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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Sky-High Shopping

Japan Airlines recently filed for bankruptcy protection to save itself from a whopping $8 billion debt. It’s my favorite carrier to Tokyo, so I’m sad they’ll be scaling back service.

In the realm of commercial goods, JAL has done well in extending its efforts beyond in-flight peanuts. At major airports in Japan, you’ll find JAL-operated Blue Sky shops that sell a hot bowl of ramen alongside cool gizmos and souvenirs.

And online at JAL shop, you’ll find even more cool stuff. Here are some of my favorites:

Don’t underestimate a girl’s need for handy pouch This one can be used as an amenities case, a lunch bag, and a “heading to the powder room to freshen up” tote. Believe me, I’m drooling just looking at this picture. With its baby blue stripes and blue trim, it’s too cute. ($48)

It’s Sky Time! JAL serves this complimentary citrus beverage on domestic flights. Sweetened with yuzu fruit – the love child of a lime and an orange – you’ll want to take a bottle home after your first gulp. Luckily, JAL sells it online and every now and then you’ll see it at a Japanese market, too. ($30 / 24-bottle case)

Japan is crazy about their hi-tech toilet seats, not just because they heat your loins on a wintry morn, but because they come with a bidet. The same brand name toilet, TOTO, produces a portable version of the ‘washlet,’ so now you can go anywhere and feel springtime fresh! ($125)

I’m probably not the only one shocked by JAL’s sudden announcement. It’ll be a sad day for most people in Japan should JAL actually disappear. Why? Because it’s a much classier airline than anything you will find in the U.S. Friendly service, great amenities – it’s what makes their brand so strong.
Hang in there, JAL!

Himawari

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Toilet Manners

I got this link from a friend today, a $19 gadget that emits white noise in the restroom. She knows I’m paranoid about carrying out private things in public places, so this battery-operated gizmo helps lessen the embarrassment.

Most female visitors to Japan have come across the original ‘oto-hime’ (literally, ‘sound princess’). It’s fixed into the stalls of most upstanding Japanese restrooms, and at the push of a button it plays the sound of a flushing toilet. The portable version of this gadget is called ‘eco-otome,’ stressing the fact that using this thing can save gallons of water women will otherwise flush down as white noise.

I can’t understand why the ‘oto-hime’ is such a hit in Japan, yet hasn’t found a home here in the U.S. Then again, women here aren’t nearly as self-conscious about what they do behind closed stalls. In Japan on the other hand, once you hear the woman next door drowning out her bodily sounds (#1, 2 and/or 3, for the record), you’re compelled to do the same. Etiquette is contagious!

It’d be neat to start the trend over here. Maybe this Christmas, I’ll buy every female friend one of these gadgets and urge them to use it. Next thing you know, women across the country will be using it. Save a flush, save the world! \(^o^)/

Himawari

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I *Heart* Chocolate

It’s that time of year when Japanese women contemplate what to get for the men in their life. So what do they give? CHOCOLATE!

Valentine’s Day is yet another occasion to sell, sell, sell. Jumping on V-Day fever, chocolate shops get inventive with their creations. Think animal-shaped cakes, multi-colored ganache cubes, and creamy morsels sprinkled with matcha green tea powder. Even if you’re not a fan of cacao, your taste buds will force you to take a bite

For those extra-special men, most women forgo store-bought treats and work their magic in the kitchen, melting chocolate chips over a double-pot boiler and cooling it in a heart-shaped frame. I saw a flyer on Don Quijote’s site that offers deals on hand-mixers, fondue sets, chocolate fountains and food scales. Just looking at it made me want to get in on the action and whip up a bowl of velvety ganache. Though I’d probably eat it myself instead of giving it away. ^^

A box of homemade chocolates is far more precious than store chocolates because it takes time and effort to make. “Kokoro wo komete” (‘from the heart’) is the phrase often used. A while back, I was playing this one dating sim for Nintendo DS, Tokimeki Memorial, where I could either buy the boy I liked a box of chocolates or make it. If I made it myself, I was nearly guaranteed he’d ask me out. Haha! My stylus pen got a good workout stirring that virtual bowl of chocolate! \(^o^)/

Himawari

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Lucky Charms for the New Year

Around New Years I like decorating my apartment with auspicious little trinkets. It’s silly superstition, but I still like believing.

Right now, I have a tiger gazing at me. I made him from origami. It’s the year of the Tiger, and although it’s not my particular zodiac sign, I want the luck of this ferocious creature on my side:

Across Japan, most households decorate their New Years mantel with a heap of kagami mochi:

It’s a mound of chewy rice cakes topped with a winter tangerine. Japanese lore dictates that mochi represents a purified body and soul, and the succession of mochi represents the family-generations that come and go; so it’s about starting anew, but respecting the old. Though just like people, mochi gets moldy after a while, so watch out!

Another fun thing to have around is o-mamori:

You can get it at the local shrine to help ward off evil, whether it be a car accident, illness or bad grades at school. I keep mine in my wallet, and even though you’re technically supposed to throw it away by the end of the year, mine still keeps evil at bay.

Here’s to a new year of JOY and SUCCESS! HAPPY 2010!! \(^o^)/

Himawari

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Lucky Bags for the New Year!

Americans have Black Friday. Japanese people have ’Lucky Bag’ day, a time when you can pay $100 to get $500 worth of merchandise!

It starts on New Years Day. Store clerks line up dozens of bags on tabletops for shoppers to snatch. Some cost $10. Others cost $100. Each bag is sealed shut, so the big question is, “What’s in the bag?”

‘Fukubukuro’ (lucky bags) are a great way for stores to get rid of their year-end stock. Of course, the implication is that you might not want what’s in the bag. In which case, eBay it!

On flickr.com, you can see what people ended up getting:

This one is from one of my favorite dessert shops, Mister Donut.

And this is from a home-accessories store called D&Motels Store.

Lucky bags are such a hit that lots of stores now offer online reservations, and even that goes quickly! Some waitlists start as early as November. Personally, I question the allure of getting something you may not need, but obviously there’s a huge appeal. It’s like a Christmas gift, wrapped all pretty but whose contents are completely unknown. The anticipation is 80% of the fun.

American stores could learn a thing or two from Japan, so that when Black Friday comes around we’ll have more to look forward to! \(^0^)/

Himawari

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Japan’s Top Products of 2009

Cheap and eco-friendly. That’s how I’d describe most of Japan’s ‘hit products’ for 2009.

Japanese advertising agency Dentsu surveys consumers every year and this is what was abuzz this year:

1. Hybrid vehicles
2. Flu masks
3. Low-priced domestic fashions
4. Vehicles eligible for tax reductions and eco-vehicle purchasing subsidies
5. Eco-point energy-saving home appliances
6. ETC (electronic toll collection) system
7. Digital broadcasting-equipped widescreen flat-panel TVs
8. Electric vehicles
9. Private brand products
10. B-grade products

Of course, buying a new car was heavy on people’s minds in 2009. Back in June, the Japanese government started a ‘cash for clunkers’ program where consumers could receive $2,800 if they turn an old car (at least 13-years old) in for a new one. And if they chose an electric, hybrid or natural-gas car then they wouldn’t have to pay for weight and purchase taxes – a $1,000 savings!

And we all know why flu masks were big this year. When I visited Japan in May, I ended up buying a dozen of them because I was sick and everyone assumed I carried deadly diseases by default of being American. Luckily, there’s some really cool ‘ninja’ masks out there.

‘ETC card’ was the buzzword of the summer when people hit the road for their family vacation. Japanese highways are riddled with toll roads, so when they started issuing the ‘all-you-can-drive for $10’ pass, people made a mad rush for them. Makes me glad California roads are free.

And when we’re trying to cut costs, there’s always private-brand products, aka, store brands (i.e., Archer Farms at Target, O Organics at Safeway chains). They’re reasonable in price and quality, but they’re hardly advertized so few people know about them. Yet, this year, they were flying off the shelves.

Looking back, it’s been another year to keep your wallet locked in a safety deposit box. Next year, I want to see cooler things on the list like ‘robot butler’ and ‘invisible jet.’ Come on, Japan! \(^_^)/

Himawari

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, 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

Underwear with Nobility

Hot off the press: Samurai underwear!

It’s made by a Tokyo-based company called Rogin (pronounced “rogue-in”) whose tagline is, “Underwear for men who fight to live”!

It’s a form-fitting long underwear whose colors and patterns are beautifully inspired by traditional kimono robes and Japanese Samurai family crests. I can describe it in one word: Hot.

On my last trip to Tokyo, I noticed more stores carrying T-shirts and hoodies decorated with old-school patterns. Underwear is a new one, but it totally brings out the Samurai sexiness in a guy. Washboard abs wouldn’t hurt either.

The company says they expect these boxer-briefs will appeal to the growing number of women interested in Japanese history. Late-night study sessions anyone?

Priced between $80-$90, each design is named after a famous Samurai warrior like Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa. And the material seems to work like Uniqlo’s Heat-Tech line – it’s a breathable mesh that keeps you warm and soaks up dampness really well.

It’s cool to think millions of Japanese salarymen might be suiting up in these. Maybe now they can start sticking it to the man!

Himawari

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, 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