steady fan-base for oddball character goods like Afro-ken, Domo Kun and of course, Ugly Dolls! And personality goes a long way in charming their way into cute girls’ bedrooms. ‘Edamame’ is full of curiosity and travels the world in his furry, green pod. ‘Soy Bean’ is a worrywart who likes giving unsolicited advice. ‘Jelly Beans’ are a band of brothers from the USA. They don’t speak Japanese very well. Oddball characters, indeed.

You can buy Mameshiba goods online for anywhere between $5 and $30. Or you can just oggle them on You Tube. That’s what I plan to do. Dog-beans… Who woulda thought?!

Himawari

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X Marks the Spot!

When you’re on a Tokyo subway, watch out behind you because somebody might be trying to cop a feel. Train molesters run rampant throughout Japan’s public transportation system. Believe me, I’ve been three times a victim in a single year!

So I was happy to read in the newspaper about a sticker company that’s come up with a solution to this horrible problem. They’ve created this round sticker-stamp you put on your cell phone. So when you feel somebody’s hand moving up your waist, all you have to do is press the sticker on the perv’s hand and it’ll leave an X mark that’s hard to wash off even with soap and water.

A sticker printing association brainstormed this product probably in hopes of keeping the sticker-printing trade alive amidst all the technological consumption these days. RIght now, the association has hired a research group to figure out if people would actually want to attach the product to their phone along with all their other danglies.

If this product takes off, it’ll completely ridicule anyone with an X on his hand. Though I kinda wonder how easy it is for the phone’s owner to accidentally get Xs on his/her hand simply by using the phone. I wouldn’t want people to think I was a molester just because I’m clumsy with my phone!

Himawari

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Cheap is Good!

Gift-giving is big in Japanese culture, and not just on birthdays and holidays. So whenever I go to Japan, I bring back a load of presents for friends and family in the U.S. But I’m not made of money, so I buy all my presents from a place called Daiso, where everything is priced at 100 yen (about $1). Sure, call me a cheapskate, but believe me, there’s so much cool stuff here you wouldn’t think twice.

Daiso stocks over 90,000 items, from Japanese soda candy to cool lunch tupperware to funny English signs to hang on your bathroom wall. There’s also your share of traditional Japanese-y stuff like chopsticks and rice bowls that I’ve seen other American tourists buy in bulk. I mean, seriously, you can buy a handcrafted pair of chopsticks from some old man’s shop atop a remote mountain ($$$) or you can get a pair from the 100 yen shop. Will your grandma in Detroit know the difference? I bet not.

Daiso stores are located all over Japan and they’re usually HUGE. I’m talking 2-3 stories high. My advice: bring a separate suitcase just for your Daiso purchases. And now the store is open in Seattle, San Francisco, Canada and online too. I’ve yet to visit them so go check it out for me and tell me what you think! (^_^)V

Himawari

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Want Smooth Skin? No Need to Inject Collagen – Just Eat It

As kids we’re told that eating too much chocolate or potato chips will give us breakouts. But is it possible to eat your way to better skin?

Japanese organic cosmetics company Fancl seems to think so. That’s why they’ve partnered with Ito-Yokado, the ubiquitous grocery superstore, to create a series of collagen-infused foods. Yes, collagen – the lip plumper and wrinkle reducer normally available only at a plastic surgeon’s or dermatologist’s office.

Fancl’s food line is also enhanced with kale extract, known for reducing weight.

The whole thing reminds me of Jamba Juice and their boosts. I never know which supplement to add to my smoothie: Protein? Vitamin C to fight off a cold? How about calcium or fiber? It’s probably a placebo effect – just knowing that I’m eating fruit, lowfat yogurt and vitamins tends to make me feel great. (Let’s not discuss the sugar.)

But back to botox. Japanese women really value perfect skin, so it makes sense that they pop supplement pills or drink collagen elixirs. Fancl has simply taken the ball and run with it, infusing bread and sweets with life-enhancing additives.

Do people really believe that eating make-up can make them over from the inside out?

Apparently yes – who am I to argue with Oprah?

Sarah S.

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I Have a Pen Fetish

Japan doesn’t make new technology, they simply improve on what’s already out there.

That’s what people say when talking about cool Japanese products like stereos, washing machines and even mechanical writing instruments.

Take for example the Pentel Slicci Gel Ink pen, offered in dozens of hues and variable ball-widths. They come in fun, brilliant colors like ‘milk blue,’ and glide onto the paper like wet paint on linoleum. The smallest ball-point is .25 mm which is so thin and sleek it even makes bad penmanship look like a work of art. I use them to draw Doraemon.

Their commercial campaign is really cute. Each pen color supposedly has magical powers of fulfillment. In pink, you write the name of the boy you want to go on a date with. Use the red pen to write the name of the boy you like and in a few days he’ll like you back. It’s completely hokey, but I know if I was 13 years old I’d be scribbling the name of that cute boy in math class all over my desk:

Check out this video

In Japan, whether you’re a guy or girl, old or young, you own a set of color pens. Unlike those boring Paper Mates, these Pentels are like trophies behind a glass case. And when you run out of ink, you’ll be sure to run out for a replacement.

Oh wow, thinking about these pens triggered a flashback. When one of my last boyfriends broke up with me, I gathered my things and headed to the door. Though just before I left, I opened his desk drawer and grabbed a set of color pens he had borrowed from me. He might’ve stolen my heart, but I wasn’t going to let him steal my pens!

Himawari

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Mixi to the Rescue?

How many logins and passwords for websites do you have to keep track of? Just off the top of my head I can think of ten…It’s enough to drive me insane trying to remember them, or even to remember to use them (MySpace, I’m talking to you). Sometimes less is more. Ditto with the platform and style; Craigslist is famously bare-bones but effective. Leaving out the bells and whistles on a website can be a wise move if it means delivering what people truly want all in one place.

Mixi, Japan’s most popular social networking site, combines aspects of MySpace, Craigslist, Facebook, LinkedIn, LiveJournal, Amazon and iTunes. According to the Washington Post, Mixi grabs 15 million users and 14 billion page hits per month. 1 in 5 Japanese people with Internet access are members.

Bulletin boards,job opportunities and blogging are the three main draws, but there are also music plug-ins and DVD / book reviews that link to places where you can purchase the products immediately. Unlike MySpace, where you are expected to constantly update the look and style of your personal page, on Mixi there is no way to alter the design or coding, and anonymity is preferred (forget about plastering your personal info out there for all the world to see). Membership is restricted to invitation from current users only — much like Gmail used to be — and users must be 18, as well provide a Japanese cell phone contact number. For these reasons, Mixi will probably remain insular and never catch on outside Japan.

If could pare down my logins and passwords to one each, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Then again, the grass is always greener: “Mixi Fatigue” is already on the rise…

Sarah S.

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iPhone: Don’t Believe the Hype?

My brother was one of the thousands to get an iPhone when it came out on July 11. He lives in the sticks of southern Kyushu so all he did was glide into the store and lay down the cash. It was a breeze compared to Tokyo. When it comes to cell phones, Japan is a bountiful candy store. Even so, he and every other tech geek was itching to get this new American idol. It’s sleek, comes with a multi-touch display, and if Americans were lining up for it then, goddamnit, so should they.

Soon after bringing home his new toy he realized things were amiss. For one, both phone and 3G Wi-Fi signal were spotty. Granted, rice fields outnumber cell phone towers in the area, but then again he’s never had problems with previous phone carriers.

And when he finally started texting friends, it never went through. iPhone carrier Softbank (no, not a bank) created exclusive email addresses for their customers (@i.softbank.jp). But they’re so exclusive that other cellphones are unable to recognize it, so they’re filtered out. My brother fell completely out of the loop with friends. Like many young people today, he prefers to text than call. Must’ve been like being the only kid benched on the playground.

There’s other drawbacks with this new phone: not being able to use cute emoticons integral for playful conversation; having to use both hands to operate the thing; and not having a loophole built in for charms. These all might seem trivial to most Americans. But believe me, for Japanese school girls it’s like removing oxygen from the atmosphere. I nearly died after coming back to the U.S. and realizing I couldn’t string in my Hello Kitty plushie to my clunky Nokia.

So obviously the brains behind the 3G iPhone were drinking on the job when they decided to approve the phone for the Japanese market. But the question remains: Why would thousands of people line up for hours, or in some cases days, to purchase an obviously flawed product? My guess is that they were simply attracted to iPhone’s unique touch screen. That’s something completely new to them. But $200 for something you can press your greasy fingers against? Silly, if you ask me. Then again, this is a country that eats bread topped with corn and mayonnaise. Silly is the norm.

Himawari

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
JPBizDirect, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
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Taxicab Confessions: New Ranking System Lets You Pick a Good Driver

Ever wish you could tell right away if your taxi driver was a good one? In London, the cab drivers must pass strict tests, but in most cities it’s all a crap shoot. How many times have you found yourself trapped in a taxi with a chain-smoker, a dawdler who takes the longest route, someone who treats you rudely or a speed demon who swerves in and out of lanes while you fear for your life?

In Japan, there is now a handy-dandy vetting system. (Thanks, Stippy!) Cabs with three stars on top of the roof let you know at a glance that the driver has passed a test from the Tokyo Taxi Center and has been designated a “Master Driver.” This means a perfect record of customer satisfaction, as well as no traffic violations. Here’s the punchline: only about 10% of taxi drivers qualify right now.

It’s still good news for passengers who disembark at Shimbashi station, near the Yurikamome line, because they can head directly to a stand that provides Master Drivers only.

Regardless of who your driver is in Japan, it’s becoming less likely that you’ll get stuck with a cab that smells like an ashtray; Koichi Yasui, a self-employed taxi driver since 1975, has been fighting to make all taxis smoke-free. He was sick of the effects of second-hand smoke each time his passengers lit up. (Some even insisted on keeping the windows closed.) He filed a lawsuit in 2005, and now 60% of cabs are smoke-free.

Smoking is still fairly popular in Japan. According to the Christian Science Monitor, 40% of men smoke and 13-15% of women do. A total ban on smoking in taxis may be a ways off, but at least there are more options for those who want them.

Sarah S.

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
JPBizDirect, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
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